Unsurprisingly, it's pretty easy to play a game with no graphics on a variety of platforms.
Our 'How Can I Play It?' series lays out the best options for legitimately and legally playing the classic games we cover here at Retronauts, ideally on current platforms.
Nov 20, 2016. Return to Zork! Most of the early Zork games are now legendary amongst text adventure fans, standing alongside classics like Guild of Thieves, Lurking Horror and Planetfall.However, this addition to the franchise is more like a puzzle adventure in the vein of Myst and while this might be disappointing to some long term fans, there's no denying this is a fine experience. Return to zork was a classic adventure game very very close to myst, riven and others. It is also one of the first games to use live actors its also one of the few to ever do so.
Of all the games we've covered on recent podcasts, this week's Zork retrospective might actually be the easiest one to play along to. Infocom's original interactive text adventures have appeared on a ridiculous number of platforms through the years. Its accessibility comes down to a smart technical decision the series' creators made early on: Zork and other vintage Infocom games run in a sort of virtual engine, the Z-Machine. If you can get a Z-Machine running on a given system, you can basically load any Infocom game into it. This means it's pretty appealing for aspiring programmers to tinker with… and it also means that once you get Zork running, you can play a whole lot of other classics. Welcome down the rabbit hole.
The one drawback here is that technically, Zork isn't freeware. Creating a Z-Machine emulator or simulation is totally legal, but the code for individual games has never been released into the public domain. That said, the series' current owner, Activision, tends not to make a big deal about the game's distribution if there's no profit motive involved. That feels true to the series' origins as a collaborative, non-commercial project. It's always nice when corporate ownership doesn't completely smother the classic hacker mindset.
Zork in your browser
The great thing about Z-Machines is that, having been designed to run on computers running with single-digit kilobytes of RAM, it's no trouble at all for modern web browsers to run an interpreter in Flash or HTML 5 or whatever. A quick search for 'play Zork' on Google will turn up pages of websites where you can play seamlessly in the page and even save your progress between sessions. Personally, I recommend going to the Internet Archive (aka archive.org), simply because I'm a big believer in the sincere preservationist spirit behind the site. Also, the folks running the Internet Archive have gone to the trouble of getting a Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption for the games hosted there, which may be a technicality but nevertheless speaks to the goals and integrity of the venture.
You can find the Internet Archive's Zork page here.
Zork on personal computers
If you prefer playing offline, you have access to no end of Zork-friendly interpreters. Most of these are written to be multiplatform releases that support MS-DOS, Windows, Mac OS, various flavors of Unix, and sometimes even more esoteric or abandoned formats. You can find a massive list of these engines at the Interactive Fiction Archive.
Of all these interpreters, Frotz seems to have the best reputation. It's available for an absolutely ridiculous array of systems, though some platforms — such as Mac OS X — are woefully out of date and probably won't run on current versions of the operating system. For Mac users, Gargoyle comes highly recommended by IF literati.
Zork on mobile
Up until about three days ago, the best way to play Zork on iOS was with Lost Treasures of Infocom, a collection of nearly two dozen Z-machine games supported officially by Activision. Unfortunately, that support ended a while back, and the launch of the 64-bit-only iOS 11 this week means Lost Treasures is no longer officially supported — it's very likely mired forever in the 32-bit realm.
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Luckily, iOS users also have Frotz, which does support the new 64-bit operating system. There's a version for Android, too!
Zork on modern consoles
You don't have many options if you want to play Zork on a current console; Z-machines tend to be open source applications, and consoles are closed platforms. There is a way to play the original Zork on Xbox One, though: The Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops includes Zork as an Easter egg at an in-game computer terminal. And yeah, Black Ops is backward-compatible on Xbox One. That's a pretty arcane and convoluted way to play a 40-year-old text adventure, but what can ya do.
