Top 5 text-based video games of all time

Some of the earliest computer games made were interactive fiction or text adventures, also known as text-based video games. These games severely lacked sound and animation, but despite their primitive appearance, players worldwide remain mesmerized by their immersive storytelling, challenging puzzles, and endless world of exploration and discovery.

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Best text-based games backed by fans and critics

1) Zork (1980)

The expansion of the gaming industry in the 1980s was not very vast or impactful, but even within that limitation, Zork was a brilliant text-based title developed by MIT students in the late 1970s. The game sold over 6,80,000 copies, and while the numbers might not seem impressive by today’s standards, it left an impression.

Zork allows players to explore an expansive underground world of danger, treasures, and magic. It has been many years since Zork’s release, but that does not make it any less engaging and intriguing. The game is legendary in many aspects, and its witty nature has stood the test of time.

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2) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1984)

This text-based game is based on the popular book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. The game is a must-play for those who enjoyed the novel. However, the story deviates, as the game has a separate narrative that hilariously expands the Hitchhiker’s universe.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy pokes fun at science fiction, technology, and life itself, presenting a hilarious and irreverent text adventure through its witty writing and clever puzzles. It is a classic in the world of text-based games.

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3) A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985)

A Mind Forever Voyaging is a text-based interactive fiction game. It vividly describes its surroundings to the players, allowing them to talk with the game by typing commands on their computers.

The game, set in a dystopian future America, is deeply thought-provoking and political. Players take on the role of advanced artificial intelligence tasked with simulating the effects of a government policy called the Plan.

A Mind Forever Voyaging allows players to explore a virtual world that reflects the Plan's consequences, allowing them to choose whether to follow the Plan’s programming or rebel against it.

A Mind Forever Voyaging is a call to action for players to think about their society, making this fiction a powerful critique of authoritarianism.

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4) Trinity (1986)

Players who enjoy visually appealing action-adventure games might think of Brian Moriarty and link him with LucasArts’ “Loom.” But before he wrote “Loom,” Moriarty gave the world “Trinity,” a wonderfully scripted text-based adventure and interactive fictive for Infocom.

With its anomalous world skillfully blended with fantasy and reality, this text-based game has kept players invested. Even though players might complain about the lack of NPC interactions throughout the game, the settings that the author creates for the players keep the storyline engaging and interesting.

The game promotes an important message: the need for human connection in a world threatened by mass destruction by mediating the adverse effects of technology.

The fantastical world of Trinity might not be appealing to everybody and is best avoided by players new to interactive fiction, as it is fairly challenging. Experienced players, on the other hand, should definitely give it a try.

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5) Photopia (1998)

Being fairly recent in the world of text-based adventure, Photopia proves that the genre is still alive. The game is purely built on a narrative that tells the story of a young woman named Alley who struggles with her demons.

With its nonlinear structure, the game vividly describes its setting and gets players emotionally invested. Photopia’s success paved the path for other similar adventure games to broaden the genre's horizons.

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To sum it up, whether a longtime fan of interactive fiction or a relative newcomer to the genre, text-based video games are a testament to the power of storytelling and imagination. These five games are among the most popular in their class and will captivate and inspire anyone willing to play them.