Text-based games: ASCII, etc. sorted by year, newest first
In the past, lots of games used ASCII characters (text) to represent the game world. These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.
A few genres traditionally linked to the beautiful world of ascii characters still survives: roguelikes (nethack, angband, etc.) and interactive fiction, for example.
A few genres traditionally linked to the beautiful world of ascii characters still survives: roguelikes (nethack, angband, etc.) and interactive fiction, for example.
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Dr. Ruth Computer Game of Good Sex
DOS1986 Avalon Hill
Hacker 2: The Doomsday Papers
DOS1986 Activision
Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers is a video computer game developed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision. It was released in 1986 and is a sequel to the original Hacker game. The game was available for various home comput...
Hamburger Hell
DOS1986remake
Hollywood Hijinx
DOS1986 Infocom
IBM Assistant 2.0
DOS1986 IBM
James Bond 007: Goldfinger
DOS1986 Angelsoft
Jewels of Darkness
DOS1986 Level 9 Computing
Larn
DOS1986freeware
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
DOS1986 Infocom
Mind Mirror
DOS1986
Moonmist
DOS1986 Infocom
NewsMaster
DOS1986
Norton Commander 1.0
DOS1986 Peter Norton Computing
Norton Commander was a file manager and editor application released by Peter Norton Computing for DOS. Norton Commander used a text-based user interface with side-by-side panels and featured copy, delete, editing and preview ...
Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man
DOS1986 Adventure International
Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man is an abandoned text-based adventure game designed by Scott Adams, developed and released by Adventure International in 1986 for DOS but was also published for Acorn Electron, Atari 8-bit, BBC Micro...
Sherlock Holmes: The Vatican Cameos
DOS1986 Magicom Multimedia
Silicon Dreams
DOS1986 Level 9 Computing
Silicon Dreams by Level 9 Computing is a trilogy of interactive fiction (text adventure) games released in the mid-1980s. The trilogy includes three separate games: Snowball, Return to Eden, and The Worm in Paradise. Each game com...
Star Trek: The Promethean Prophecy
DOSMac OS1986 TRANS Fiction Systems
TheDraw 4
DOS1986
Trinity
DOS1986 Infocom
Turbo Prolog 2.0
DOS1986protected Borland Software Corporation
Wall Street Raider
DOS1986
Wordstar 4
DOS1986 MicroPro International
WordStar 4 was a popular word processing software program during the early days of personal computing. WordStar 4 included features typical of word processors in that era, allowing users to create, edit, and format documents....
A Mind Forever Voyaging
DOSMac OS1985 Infocom
If you ever wanted to play a video game that doubles as a philosophical think piece, A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985) is your ride. Released for DOS and Macintosh, this is one of Infocom’s most ambitious works - a text adventu...
Air Traffic Controller
DOS1985 Cascoly Software
Welcome to the most stressful job in the world - rendered in glorious 1985 DOS graphics! Air Traffic Controller lets you experience the thrill of herding aircraft without the luxury of coffee breaks or radar resolution. It’s...
Alice: The Personal Pascal
DOS1985
Amulet of Yendor
DOS1985 Keypunch Software
Before there were AAA games with 100GB installs, there was Amulet of Yendor, a rogue-like so old-school it might as well come with a floppy disk and a sandwich bag of D&D dice. Your goal? Find the legendary amulet. Your method...
Armchair Quarterback
DOS1985
Armchair Quarterback lets you live the dream of yelling at your TV — but on your DOS machine, and with even less control. It’s part simulator, part quiz show, and all weird. You make play calls, analyze stats, and pray...
Brimstone
DOS1985 Synapse Software
Ever wanted to fight fire with... even more fire? Brimstone tosses you into a magical mess of spells, dungeons, and monsters who woke up on the wrong side of the crypt. It’s a 1985 RPG that oozes charm and confusion in equal...
Einstein Writer 7
DOS1985