Planetfall

Floyd. That single word was enough for Planetfall to etch itself into the memory of everyone who played it back in the eighties. When this robotic companion stops responding, a chill will linger with you for a long time. But that comes only at the end. Planetfall is a text adventure from Infocom released in 1983 that gives you little time for sentimentality — first, it hooks you good and proper.

You start as a simple sailor who wakes up in a lifeboat landing on an unknown planet. The goal is straightforward: survive, explore, find your way home. Around you are ruins of an ancient civilization, robotic sentries, and mysteries that gradually coalesce into a cohesive plot about weapons of mass destruction and cursed things best left forgotten. Infocom text adventures meant the best of what existed in the genre at that time — not just letters on a screen, but dramaturgy, wit, and surprise.

You play the way adventures from that era always did: you type a command in natural language (take backpack, go north, talk to Floyd), the game responds. It's not about reflexes, it's about logic, foresight, and often trial and error. Infocom had a reputation for making games that toyed with the player — Planetfall isn't quite that devious, but it's not accessible to someone who won't think things through. An inventory exists, your backpack's limited space constrains you, and items have their purpose. Visiting a certain location without the right equipment can send you straight to the grave.

Planetfall's genius lies in how it gradually wins you over. The first fifteen minutes are rather dull — you wander the wasteland, collect things, get used to the interface. Then the plot suddenly anchors itself to everything else. Floyd becomes more than just an NPC you give commands to — he's a character you trust and care about. And when you learn why he can't go on, or rather what choice he has to make, the game sends ice down your spine. It has weight. It's not just pixels.

Sure, it's aged, that's a fact. Controlling through text commands requires patience most modern players don't have. Graphics are zero, sound the same. But Planetfall shows firsthand what makes an adventure a true adventure — structure, a character you care about, and a story that doesn't end happily in the way you'd expect. You can play it online in your browser through interpreters for old text adventures. If you're curious what the genre looked like in its literary heyday, it'll be worth your time.