Abandonware DOS title

The best graphic adventure with text parser games

There is a fine line between "text adventures," also known as interactive fiction, and graphic adventure games. Before the advent of point-and-click adventure games such as "Monkey Island," "Gabriel Knight," or "Day of the Tentacle," developers initially experimented with creating adventure games that featured graphics but still used a text-based interface.

One company that excelled in this hybrid approach was Sierra On-Line. Sierra's pioneering work in the genre included iconic series such as "King's Quest," "Leisure Suit Larry," and "Space Quest." These games combined rich graphical environments with text commands, allowing players to interact with the game world visually while retaining the depth and complexity of text-based input.

Most popular graphic adventure with text parser games

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Jewels of Darkness

DOS19864.3/5 Level 9 Computing
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Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards

DOS1987NSFW4.3/5 Sierra On-Line
Leisure Suit Larry: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards is the first adventure of the Leisure Suit Larry series, created by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line. As a virgin male in his forties, your goal is to, well, find the woman of your dreams. In 1991 Sierra released a VGA remake.
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King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown

DOS19844.3/5 Sierra On-Line
King's Quest: Quest for the Crown is the first game in the popular series of King's Quest. Developed by Sierra On-line, King's Quest is an early adventure game (one of the first animated adventures), a step up from the classic graphical interactive fiction of the time. The player can use the keyword both to move the character around the game world ...
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Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter

DOSMac OS19864.3/5 Sierra On-Line
Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line, released in 1986. It was created by the duo of Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe, who later became known as the "Two Guys from Andromeda". The game is renowned for its humor and engaging story set in a science fiction universe.In Space Quest I playe...
policequest1-2

Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel

DOS19874.3/5 Sierra On-Line
Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel is an adventure game released in 1987 by Sierra On-Line, designed by former police officer Jim Walls. It's the first installment in the Police Quest series and is known for its realistic portrayal of police procedures.In the game, you play as Sonny Bonds, a police officer in the fictional city of Lytton, ...
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Planet of Lust

DOS1989NSFW4.3/5 Free Spirit Software
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The Twilight Zone

DOS19884.2/5
The Twilight Zone is an abandoned sci-fi themed adventure game based on the popular TV series of the same name. The Twilight zone released in 1988 by First Row Software Publishing for DOS and Amiga. At it's core, The Twilight Zone is a text adventure, so you have to type in commands, but it's supported by the graphics.
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Code-Name: Iceman

DOS19894.2/5 Sierra On-Line
Code-Name: Iceman is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1989. Designed by Jim Walls, known for his work on the "Police Quest" series, "Code-Name: Iceman" blends elements of adventure, puzzle-solving, and espionage in a Cold War-era setting.In the game, players assume the role of John Westland, a United States Navy...
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King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human

DOSMac OS1986protected4.1/5 Sierra On-Line
King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human is a fantasy adventure game designed by Roberta Williams, developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1986 for DOS and for other platforms such as Apple 2, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh. King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human is also part of the King's quest series.
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Gold Rush!

DOS1988protected4.1/5 Sierra On-Line
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Mixed-up Mother Goose

DOS19874.1/5 Sierra On-Line
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King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne

DOS1985protected4.1/5 Sierra On-Line
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Space Quest 2: Vohaul's Revenge

DOS1987protected4/5 Sierra On-Line
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Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

DOS1988protected4/5 Sierra On-Line
Police Quest 2: The Vengeance is a graphical point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1988 as the second installment in the Police Quest series, which was created by former police officer Jim Walls.In Police Quest 2, Sonny Bonds is now a sergeant with the Lytton Police Department, and the gam...
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Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail

DOS19904/5 Sierra On-Line
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail is an old DOS point and click adventure game designed by Christy Marx, developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1990. As the title implies, Conquests of Camelot setting is based on the Arthurian legends.
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Les Manley in: Search for the King

DOS1990protected4/5 Accolade
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Shadow of the Comet

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1993protected3.9/5 Infogrames
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Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals

DOS1989NSFW3.9/5 Sierra On-Line
Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals is a comedic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1989 as the third installment in the Leisure Suit Larry series, created by Al Lowe.In Larry 3, players once again control the lovable loser Larry Laffer, who is on a quest to find tru...
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Hugo's House of Horrors

DOS19903.9/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo's House of Horrors is an adventure game developed by David P. Gray and released in the early 1990s. The game is a text-based adventure with simple graphics, and it gained popularity for its witty and often tongue-in-cheek approach to the horror genre.The story of the game revolves around the main character, Hugo, who receives a letter from his...
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Altered Destiny

DOS1990protected3.8/5 Accolade
Altered Destiny is a sci-fi themed point and click adventure game designed by Michael Berlyn, developed and released by Accolade in 1990. Altered Destiny runs on DOS but was also published for Amiga.
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The Black Cauldron

DOS1986freeware3.8/5 Sierra On-Line
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Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom

DOS1992protected3.8/5 Gray Design Associates
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The Scoop

DOS19893.8/5 Telarium
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A Personal Nightmare

DOS19893.7/5 Horror Soft
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Fuck Quest

DOS1998freewareNSFW3.7/5
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Mindshadow

DOSMac OS19853.6/5 Interplay Productions
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Hugo 2: Whodunit?

DOS1991protecteddemo3.5/5 Gray Design Associates
Hugo 2: Whodunit? is an old school graphic adventure game designed by David P. Gray, developed by Gray Design Associates and released in 1991 for MS-DOS only. Hugo 2: Whodunit? is the second installment of the Hugo game series.
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SRAM

DOS19873.5/5 ERE Informatique
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Earthrise

DOS19903.4/5 Interstel Corporation