Dwarf Fortress

I have thousands of hours in the earlier free to download non-steam versions of this game.

Played it to death and have moved on, but wanted to buy it here to support the Dev.
The dude has been working on this game since before I was born, and it shows.

Arguably one of the *best* games of all time. The level of detail in terms of simulation is absolutely unbelievable and breathtakingly impressive. Tarn Adams, the creator said it would take at *least* 20 years to reach version 1.0 He said that in 2011. We're only halfwayish now, so this game has a very long and bright future ahead of it.

I don't understand this game and I think I'm playing it wrong. The last 5 hours I've been closing notifications about travellers who want to move in so they can entertain the local people. I've just been expanding the fort and nothing interesting seems to be happening.

The highlight so far was when I accidentally killed a dwarf by digging too close to water. Then built a memorial for him so he doesn't haunt anybody. Haven't built another memorial since because it's just annoying having to repeatedly do the same stuff over and over again and also I'm interested to see if something happens when people get haunted. In the beginning there was a text "Remember, losing is fun" and I thought "hell no" but at this point I can't wait for everybody to just die so we can finally get some action.

I got sucked into the idea of a complex simulation but it has been very hard to get anything out of it so far. If there is something complex happening in the background the game does a terrible job at letting you know about it.

Urist favors Dwarf Fortress for its unpredictability, and freedom.
Urist felt euphoric after playing.

Very, very addictive. Google is your best friend, by the way.

Amazing game that just needs imagination to be fun.

Quick rundown of an adventure mode world of mine.

Play as a ton of characters. Die. I wonder why. I check the wiki? Combat apparently is pretty complex!
Turns out all of my attacks I've been attempting were not taking advantage of how my opponent was moving during combat from their motion after they've swung.

I learned to take advantage of dodging my enemy's attacks and diving under their attacks to get a wide opening on their side.

Slicing arms left and right. Grabbing people and throwing them down and learning how to fight 2 enemies at once.

Soon enough I meet my match. Turns out that having an arm missing doesn't stop you from being a bonafied FREAK OF NATURE.

Initiate throat grab. Pin to ground. Initiate scene from Invincible with Conquest as I strangle my opponent and whisper in their ear about how I loved increasing my skills in combat when fighting them and telling them how I've killed countless others.

Watch the light fade from their eyes before my vision goes blurry and I die on top of them.

... CUT TO THE NEXT ADVENTURER

I'm suddenly singing and dancing in a tavern and learning about a ton of history between folk before a very interesting event happens. Everyones drinking and happy and singing along to the songs and stories I share;
Suddenly, before I realized the BARON of all people walks into the tavern and orders a drink and overhears me playing. Suddenly he's TALKING to me and I ask him how his day was and he said it was miserable; But as I kept talking to him I suddenly cheer him up!

Some time passes and suddenly I find myself walking with him back to the keep and engaging with him in a deep conversation about the morality of a necromancers action; The history of the land and the people that inhabited it. He had a few choice words to use when talking about some of his subordinates yet... Despite all of that?

It was probably one of the most emergent interactions I've had in a video game.



Yes. Im glazing over a lot of problems this game has. No. I would not reccommend the game purely for its mechanical interactions. Instead I would reccommend it only for the story that you can make happen from its vast features.

This is a pure story generator that has a LOT of potential. I have been incredibly hyped in wait for the new planned features they want to implement into the game and at the pace the Steam Release has been going has me VERY VERY Intrigued.

Played 6 hours in one day. I want to take a week off from work to go on a dwarf bender.
The vibes and music caught me off guard. I sat at the menu screen for a while just soaking up the experience.

The littlest guys create the biggest stories. Emergent gameplay and story telling at its finest. An endless trove of world building and lore comes from so many systems interacting together. It's all "organic". The gameplay has always been known as notoriously complex and difficult, but the game only gets as complex as the player wants it to be. You can make it through most situations fine just by constructing smartly.

Give it a shot!

Great game. Absolute classic. So much depth, so many experiences to be had.

The game has too many bugs. Dwarves will get stuck in loops trying to equip items. The attack target button stops working for military squads so mad dwarves pile up and destroy the fortress. And more. Reportedly, these bugs have been existing for years, before the game was put up for sale on steam.

