I have a soft spot for text adventure games but good ones are hard to find. Fallen London is a beautifully written and highly atmospheric offering from Failbetter Games and, best of all, it's free to play.

The premise is that the city of London has been stolen and dragged underground where it now rests on the shores of subterranean sea, the Unterzee. Thirty years have passed and your character finds themselves in prison. The year is uncertain but it feels quite Dickensian.

From the beginning you choose what kind of man or woman you become, exploring the city, tackling challenges, and doing what you have to in order to survive. This kind of browser-based game is designed to be played whenever you have time so it’s easy to dip in and out of it.

Fallen London is proof that games don’t need special effects when they have talented writers to set the scene.

http://www.failbettergames.com/fallen-london/