Play Lure of the Temptress online — free, instant Runs natively — no emulator
Lure of the Temptress — Revolution Software's first game, from 1992, and the debut of the Virtual Theatre engine that made its townspeople get on with their own lives whether or not you were watching. No download, no sign-up, nothing to install.
Revolution released this game as freeware in 2003. This is that release, running in your browser through ScummVM.
Starting Lure of the Temptress…
Downloading the ScummVM engine (about 12 MB) and the game (about 7 MB). This happens once — after the first visit it's cached and starts straight away.
Controls — what does what
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Walk and use | Left-click. Click where you want to go, or on the thing you want to use. |
| Look at something | Right-click. |
| Skip the intro | Esc — the Revolution logo and opening scene run for a minute or so first. |
| Skip a line of dialogue | Esc or click. |
| Save or load | Ctrl+F5 opens the ScummVM menu. |
This game is genuinely free. Revolution Software released it as freeware in 2003 — not abandonware, not a shareware episode, not a demo. The licence file ships with the game and permits exactly this. See the provenance notice for dates and sources, and the licence itself.
What you're playing
You are Diermot, a distinctly unheroic peasant who gets locked in a cell in the town of Turnvale and has to work his way out and, eventually, deal with the sorceress Selena and the Skorl who have taken the place over. It is a British adventure game of the early nineties: dry, wordy, fond of a puzzle that turns on noticing one object in one room.
What made it notable was underneath. Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine gave the townspeople schedules of their own — they walk from place to place, doing things, and are wherever they happen to be when you arrive rather than parked waiting for you. You can also give orders to other characters and have them carry them out while you do something else. In 1992 that was genuinely unusual, and Revolution went on to reuse the engine for Beneath a Steel Sky.
It is a first game and it shows in places — the verb interface is fiddlier than the studio's later work, and some puzzles expect a patience modern players may not have. It is also short enough to actually finish, and it is the start of the line that leads to Broken Sword.
How this works
ScummVM isn't an emulator. It reimplements the engines these games ran on, so instead of simulating a 1992 PC it runs the game logic directly. That's why it's quick, why it scales cleanly to a modern screen, and why it can run in a browser tab at full speed.
This page runs ScummVM itself, compiled to WebAssembly with the project's own Emscripten backend, pointed at the freeware VGA release of the game. The engine is GPL-3.0; the game data is Revolution's freeware release. Nothing is uploaded and nothing needs installing.
Saves
Press Ctrl+F5 and save from the ScummVM menu. Your saves are stored in this browser, so you can close the tab and come back to them — but they live on this device, in this browser, and won't follow you elsewhere. Everything you have saved across the site is listed on the saved games page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lure of the Temptress legal to play here?
Yes. Revolution Software released the game as freeware in 2003. The licence that ships with the game files permits free distribution on any medium provided the licence and copyright notices stay intact, which they do — the licence file is served alongside the game. This is not abandonware and not a cracked copy.
What is the Virtual Theatre engine?
It is the scheduling system Revolution built for this game. Characters follow their own routines and move around the town whether or not you are in the room with them, rather than standing still waiting to be talked to. It was unusual in 1992, and Revolution reused it in Beneath a Steel Sky.
How long does it take to load?
The ScummVM engine is about 12 MB and the game data about 7 MB. The first visit downloads both; after that the browser caches them and the game starts in a couple of seconds.
Can I save my progress?
Yes. Press Ctrl+F5 for the ScummVM menu and save from there. Saves are kept in this browser's storage, so they survive closing the tab, but they stay on this device in this browser.
Does it work on a phone?
It runs, but it is a mouse game: you point at things and click. On a touchscreen a tap acts as a left-click, which is enough to walk and use objects, but the right-click Look verb is awkward without a mouse. A tablet with a trackpad, or a desktop, is a much better experience.
VGA or EGA?
The freeware release contains both, and this page runs the VGA version — 256 colours rather than 16. ScummVM detects both and picks VGA automatically.
More you can play in your browser
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