Abandonware DOS title

The best text-based games

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 These text-only video games may seem primitive and outdated and, in fact, the genre almost died with the fast evolving graphics of modern games.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.
pasrun_000

The Astronomy Quiz

DOS1988 Softdisk Publishing
dragonriderspern-1

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS1987 Everlasting
pacgal-01

Pac Gal

DOS1982
alice-wonderland-if-01

Alice in Wonderland

DOS1989
Step into the rabbit hole - no, really, step carefully, or you’ll glitch right through the floor. Alice in Wonderland (1989, DOS) is a surreal, side-scrolling adventure that loosely follows the Lewis Carroll classic, if Lewis Carroll had a CRT monitor and a questionable understanding of collision detection. You play as Alice, wandering throug...
2112-01

2112

DOS1994
Welcome to 2112, a game that predicted a grim techno-future back when floppy disks still ruled. This DOS-era oddity throws you into a world that’s part cyberpunk, part fever dream, and entirely confusing. It’s got clunky controls, yes, but also that charming old-school ambition where every corridor hides either doom or disappointment. T...
checkit-3-02

CheckIt 3

DOS1990
codebreaker-02

Codebreaker

DOS1994freeware
hamil-01

Kingdom of Hamil

DOS1987 Topologika Software
madball-02

Madball

DOS1985
megapede-02

Megapede

DOS1992
ms-diagnostics-3-01

Microsoft Diagnostics 3.01

DOS1994 Microsoft
ooze-01

Ooze: Creepy Nites

DOS1989 Dragonware Games
3-musketeers-fr-02

The Three Musketeers

DOS1987 Greve Graphics
hamburger-hell-02

Hamburger Hell

DOS1986remake
murder-by-the-dozen-01

Murder by the Dozen

DOS1983 BrainBank