Zork: The Great Underground Empire

Also known as: Zork I

Developer: Infocom

Zork: The Great Underground Empire was a game that was not going to let graphical and storage limitations of software and hardware of the time prevent the player from experiencing a fantastic adventure, filled with exploration and figuring out where to go and what to do via trial and error. The catch? This game is entirely text-based, so the visuals of the game are basically what your imagination is capable of coming up with as you read your way through this adventure. As you navigate through each area Zork, you'll get a description of each place that you enter, with paths to take, items to investigate, and people/creatures to encounter. You use commands to do everything…like TAKE GARLIC or STAB THIEF. The beauty of the game, though, is that the developers had a sense of humor and assumed that some of the folks playing this game would have one as well. If you decided that you just wanted to goof around, you can type in other stuff like ATTACK HOUSE or SCREAM and see the amusing results. They key to survival in Zork is to limit your inventory (because you can only carry so much) and always make note of where you came from and what was in each location - like drawing yourself a handy little map…which is especially useful when navigating mazes within the game. Zork also has a save feature, so you're not stuck trying to complete this whole game in a single sitting…you can play a bit, save, and come back later. In terms of text-based adventures, Zork is the best one that I've played…like a good book, it manages to ooze personality and allows you visualize what's happening without having any pictures present. If a text-based adventure sounds like something that you may enjoy, then give this game a try. It's still entertaining to navigate through 45 years later.

Review added: 12/10/2025