I suppose part of that is that the replay value might not be high; without something to change the flow, such as areas you could get away with ignoring, puzzles

I suppose part of that is that the replay value might not be high; without something to change the flow, such as areas you could get away with ignoring, puzzles with more than one solution, or even much optimization available necessarily when you're simply trying to succeed. Maybe there might be some pieces in the text you'll appreciate more since it's been some time, but it isn't the sole focus of the activity. I was a bit younger than you at the time I tried the HHGTG text adventure, and only managed the Babel fish via meeting someone older who had beaten it... though my mistake was not realizing I actually needed EVERYTHING (as a kid, why grab the junk mail?), and also needed to disrobe. At least, having read the book, I knew I needed to lie down in front of the bulldozer.