Planetfall

Planetfall from 1983 is one of Infocom's most beloved text adventures, and on the Commodore 64 it offered players a well-crafted sci-fi story combined with unusually emotional storytelling for its time. Playing a rank-and-file, rather lazy member of the space patrol, the player is stranded on an abandoned planet and must gradually uncover what happened to its once-advanced civilization, with the key companion along the way being the little robot Floyd — one of the most memorable digital characters of its era, playful, loyal, and, later in the game, tragically important to the story's emotional climax.

The gameplay relies on the traditional Infocom text parser, exploring a vast abandoned science base, solving time-sensitive puzzles, and cooperating with Floyd, who helps the player with tasks and comments on events with his own, often comic remarks that lighten the mood. The game deftly alternates lighthearted humor with more serious, melancholy tones, going further than most adventures of the time, which focused purely on puzzle logic without any deeper emotional dimension. On the C64 the game ran smoothly, since like other Infocom titles it didn't depend on graphical power, only on the text engine, the Z-machine, shared across all platforms.

Planetfall was highly praised at release for an originality and emotional depth unusual in the genre of purely text-based games up to that point, and it's still cited today as an example that even a game without a single picture can evoke a powerful emotional experience comparable to literature or film. Its influence on later storytelling in game adventures is undeniable and still cited today, whether in the combination of humor with more serious themes or in the figure of a companion who not only helps the player but also builds an emotional bond with them. Today's player will mainly appreciate the story and the character of Floyd, though the period parser demands considerable patience and a decent command of English to bring out all the nuances of the storytelling.

Why play it: For players who appreciate a strong story and emotional depth even without a single picture, Planetfall, thanks to the character of Floyd, remains one of the genre's most moving experiences — though it demands English and patience with the parser.