Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter

In Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter, the galaxy’s least qualified hero, Roger Wilco, begins his long tradition of surviving disasters mostly by accident. Released in 1986, this Sierra adventure throws you into space armed with little more than curiosity, a questionable sense of direction, and the constant fear of dying in spectacularly embarrassing ways. The story kicks off when Roger wakes up from a nap—never a promising start for saving the universe—and suddenly finds himself responsible for stopping a nasty alien plot. Expect parser-based puzzles, sudden deaths, and the kind of humor that politely nudges you before dropping you into an airlock. It’s clunky by modern standards, but its charm lies precisely in that awkwardness: you type commands, hope Roger understood you, and try not to get eaten by anything with tentacles.