Best Text-Based RPGs Worth Playing in 2025

What Is a Text-Based RPG?

Games where story, combat, and interaction happen primarily through text rather than graphics. They range from classic MUDs (where you type commands like "go north" and "attack goblin") to modern browser games with minimal UI to AI-generated adventures where anything you type becomes part of the story.

What they share: your imagination does the heavy lifting. No loading screens. No hardware requirements. Just words, choices, and—in the best ones—communities that remember your name.

Text-based RPGs have been around since 1978 (MUD1 was the first), and they're not going anywhere. While graphics-heavy games require constant hardware upgrades, text games run forever. Some communities have been playing together for 30+ years.

Quick Comparison: Which Game Is Right for You?

Why I Wrote This Guide

I still remember the 3am raids.

Not because I wanted to be awake. Because the guild needed me. We had players in Australia, Europe, Asia, and the US—and when a major war kicked off, you didn't sleep. You coordinated on mIRC, waited for everyone to check in, and showed up.

I've played text-based RPGs for 15 years. When I tell you which games are worth playing, I'm not pulling from a Google search. I'm telling you about games I've actually lived in—the ones where I still remember player names from a decade ago.

What Makes a Text-Based RPG Worth Playing

Here's what matters to me after 15 years:

• Community: Are there players who sacrifice sleep because they won't let the team down?
• Stakes: Do your actions matter? When you attack someone, do they remember?
• Persistence: Does your progress build over months and years? Is there history?
• Memorable players: Can you name enemies and allies who left an impression?

My Top Picks: Games I've Played for Years

These are games where I have thousands of hours of experience and strong opinions.

The Reincarnation

The spiritual successor to Archmage, one of the original browser strategy games from 1998. The Reincarnation has been running since 2004. It runs on reset cycles—2 months for Lightning servers, 3 months for Blitz—where everyone starts fresh and wars for dominance.

Why I played it for 15 years

This is where I learned that browser games could change your life. I started as a newbie, watching from the outside. The guild I looked up to was OuT—Once Upon a Time. They weren't the biggest alliance. They were the most skilled.

Before OuT, winning was a numbers game. They proved you could win with talent.

I studied how they played. Analyzed their moves. Eventually, I joined them. And over time, I became one of the top players myself—by learning from people who were better than me.

Link: the-reincarnation.com — Completely free. Always has been.

Agonia

A fantasy faction warfare RPG with text-based combat and minimal graphics. Unlike guild-based games where you build your own group, Agonia is faction vs faction—you pick a side and fight for territory.

Why this is what I play now

After 15 years of The Reincarnation, I wasn't sure I'd find something that felt the same. Most games I tried were either dead, pay-to-win, or missing the thing that actually mattered—the community, the stakes, the persistence.

Then Detritus reached out. The same guy I'd fought against for years. The enemy who became an ally. He'd found something new and thought I'd like it. He was right.

I'm 500+ days in. I still set 3am alarms. Not because the game forces me to, but because my faction needs to move camp before the enemy finds us.

What makes Agonia different

• Faction-based warfare: You join an existing faction and fight for your side from day one.
• No pay-to-win: This is a passion project built by RPG veterans.
• Smaller community = higher stakes: People know your name. Your reputation matters.
• Active development: The devs are responsive and the game is still evolving.

Link: Join Agonia (referral link) — This is where I am now.

Torn

The biggest text-based RPG still running. Torn launched in 2004 and has roughly 15,000 daily active players. It's crime-themed—think mafia life, underground economy, faction warfare in a gritty city setting.

My honest take as a newcomer

I'm new here. After 15 years in fantasy warfare, I'm exploring the crime world. So I won't pretend I have the same depth of experience with Torn that I have with The Reincarnation or Agonia. But I can tell you what stands out from fresh eyes.

The depth is real. Torn isn't a simple idle game. There are crimes to commit, gyms to train in, companies to run, factions to join, territories to control, and a fully player-driven economy.

The community is massive. 15,000 daily players means there's always something happening.

Link: Join Torn (referral link)

Other Strong Options

AI-Powered Text Games

The biggest development in text-based gaming since MUDs. AI text games generate stories dynamically based on your input—no pre-written scripts, infinite possibilities.

AI Dungeon — The pioneer. Uses large language models to generate adventures on the fly.
Novel AI — More polished writing quality, subscription-based.

Narrative and Story-Driven Games

Choice of Games — A massive library of interactive fiction spanning every genre. Highly recommended: Choice of Robots, Fallen Hero, The Wayhaven Chronicles.

Fallen London — Dark Victorian fantasy with exceptional writing. The worldbuilding is genuinely outstanding.

Classic MUDs

For purists who want pure text, deep roleplay, and communities running for decades.

Aardwolf — Combat and exploration focused. Completely free with no pay-to-win.
Achaea — Deep lore and political systems. Heavily roleplay-focused.

Humor and Casual

Kingdom of Loathing — A cult classic running since 2003. Stick-figure art, pun-based humor, surprisingly deep mechanics. Completely free.

The Names I'll Never Forget

The real test of a game isn't its features—it's whether you remember players years later.

Honored to have played alongside: Antioch. Raistlin. FrozenWombat. RedRuin. Tjinn. Rider.

Formidable foes: Wartree. Detritus. Shiraha. Trojan. Ariakas.

If you're reading this and you recognize your name—yeah, I still remember.

What You're Actually Searching For

If you've read this far, you're not looking for a feature list. You're searching for a feeling.

Maybe it's the 3am raids where everyone shows up even though nobody has to. Maybe it's enemies whose names you still remember years later—and who might become your closest allies. Maybe it's just a good story you can lose yourself in for an hour.

I spent 15 years chasing that feeling. I found it in The Reincarnation. I lost it for a while. And then I found it again in Agonia.

Wherever you look—I hope you find what you're searching for.