>decide to play adventure mode
>choose 'ordinary', be a sheep farmer
>walk around for a bit, visit a couple towns
>notice I cant walk onto a well to grab the bucket to drink out of it
>idea.jpeg
>jump ONTO the well
>end up falling into it
>starve to death because no one bothered to visit or check on the well

10/10 game, bravo Tarn Adams.

I've been feeding naughty children and stray animals to a great pit I've discovered deep underground. We worship the pit. The pit consumes. The pit protects.

Okay so imagine Minecraft but significantly more hostile but you get sims to play it for you and if any aspect of their life is not to their satisfaction and remains so too long they will go insane and either commit suicide or murder.
Imagine a similar experience to Kerbal space program, but less intuitive and with a wider base of knowledge needed.
As your community gets bigger/wealthier/better more difficult problems arrive, often so suddenly that all life in your fortress ends and so you re-start or build another another trying to address the new problem before it occurs. For the first 200 hours I found the game annoying but I was obsessed, after that it was basically pure fun.
The creators are visionaries in my opinion, it seems like they made the game for themselves rather than you or me, almost all the information on how to play it is from the community and pretty much every update makes it harder in some way.
It's excellent.

I just love this game and its developers. Thank you for all the fun times.

Expect taking a while to understand the controls.
Expect barely acceptable graphics.
Expect learning new things each run.
Expect needing to read the wiki or use the internet to understand esoteric game mechanics.
Expect at least a couple permanently grouchy dwarves
Expect the occasional baffling issue which you are certain is a game bug until you realize your own incompetence.
Expect the very occasional game bugs.
Expect fps drops on larger forts.
Expect taking pride of your dwarves as you finally get a fort growing
Expect having a lot of fun.

Fantastic simulator. Would recommend to basically none of my friends.

Yes, the legendary Dwarf Fortress is absolutely worth playing. The depth of mechanics here is insane. Check out the streamer Blind on Twitch or Youtube if you're struggling.

This game is not for everyone. It has a learning curve of a brick wall in some ways. I would recommend that you look at some videos of people playing it and see if you like the idea of playing it.

That all said, this is an amazing simulation game with so much character. I played it when it was just ASCII characters and it is so much more accessible now. I highly recommend this game to anyone that likes simulation games.

This is a game. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is decorated with sweat and it menaces with FUN spikes of molten rock.
On the game there is a clear glass image of 42woz42. 42woz42 is crying.
The image represents the average experience of 42woz42 with this game.

10/10 would suggest.

Here is my review well after 2k hours:

Pro’s:
- It is a deep, fun and immersive game to which there are no comparison. Truly!
- The kind of projects you want to start is up to your imagination. Like creating a deep pit with bridges over, and when a
siege happens you pull in the bridges and hundreds of enemies fall down into a drowning pit with steel spikes
on the bottom… Or you could use magma. Or even fill the pits with captured wild animals, or undeads, or maybe a
ancient forgotten beast?
- The community is helpful and the devs are doing a good job listening to wants and needs.
- It is a game that is still in development, and prob will be for decades to come.
- It is a bit of a myth that the game has a steep learningcurve, one could just play it and dig here and there, creating a
farmplot etc. But if you want perfection and optimal forts from the start it becomes steep, im still learning after 2.3k
hours in the game.
- The Adventurer Mode is truly exiting, as it is deadly! I made a huge fort with great riches, twinked up my adventurer
that was living in the fort and went out into the world! Only to get ambushed by 15 bandits who had been shadowing
me from the start as I was carrying around great wealth.

Con’s:
- Big parts of both the fort-mode and Adv-mode is still a mess and clunky to the point of breaking the game.
- Many bugs and badly working coding takes forever to be fixed.
- The in-game languages is a cool concept, but it makes diplomacy, the search for items\artefacts, NPC’s, quest
location’s and not to mention the Justice system a real pain.
- Infravision\Darkvision is a cool and viable concept, but it makes adventuring with a race without Infravision a disaster.
Since all the caves, dark fortresses, Dwarven holds, all the cavern-layers etc etc is dark places you are practically blind
and easy pickings just for one goblin with a bow. This removes huge parts of the game and areas where one would
want to go and explore. It could be fixed\offset with something as easy as carrying a torch in one hand.
- In Adv-mode hardly any skill have been implemented, which makes it feel kinda hollow and cheesy at times. Your
companion or pet\mount gets heavily injured, guts falling out and spinal cords cut. But press the Fast Travel-key and
move a bit on the world map and they are fiiine. All wounds healed.
It would be SO much better and immersive having a couple doctor-skills implemented, like suturing and bone-setting.