And while it's not a modern console, my personal favorite 'Why did they do that?' variant of Zork is the Infgmb intepreter. It runs on Game Boy. Finally, something worthwhile to do with that EverDrive GB of yours.
The later Zork games
If you're interested in playing later games in the Zork series, that's also pretty easy! GOG sells Windows-compatible versions of Zork Anthology (which we discussed in this episode), Return to Zork, Zork: Nemesis, and Zork: Grand Inquisitor.
Don't fret, non-Windows types. Several of these games run in ScummVM, so you should be able to buy the GOG releases and get them running in the open-source interpreter. ScummVM runs on a variety of platforms, including OS X, UNIX, and jailbroken 32-bit iPhones.
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Description of Return to ZorkRead Full Description
Infocom's first return to the famous Zork universe after a long hiatus is a funny adventure that retains much of the campy atmosphere that makes the original Zork trilogy a classic, but unfortunately falls victim to its own innovative adventure interface, unforgiving and illogical puzzles, and some very cheesy acting.
Okay, let's start with the good stuff. The plot is a typical treasure-hunting quest in the spirit of the original Zork trilogy, with a dash of some magic and evil woozle thrown in for good measure. While Infocom fans will mourn the passing of Infocom's legendary parser, RtZ tries to ease the pain by introducing an innovative point-and-click interface that allows a much wider of actions than other graphical adventures. Clicking on an object brings up a menu of possible actions you can perform with that object, and clicking the object on another usually brings up even more actions. The conversation interface is also innovative: every time you talk to a character, you can select the mood you want in order to set the tone and direction of your speech. Feel like some weenie is hiding something from you? Change to 'angry' mode, and you'll intimidate him to submission. You can also ask people about any object in your inventory, or any photo you have taken. Sometimes doing so is the only way to obtain the much-needed clues for puzzles. Acting is downright horrible, canned, and cheesy, but at least you won't find too much of that in this floppy version, and all the characters and the overall atmosphere are in keeping with Zork's wacky, easy-going fantasy mythos. Although longtime fans will be disappointed at the absence of creative spells in the game, the sight of that famous white house is sure to elicit a chuckle or two and a warm feeling of nostalgia. Unfortunately, for all its designers' efforts to make RtZ a game worthy of the Zork name, all its good points crumble under the weight of the game's worst weakness: ruthlessly unforgiving puzzles. They are not just bad-- they are so illogical and obscure that sometimes you'll be solving a puzzle correctly without knowing why that particular solution works... even with a walkthrough in hand. One example of the game's puzzles will help illustrate my point: at the beginning of the game, you come across a curious plant ('it's a bonding plant,' is all the game will tell you). Using the delightfully versatile interface, you can either dig it up, cut it with a knife, or pull it up. If you don't use the 'right' way, the plant will die, but you can still carry it around. Now, woe be the time when you finally realize after progressing through half the game, that you actually need a live plant to solve one puzzle. There is no way to revive your plant, although there is a way to get a new one... the clue to which is hidden quite well. That's the problem with the game in general: clues are scattered in the most unlikely places, including minute references in the Encyclopedia Frobozzica, a thick fan-made book about Zorkian mythos included free with the game. Suffice it to say that anyone who's been spoiled by LucasArts' excellent cannot-get-stuck-or-die game design (and that's most of us) will likely get very frustrated playing RtZ.I must admit, however, that I had a lot of fun with RtZ even while I grumbled at its idiosyncracies... and that's probably a sign of how much I truly care about the game (and Zork in general). Despite all my nitpicking and grumbling, Return to Zork is a definite must-play for all adventurers, although they should brace themselves for some ruthlessly illogical and impossible puzzles. While not the best in the series, the game definitely succeeds in bringing the Zork universe to life, with the appropriate sense of silly humor that we all know and love. The game's many innovations and wacky plotline are enough to glue everyone to the screen until the very end. Just think of it this way: you know you're really going to miss Boo's incessant 'Want some rye? 'Course you do' after your adventure is over [EG]. Remember: save often-- save VERY often. *
Note: To get the full breadth of how horrible the acting is in RtZ, try to find the CD-ROM version which features laughable digitized actors :) The game has two superior sequels, Zork: Nemesis and Zork: The Grand Inquisitor, the latter of which is one of the best and most faithful Zorkian games.
