Temple of Apshai is considered one of the first graphical role-playing games for home computers,[1] predating even the commercial release of Richard Garriott's Akalabeth: World of Doom.

[3] In the Dunjonmaster program, the screen is divided into a birds-eye view representation of the surroundings and a status summary for the character.

If the player doesn't make any input for a while, the enemies continue to move and attack in set intervals regardless.

[1] Detailed descriptions of all the rooms in the game's manual complement the sparse graphics and provide vital information.

Similarly, in Temple of Apshai the player matches an on-screen room number to its entry in the manual that accompanies the game.

One sample entry reads: "The aroma of vanilla makes the senses reel and the floor of the room is covered with the shiny stuff previously observed.

"[9] A vanilla scent is used in the game to suggests the presence of Antmen, the dominant monster type in the temple.

[5] Temple of Apshai was originally programmed by Jim Connelley, founder and president of Automated Simulations / Epyx Software, for TRS-80 and Commodore PET, using BASIC.

[15] The original release contained the program cassette and the manual in a plastic bag, an unusually professional packaging for the time.

[2] A port to Atari 8-bit computers was advertised by retailers from winter 1981,[17] while Epyx announced a version for IBM PC compatibles to be released in March 1982.

[18] Aric Wilmunder coded the Atari program, while Connelley himself is credited for the IBM PC version.

[22] in 1984, a Version was made for the Mac Classic under contract with Applied Computer Technology, Inc. located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[1] The level design and room descriptions for both were created by Tim Bird, Mark Madrid and Andrew Martin.

[25][26] Upper Reaches of Apshai contains four new dungeon levels for beginning characters, and conveys a more humorous tone[12] with suburban environments like a vegetable garden and enemies like killer tomatoes.

Gazette list of best-selling Commodore 64 Entertainment programs, generated from surveys with retailers and distributors.

[35][36] At the middle of June 1983, the wholesale software distributor Softsel International placed Temple of Apshai seventh in a list of best-selling computer games, compiled from sales to 4,000 retail outlets in 50 states and 30 countries.

[40] Kilobaud Microcomputing criticized the long load times, but liked the game's graphics and "excellent" documentation.

"[43] In 1991 and 1993 Computer Gaming World's Scorpia stated that the graphics "caused a sensation when it first appeared", but also criticized a lack of polish in the programming and slow speed due to the use of BASIC, issues which were improved upon in the Atari 8-bit version.