Lastly I want to say that this is a game I truly love, but has developed into a love\hate relationship. And considering that the dev’s are fiddling around with alternative realities, pocket planes, enemies having siege options like digging down etc, colours on pebbles, magical abilities and items, when the foundation and framework of the whole game is half-glued together, at least certain parts, it kinda bumms me out. Hope they can and will focus more on the things already in the game that “kinda” work, or work not at all instead of adding more content.

But again, thank you Devs, and Tarn, for making this game a reality. I still play it, and I will probably continue to do so after another one of my breakup fases with the game. God, it’s like that ex you never manage to get away from... The sex is amazing, but you feel sullied!

This game has the controls of a 747, but at least they give you the manual.

Its gameplay, however, contains vast untold stories. Heroes and devils, kings and kingslayers.

"Deep simulation", or the generation of a persistent world, makes for a wildly engrossing atmosphere of realism.

Raise a mug, and strike the earth!

I built a drawbridge for my fort to keep invaders out, and I happened to close it while showing it off to a friend. This happened in year 62 or so. Flash forward to 6 years later in 68 when I'm inspecting the engravings my high master engraver left upon the king's royal chambers. On one wall, he wrote "In the year 62, Urist was squished in the drawbridge. Urist is cringing." This event is eternally recorded within the walls of Whiskyhome the Joyous Land of Swine, and I wasn't even aware it had happened until reading the walls. I can't think of any other colony sim, let alone game, that can top what this game can offer. I've only scratched the surface and every time I play it there's something new I figure out. 10/10 must play

This game is a second job.

The dwarf suck your life away.

They are stupid and grumpy.

10/10

This is the most fun I've had playing a video game in a long, long time. Playing successive fortresses on the same world and watching it change with time and the process of growing attached to the world is like nothing I've ever really experienced in a video game before. Add to that the ability to also play as an adventurer in this world, which is unique to my game and has been changed by my actions, and this a completely unique experience. Sometimes I just boot up Legends mode and read about the world. I could go on for hours about it.

It's hard to learn, absolutely. More complicated that RimWorld and the UI seems frustrating on purpose when you first start. But the investment is worth it.

For many years, Adams has been developing and distributing this incredibly complex game for free. I don't know any game that can match this game in complexity. This man has poured so much time and effort into this bad baby, you have to respect him. This game is as close to perfect as we can get. If the Adams boy gave up on it tomorrow, there's already enough content to keep you in your basement-dwelling for years.

Thank you, father.

This game is great. I got it then didn't play it for maybe a year. I Came back to it last year and have been playing off and on since. Its a great title to say you have played. Its a great logistical challenge and a great deal of fun once you learn the ropes. In the words of BlindIRL "This spiders-web of a game". great deal of fun and i would say it worth the money. I Highly recommend the add on "DFHack" for great QOL that the base game doesn't offer. There is also workshop support but i prefer un-modded as I prefer the vanilla feel. Would reccomend.

As an amateur, getting the hang of things fast can be a hard ask, even after completing the tutorial. You might find yourself needing to visit other sites like YouTube or Reddit to figure out how things work, as the menus (and subsequent submenus) initially feel like Photoshop with their vast array of options, and finding out the different ways objects can interact with each other is a lengthy task.

However, once you are past that barrier, the game, along with its OST, will surely charm you and become addicting really, REALLY fast.

Waited 3 years and adventure mode still has a lot of issues, and one of it's feature (build mode) still literally isn't even implemented yet.

I'm disappointed to say the least.

Incredibly fun game, makes me feel like I'm playing Minecraft for the first time again.

I played for 100s of hours in high school and university, and i can finally pay for it.

This game is unbelievable . Genius,, most depth, difficult and unparalleled.

the best game ive probably ever played or will. not always my favorite like i absloutly love dread hunger amd fallout nv but those are their own thing while the replaytability is amamzing. losing is fun!

I tried REALLY HARD to like this game. It's heralded and beloved by many.

The bar to entry is SO INCREDIBLY HIGH. Each process, at each station, under each tab will require a google search. Once you learn a few systems, you still be searching google for some of the other systems.