Review By HOTUD
External linksCaptures and SnapshotsComments and reviews
dj2017-10-160 point
I can't install it. Says this version is not compatible. Any help? I love this game.
Steve E2016-12-151 point Mac version
I've enjoyed playing the GOG version of RTZ on my Windows 10 PC, and the floppy version online at 'Play DOS games online'. But if I want to play the Mac version downloaded from here, it looks like I'm doomed. I have an El Capitan Mac. Scumm doesn't recognize this Mac download at all. Then I tried Sheepshaver. RTZ will start, but then Sheepshaver asks for the Return to Zork CD, which Sheepshaver can't read. Then Sheepshaver asks for MPGS, which are there, but also unrecognizable. After a few moves, RTZ freezes up and I must force-quit Sheepshaver. Then I tried Basilisk II. RTZ is even less compatible with Basilisk. I get all kinds of fatal errors. There must be some way to play this Mac download, otherwise, would it be posted here? The Mac version has some nuances that are absent in both DOS versions. I don't need Boxer, since I have a PC. Is the only way to play the Mac version to find some vintage Mac computer from 1994?
Brian2015-11-141 point DOS version
I got to the end of this and was one items short for the ending challenge (you know what I'm referring to. And I never finished. Time to get my kids playing it to beat it for me.
Phoenix2015-08-302 points
Pure brilliance !! I have been hanging on playing this since I played it when it was first released, I forgot the name so I hunted down clues until I found the title & then to be able to find it & play it through dosbox is a dream come true......Nothing beats nostalgia I salute thee :)
york2015-07-012 points DOS version
my brothers and i used to play this when we were young.fucking awesome. so happy to play this again.
greg2015-02-281 point DOS version
videos seem to be missing or any way not playing
Chip2015-01-180 point DOS version
ive played the first one many years ago
Dwardartex2014-11-160 point DOS version
You know it's a great old dos game when the manual is larger than the actual game.
Thkaal2014-08-271 point DOS version
Return To Zork Download
Here's ta us.
Who's like us? Damn few. And they're aaaaaaaaaaall dead.
CDM2014-02-191 point DOS version
I wrote a walkthrough for this game way back...I published it on the Compuserve thing that was pre-WWW...loved this game. :)
apalbr2014-02-17-1 point DOS version
I cant install this game :-(
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Blondie2013-09-140 point DOS version
Thank you for the free download. I have the old floppy disks but am missing disk 5 & 9. Thought I was lost, but now the game is found. I even have the original ZORK ANTHOLOGY THE 5 ORIGINAL TEXT ADVENTURES book.
Tails2013-05-300 point DOS version
So happy to have found this game again, I loved loved loved it!
'Want some rye? Course ya do!'
Jack2013-04-120 point DOS version
me and my brother used to love this game. I can't wait until the 3 minute download completes and i can play it again!
Oscar2013-01-260 point DOS version
Great game! It works wonderfully.
Jake2012-11-100 point DOS version
One of my childhood games!! I used to play this with my best friend every weekend (even after finally being able to solve all the obscure puzzles and finish the game). Cool stuff.
Write a commentReturn To Zork Walkthrough
Share your gamer memories, give useful links or comment anything you'd like. This game is no longer abandonware, we won't put it back online.
Buy Return to Zork
Return to Zork is available for a small price on the following websites, and is no longer abandonware. GoG.com provides the best release and does not include DRM, please buy from them! You can read our online store guide .
Return To Zork GameGame Extras and Resources
Some of these file may not be included in the game stores. For Return to Zork, we have the following files:
Other Releases
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