Today's mainstream video games often feature stunning graphics, professional voice acting, and more impressive elements. But what if you are tired of modern games and want to enjoy simpler experiences?
Text-based games (also known as IF or Interactive Fiction) are a classic genre in which all interaction takes place through the words on the screen, and they are still alive. While born out of hardware limitations, text-based games can still be played on modern devices.
And you don't have to pay or install anything to play these titles. Instead, you can play them right now in your web browser. Here are some great text games available to play.
Created specifically for first time IF players, The Dreamhold is a great way to get a feel for the genre. Aside from its relatively short length and low difficulty, the game also features a "voice tutorial" that gives you hints throughout the experience.
However, if you are not a newbie, you can still enjoy The Dreamhold. Just type tutorial off to disable that part of the game. And if you want an even bigger challenge, type expert to enter Expert mode, which makes some puzzles difficult.
As for the game itself, the plot here revolves around you waking up inside a cell. You don't remember how you got there, and you need to explore to find out.
Play now: The Dreamhold
Zork is one of the oldest and best known text games. Originally released in the late 1970s, it has survived the test of time due to its high-quality narration and advanced text recognition. For such an old game, the text parser isn't picky about what you input.
Zork was divided into three parts. This first one starts you off in front of a white house with no further instructions. After making your way to the house, you'll start the adventure proper, and you'll need to collect as much treasure as you can.
Zork supports saving and restoring, and you can even change the amount of information the game gives you about new locations by using the brief and verbose commands This classic is a great starting point for getting into text adventure games. Give it a try and see how long you can survive before you get eaten by a grue.
Play now: Zork
Spider and Web is a 1998 text-based game from the same creator behind The Dreamhold. This adventure has you play as a spy who was caught when he was posing as a tourist. Gradually you find out what happens at the same time as your character.
In particular, the dialogue options in this game are simple compared to others. When asked a question, you can only answer Yes , No , or remain silent. This makes it easier to decide what you want to do, but that doesn't mean the game is easy.
It's often hard to keep track of what's going on and keep your story straight, so expect a high level of difficulty. You can save and restore to avoid replaying large chunks; the game also includes an Undo command for when you fail.
Play now: Spider and web
Are you in the mood for a must-play horror game? The Scariest Must-Play Horror Games for Halloween The Scariest Must-Play Horror Games for Halloween In the spirit of Halloween and all things scary, here's our pick of the scariest and scary. Games of the last years. Read more ? Night House makes you play as a child who wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. He soon discovers that his family is not home and he finds himself involved in an experience much more terrifying than he imagined..
Night House is unique in that it has a few extras besides text input. The right side of the screen contains basic directional inputs that you can enter to get around. It also keeps track of his inventory and what is around him. A simple map at the top of the screen helps you stay oriented.
With extras like ongoing thunderstorm sound effects, Night House adds a little more to the text adventure experience. Give it a try if the other games are too rudimentary for you.
Play Now: House at night
Text-based games are not limited to interactive fiction. Torn is an online role-playing game with thousands of active players. In it, you start a life in a new city and decide the path you want to take. You can grow up strong, become a criminal and beat up everyone else, or get a higher education, follow the law and run a successful business.
When you start, the game reminds you that it is a long-term experience. This makes it a great game for a quick fix. 20 Addictive Web Games Perfect for short trips. 20 Addictive Web Games Perfect for short trips. Are you waiting for your next class to start? Do you have another 10 minutes before lunch is over? Then you'll love these small, lightweight, no-compromise web games. Read More After completing a few tutorial missions, you'll be well on your way to making your life in the city anything you want it to be.
Unlike the other games on this list that you can start instantly, you'll need to create a free account to play Torn. However, it only takes a moment. While it offers a much more robust interface than other text-based games, Torn is still an enjoyable text experience.
Play Now: Torn
Two Sites You Should Visit:Additional Interactive Fiction Games 5 Great Interactive Fiction Games You Can Play Online Right Now 5 Great Interactive Fiction Games You Can Play Online Right Now Are you interested in the genre of adventure based games? in text? Do you want to try playing a text-based game? Here are several that you can find online right now. Read More You'll find plenty of games to try here in a variety of genres.
If you're a newcomer to this type of game, check out this introductory cheat sheet created by the interactive fiction community. It details the most common commands available in these games.
If you're ever not sure what to do, try entering about when the game starts by basic instructions Most games also have a help Command that will provide more information..
Interactive fiction combines the player's choice of a video game with the great storytelling of books and movies. If you don't like all the action of modern games, this is a great genre to try. The upside is that most text-based games don't cost anything to play.
And if playing these games has inspired you, take a look at the best tools to create your own adventure games with text 3 Tools to create your own adventure games with text 3 Tools to create your own adventure games with text Do you want to try create your own text adventure game? This is your chance! These three tools will help you create your own complex and playable story. Read more.