I think if you need outside resources to play a game, it simply doesn't want you to play it.

Get ready to watch a lot of youtube tutorials on how to build more complex things and solve emergent challenges that will arise as you play. I love the complexity of the game but it is a lot to take on.

Don't expect to master it in any reasonable amount of time. It's something you may play one week or for months, leave, then come back to years down the road. It's that good.

There's also Adventure Mode included now, which I know was widely anticipated. I haven't tried it though, I only played the Colony Sim original version.

Definitely worth it at full price.

I'm addicted! Your game is too good—I can literally sit here and play it for 10+ hours straight and never get bored. Damn, fine job! this game is a 10/10

If you ever wondered what games would look like if they ditched graphic fidelity and focused purely on systems, this game is for you

J'y avais joué il y a une quinzaine d'année et c'est avec plaisir que je l'achète enfin.
Par contre je n'ai plus de vie sociale, mais ça je le savais.

Ce jeu est d'une telle profondeur qu'un commentaire ne saurait lui faire honneur.
Vous aimez la gestion et le challenges, mais par dessus tout CREUSER ?
Ce jeu est fait pour vous.

Mon premier, et probablement dernier, commentaire sur steam.

What can I say that hasn't already been said a thousand times about the game? It's unlike any other, a whole simulated world.

The world marches on around you as you build your settlement. Heroes, legendary beasts, and leaders of civilizations all live, fight, explore, and die as the in-game years go by, regardless of whether or not you ever check or find out.

It was a little messy on launch, but after several major updates its better than ever. To get the most out of this game, you'll need imagination and an openness for learning mechanics, of which there are a seemingly endless list of. However, the game is not as incredibly difficult as its made out to be, as its pretty simple to just shut yourself off from everything by going underground to build wealth and power.

It's something that needs to be experienced to be fully understood, and I think it's amazing. If you like simulation/management games or lore, this is unquestionably something you'll want to try.

This game is pretty cool, but it is equally frustrating. After several hundred hours and 40 or so fortresses later I decided to uninstall and give my attention to other games. The game is very clunky. The barracks is broken, the game freezes often during invasions, and the justice system is stupid. The royals will order constructions, I cant find anywhere what they want made, and then some poor dwarf is looking at jail time. Bans on exports is stupid. Who is playing this game? Me or the dumb ass dwarf rulers who cant even store their weapons? Also, the lack of customization options for the starting dwarfs doesn't make sense. You can customize almost everything else with detail, but you can't choose your starting dwarfs? No options to kick out visitors either.

Totally worth checking out, but don't get attached or excited for anything to work the way you want it.

One does not simply click and drag a "barracks" template to a location so it can spawn soldiers. This is not Starcraft. You must build or dig out an adequate space, furnish it with training gear that your citizens create in workshops, assign citizens to the barracks and design a training schedule. Each of these citizens is conceived, born and dies an independent life full of heroism and tragedy, carrying unique scars on their bodies and minds.

Dwarf Fortress is a living passion project that has been growing with constant updates since 2006. It is one of the most influential games of our times, beloved and revered by game developers for its contribution to procedural-development systems and emergent story telling. At first glance it is just a colony simulator set in a brutal fantasy world, but this simulator demands that you design you own "Mines of Moria" down to the shape of every room and the creation of every stick of furniture.

While other games share obvious influence from it, Dwarf Fortress stands alone by its scale and complexity. The amount of systems happening together at once dwarfs any other game system, and it's creators are constantly working on more.

The only question you have to ask yourself is, why are my cats all vomiting to death? See below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAhHkJQ3KgY

I spent a little while playing the free version of df, but eventually moved onto other games. The new artstyle is a big win, at least for me-especially the kobolds and goblins. I'd say that the release of the premium version is what finally got me fully into this game, and I'm glad it did!

Apart from everything that has already been said about dwarf fortress and its incredible depth-it's just fun. The steam version is very easy to learn and has a more player friendly UI. I spent hours just in the legends mode, reading all the stuff that was generated for my worlds. The sheer volume of the many interlocking systems of this game is amazing. No fortress is going to have the same story, and each world you generate will have it's own curiosities and lore to uncover.

