Text-based games: ASCII, etc.

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 These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.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.

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Red sky at morning

DOS1993 Simulations Canada

Return to Doom

DOS1988 Topologika Software

Before Doom became the 3D gore-fest we all know, there was Return to Doom—and no, it has nothing to do with space marines. This 1988 title is more Choose Your Own Adventure than chainsaws and demons. You’ll type in com...

Return to Kroz

DOS1990freeware Apogee Software

Kroz returns, and with it, your CRT monitor’s worst nightmare: ASCII graphics! Return to Kroz takes you back to a time when @ meant “you,” and everything else was trying to kill you. Using only your wits, a whip,...

Rockstar!

DOS1989 Wizard Games

Rogue

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1984 Artificial Intelligence Design

Rogue is one of the first RPGs in the history of video gaming. It's a text-based dungeon crawler in which you have to fight your way in the dungeon to recover the Amulet of Yendor. Rogue became popular around 1980 on mainframes an...

Romantic encounters at the dome

DOS1988 MicroIllusions

Rules of Engagement

DOS1991 Omnitrend Software

Rules of Engagement 2

DOS1993 Omnitrend Software

Safe Opening Simulator

DOS1993

Scapeghost

DOS1989 Level 9 Computing

Search for the Titanic

DOS1989protected IntraCorp

Seastalker

DOS1984 Infocom

Sherlock Holmes: The Vatican Cameos

DOS1986 Magicom Multimedia

Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels

DOS1988 Challenge

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...

Skullduggery: Adventures in Horror

DOS1986

Slash'Em

Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1997freewareremake

SLASH'EM (Super Lotsa Added Stuff Hack - Extended Magic) is a roguelike game based on NetHack, one of the most famous dungeon-crawling games of all time. It expands upon NetHack 3.4.3, adding new monsters, items, spells, roles, an...

Sleuth: A Murder Mystery

DOS1983freeware Norland Software

Softporn Adventure

DOS1981freewareNSFW Sierra On-Line

Sorcerer

DOS1984 Infocom

Spellbreaker

DOS1985 Infocom

The last entry in Infocom’s Enchanter trilogy, Spellbreaker is where the training wheels come off. It’s unforgiving, cryptic, and expects you to understand spellcraft like you’re a dropout from Hogwarts' honors p...

Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance

DOS1991protectedNSFW Legend Entertainment

Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance is an adventure game released in 1991, developed by Steve Meretzky and published by Legend Entertainment. It’s the second installment in the "Spellcasting" series. In Spellcast...