PCGame

Best Text-Based games on PC

Text-based games rely heavily on written dialogue, descriptions, and menus to present stories and interactions, often using choices, investigations, or branching narratives.

  • Reading-driven interaction
  • Frequent dialogue and descriptions
  • Story-focused progression

Related: Interactive Fiction, Visual Novel, Choices Matter, Story Rich

229 games on PC, with requirements, reviews and prices.

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD
Psychological visual novel about managing a troubled online streamer
94% positive 58K reviews
Firework
Chinese horror mystery told through exploration and puzzles
98% positive 44K reviews
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
Short psychological horror visual novel about a difficult milk run
96% positive 34K reviews
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
Psychological horror visual novel that twists school romance conventions
97% positive 32K reviews
Emily is Away
Retro chat-based interactive fiction about a relationship over five years
89% positive Free
Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk
Psychological horror visual novel shaped by a girl's distorted perception
97% positive 22K reviews
Murders on the Yangtze River
Side-scrolling detective adventure solving murders in early twentieth-century China
97% positive 21K reviews
60 Seconds! Reatomized
Post-apocalyptic survival strategy built on scavenging and hard choices
94% positive 20K reviews
A Date with Death
Supernatural dating sim about bargaining with the Grim Reaper
98% positive Free
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
Text-based narrative RPG where choices shape a commoner's entire life
88% positive 13K reviews
Suzerain
Text-based political RPG where presidential choices reshape a nation
92% positive 12K reviews
60 Seconds!
Survival strategy with a timed scramble before nuclear fallout
85% positive 12K reviews
No Case Should Remain Unsolved
Text-based detective puzzle about reconstructing a missing girl's case
96% positive 11K reviews
Citizen Sleeper
Dice-driven narrative RPG about surviving on a ruined space station
92% positive 11K reviews
Aliya: Timelink
Text-based sci-fi visual novel with timed messages and multiple endings
98% positive 9,671 reviews
The Farmer Was Replaced
Farming automation game where Python-like code runs a drone
96% positive 9,534 reviews
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Historical detective visual novel with investigations and courtroom battles
94% positive 9,522 reviews
Homicipher
Point-and-click horror adventure built around deciphering monsters' language
97% positive 8,327 reviews
PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Supernatural horror visual novel about investigating deadly urban legends
95% positive 7,278 reviews
Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Simâ„¢
Choice-driven dating sim about romancing killers on a strange island
90% positive 6,815 reviews
Urban Myth Dissolution Center
Linear visual novel about investigating paranormal urban legends
88% positive 6,319 reviews
Emily is Away Too
Choice-driven chat sim about senior-year friendships and relationships
93% positive 6,244 reviews
Katawa Shoujo
Choice-driven romance visual novel with five character-focused story paths
98% positive Free
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
Multiplayer dating sim about romancing monsters at summer camp
96% positive 6,140 reviews