And if you ever get stuck on something, there are countless online resources for dwarf fortress, along with a very helpful community

Really difficult at first in some ways, but reading the wiki and getting up to speed is half the fun. I endorse Dwarf Fortress as a singular achievement in dwarf simulation.

A Masterpiece of Complexity and Emergent Storytelling

Dwarf Fortress isn’t just a game—it’s a living, breathing world that challenges you at every turn. As someone who’s been enamored with this game for years, I can honestly say it’s one of the most rewarding experiences in simulation gaming.

What to Expect:

Deep Simulation & Emergent Stories: Every fortress tells its own unique tale. The intricate systems create unexpected events that are as often humorous as they are tragic, making each playthrough an adventure.
A Steep but Rewarding Learning Curve: Yes, the interface and mechanics can be overwhelming at first. However, overcoming these challenges is part of the magic. The satisfaction of seeing your fortress come alive is unparalleled.

Robust Community Support: There’s an incredible network of tutorials, guides, and experienced players ready to help you navigate the early stages. Embrace the learning process and dive into community discussions—you’ll learn a lot.

Updated Steam Experience: The recent Steam release preserves the old-school charm while introducing updated graphics that ease the transition for newcomers, all without sacrificing the game’s signature depth.

Who Should Play:

If you love games that reward creativity, perseverance, and strategic thinking, Dwarf Fortress is a must-play. It’s perfect for players who enjoy crafting their own epic narratives, even if that means dealing with a little chaos along the way.

Final Thoughts:

Dwarf Fortress is a labor of love that continues to captivate and challenge. It may not be the easiest game to start with, but the journey—filled with unexpected twists and unforgettable moments—is well worth the effort. Embrace the chaos, and let your dwarves write their own legendary history!

Happy fortress-building!

I have about 10 hours played so far but I probably have 20-30 hours just reading guides and watching videos just to learn the game its a steep learning curve but so rewarding. If you are a fantasy lore nerd like myself and love city/world building then this is for you!

The original has inspired so many other games, and I hate to say it but those other games have improved on the concept. I think my chief criticism is the rather horrendous user interface. I want to love pixel art, but this goes just a little too far in that direction & it feels like the commitment to the art style holds back the user interface.

I will praise that Dwarf Fortress still has great world-building, and most other games have yet to really conquer z-axis and fluid mechanics in the same way. But other games have also advanced so many other mechanics & systems beyond where Dwarf Fortress is currently at & this feels like I'm playing a slimmed down version of games like modded Rimworld or Space Station 13/14.

Prepare to either immediately be turned off, or lose several months in this game.
There is no in-between.
Fun is not optional.
Prepare for Dwarves.

I have to say, this is a big, big maybe. For most, the game will be a messy experience and a sharp learning curve. But if you're willing to put in the time and learn the game then it's amazing. At first, it is harsh and unforgiving but over time it becomes a delightful, and kinda relaxing game. I have so many ideas for what I want to do next and the lore system in this game lends well to making stories for the things you make.

I want to love this game, but the UI is simply too cumbersome for me. It was a direct impediment to learning the game which has no 'fun' learning aspect when you're thumping through menus on pause nonstop.

I feel they introduced mouse support and a new UI to allow the game to be more broadly accessible, but you need to go into the game from minute one, remembering every single keyboard shortcut, or you're just looking to waste time.

Once you get the hang of some of the systems, the game really opens up. I'm still learning, but it's fun as hell.

There's to much to say about this this game. It has got to be the biggest and most complex simulation made for gaming ever. You lose a-lot, which is fun I guess. There are so many systems and little nuances to work out that it's just the total management simulation absurdity generating game ever made.

Very unintuitive to understand or learn how to play, the UI is somewhat cumbersome and there's many complex systems to understand which can be difficult for new players. With that being said, if you're able to overcome the steep learning curve or perhaps desire that sort of challenge, this is one of the best simulation games I've ever played. I spent probably my first 50-100 hours of gameplay just learning mechanics and how to properly optimise my fort, but after getting past that phase I now have real goals and objectives when I play which makes for interesting stories that tell themselves. The game is never really going to tell you exactly what to do, that's something you have to figure out on your own, which makes playing as much of an artistic endeavour as it is a colony sim. I can still see myself putting many more hours into Dwarf Fortress, (especially with the recent full release of Adventure Mode,) despite my current playtime of around 600 hours it still feels as though there are many things in the game I have yet to see or experience.