Abandonware DOS title

Graphic adventure with a text parser sorted by release date

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

kingsquest1-1

King's Quest 1: Quest for the Crown

DOS1984 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 an...
kingsquest2-3

King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne

DOS1985protected Sierra On-Line
mickey-space-adventure-04

Mickey's Space Adventure

DOS1985 Sierra On-Line
mindshadow-05

Mindshadow

DOSMac OS1985 Interplay Productions
tracer-sanction-05

The Tracer Sanction

DOS1985 Interplay Productions
jewels-of-darkness-06

Jewels of Darkness

DOS1986 Level 9 Computing
kingsquest3-4

King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human

DOSMac OS1986protected 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 su...
spacequest1-3

Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter

DOSMac OS1986 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 Crow...
blackcauldron-splash

The Black Cauldron

DOS1986freeware Sierra On-Line
lslarry1-1

Leisure Suit Larry 1: In the Land of the Lounge Lizards

DOS1987NSFW Sierra On-Line
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is the debut title in the Leisure Suit Larry series, created by Al Lowe and originally published by Sierra On-Line in 1987. The...
mixedgoose-splash

Mixed-up Mother Goose

DOS1987 Sierra On-Line
policequest1-2

Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel

DOS1987 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 ...
spacequest2-4

Space Quest 2: Vohaul's Revenge

DOS1987protected Sierra On-Line
sram-02

SRAM

DOS1987 ERE Informatique
3-musketeers-fr-02

The Three Musketeers

DOS1987 Greve Graphics
goldrush-splash

Gold Rush!

DOS1988protected Sierra On-Line
policequest2-2

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

DOS1988protected 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...
twilight-zone-01

The Twilight Zone

DOS1988
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 ...
personal-nightmare-01

A Personal Nightmare

DOS1989 Horror Soft
A Personal Nightmare (1989) blends horror and detective work into one spooky little cocktail of 1980s DOS game design. You return to your hometown to find it overrun by demonic pos...
codenameiceman-2

Code-Name: Iceman

DOS1989 Sierra On-Line
Part Cold War thriller, part adventure game, part submarine simulator, Code-Name: Iceman is a Sierra title that demands patience, precision, and a deep respect for diplomacy and to...
larry3-2

Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals

DOS1989NSFW 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 t...
planet-of-lust-04

Planet of Lust

DOS1989NSFW Free Spirit Software
the-scoop-04

The Scoop

DOS1989 Telarium
A detective adventure inspired by Agatha Christie’s collaborative story, The Scoop (1989, DOS) turns you into a newspaper reporter poking around a suspicious death with nothi...
altereddestiny-4

Altered Destiny

DOS1990protected Accolade
In Altered Destiny, a perfectly average guy named P.J. Barrett gets sucked into a bizarre alien dimension because he answered a phone call. Seriously. What follows is a classic poi...
conquests-of-camelot-03

Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail

DOS1990 Sierra On-Line
In Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail, you don’t just play King Arthur—you earn your role as the guy in charge of finding a cup with magical healing powers ...
earthrise-07

Earthrise

DOS1990 Interstel Corporation
hugoh1-1

Hugo's House of Horrors

DOS1990 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 popu...
lesmanley1-splash

Les Manley in: Search for the King

DOS1990protected Accolade
hugo2-02

Hugo 2: Whodunit?

DOS1991protecteddemo 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 ...