Timeline of Games

Here is a timeline and summary of the games I have experienced as part of this blog. Items that I have not written about but would like to give a gut recommendation have a rating but are not a link to a post.

Just as in the modern era, games were often repackaged, ported and remade over several years. While I may not be playing the very original version of a given game, I will always try to include the original release within the timeline for comparison.

Items with ongoing publications, live service games and things that may have been available and updated for an extended period of time will be found under their original launch date with an end year for clarification.

Key:

👍👍👍 - Fantastic. A perfect example of the genre. Highly recommended.
👍👍 - Great. A solid example of the genre. Definitely worth playing.
👍 - Good. Worth playing, but perhaps not for full price.
🆗 - Average. Meh. Only worth playing by fans of the genre.
👎 - Not great. Either disappointing in some way, or compares unfavourably to similar games.
👎👎 - Bad. Not worth playing.
👎👎👎 - Awful. Either completely broken or just terrible. Avoid.

🌍 - Particularly good exploration or mapping.
💰 - Compelling loot. Items or equipment were interesting.
📚 - I really enjoyed the story.
🔧 - Very satisfying game mechanics.
🎶 - Great music.

Timeline


1974

Dungeons and Dragons is released.

1975

  • pedit5 (👎)
     Quite possibly the earliest example of a CRPG created during the initial Dungeons & Dragons frenzy.
     [🇺🇸, PLATO Mainframe, CRPG] (est. late 1975)

1977

Home computer industry truly starts in the US.
  • to 1979 (Mainframe) Zork (see 1980, Zork I: The Great Underground Empire)
     The legendary text adventure that grew almost organically at MIT.
     [🇺🇸, PDP-10, Interactive Fiction]

1978

  • Adventureland (🆗)
     The first of the Scott Adams Adventure games. A small, whimsical text adventure.
     [🇺🇸, PC, Interactive Fiction] (est. v. late 1978 as first advertised in Jan 1979 SoftSide)

1979

  • Pirate Adventure (🆗)
     Adventure #2, similar to Adventureland but a little more focused.
     [🇺🇸, PC, Interactive Fiction] (est. Feb 1979 - Softside)
  • Dog Star Adventure (upcoming)
     A one-off sci-fi text adventure by one of the most prolific programmers for the TRS-80, Lance Micklus.
     [🇺🇸, PC, Interactive Fiction] (est. April 1979 - SoftSide)
  • Secret Mission (prev. Impossible Mission) (👍)
     Adventure #3 arrives with a stronger narrative and clearer vision than the previous two.
     [🇺🇸, PC, Interactive Fiction] (est. May 1979 - SoftSide)
  • Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai (see 1985, Temple of Apshai Trilogy) [🇺🇸, PC, CRPG]
  • #4 Voodoo Castle [🇺🇸, PC, Interactive Fiction] (upcoming)

1980

  • Akalabeth [🇺🇸, PC, CRPG] (in progress)

1981


1982


1985


1986

  • Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior) (👍)
     The godfather of JRPGs; A trimming down of CRPG conventions for the home console market.
     [🇯🇵, NES, JRPG] (May 27th, 1986)

1987

  • Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line (or Dragon Warrior II) (in progress)
     A sequel that builds on the original just eight months later. Bigger in every way.
     [🇯🇵, NES, JRPG] (January 26th, 1987)

2002

  • Neverwinter Nights (The Engine: 👍👍; The Wailing Death: 🆗)
     A great engine for 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons with a comprehensive scenario editor.
     [🇺🇸, PC, CRPG] (June 18th, 2002)

2023

  • Final Fantasy XVI (🆗)
     I'm not really sure what a Final Fantasy game is anymore.
     [🇯🇵, Multiple Platforms, JRPG] (June 22nd, 2023)

2024

  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (👍👍)
     The second turn-based JRPG following Ichiban's struggles in the Yakuza universe.
     [🇯🇵, Multiple Platforms, JRPG] (January 26th, 2024)

2025

  • Avowed (👍)
     An action RPG set in the same world as Pillars of Eternity.
     [🇺🇸, Multiple Platforms, CRPG] (February 18th, 2025)
  • Assassin's Creed Shadows (👎)
     More of the same old same old. Very pretty though!
     [🇺🇸, Multiple Platforms, RPGish] (March 20th, 2025)
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (👍👍👍 - 📚,🎶)
     An astounding turn-based roleplaying game from the mind of an Ubisoft alumnus.
     [🇫🇷, Multiple Platforms, JRPG (genres are hard!)] (April 24th, 2025)
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