An ‘arcade’ style text game sounds absolutely terrible. There is a reason why computer games moved forward with saves and similiar ways to enable more people to get to something of an end as soon as the tech was available.
Here is the thing. If you get a game over early, why would you replay? In an arcade-style game it might be because the graphics were cool, you liked the gameplay, you wanted to beat the high score or you wanted bragging rights. In a text game of the CoG style, only the last would apply, and in order for it to do so, it would need to be popular enough that others played it. I suspect most people would not get past the demo, and if they did but died immediately afterwards, the reviews would be a killer.
One of the draws with an arcade game is that it’s not the END that’s the draw (most people won’t get it) but the journey. The gameplay. The zoning out and getting in the grove. You’re not going to get that in a text game, people will skim the text, get frustrated, and have to reread the same thing over and over again. It is one of the WORST formats available for emulating that kind of experience.
This brings me to achievements. THAT is how you do it in interactive fiction. Have hard, weird outcomes that only a few players will hunt for, but the majority that won’t care will still be able to have a fulfilling experience. I have people who have replayed FH so many times, hunting for the ideal outcome. Everyone can finish, but finish it the way you want it? That takes skill.