Thanks to reader daebowolf for pointing out Privateer: Ascii Sector, a text console-based space combat/trading game:
What sets this game apart from most others is its ‘graphics’. Privateer: Ascii Sector uses only ASCII characters in 16 different colors to present its environments. This might take some getting used to for most players, but it also means that the game’s single designer and programmer can concentrate on gameplay instead of fancy graphics. Check out the screenshots to see how the game looks.
Download: [ asciisector.net ]