Dwarf Fortress Review (Current State 34.11)

Dwarf Fortress 34.11 Game Review

Dwarf Fortress is a rogue-like, generated world game, where you command a small unit of 7 dwarves to build your fortress anyway you like, and to make them succeed... or fail. Dwarf Fortress is an Ascii graphics game, much like a lot of rogue-likes, such as nethack and others. What sets Dwarf Fortress apart is that everything is generated, the world, the history, the people, everything, and the world comes to live and can be as big or small as you like.

    When you first begin, you can have the game randomly generate a world for you, with your parameters you set, or you can create the world the way you would like it to with additional parameters. Once you are ok with your selection your world will begin being created. Once the world is complete, you can do Adventure mode, where you play as a single person and have an adventure in your own world much like rogue-likes of old, examine the history of the world using legends mode, or the meat and potatoes of the game, Dwarf Mode.

   Dwarf Mode is the heart and soul of the game, and when you start, you get to select where you wish to settle down at, select your embark site, make preparations (much like Oregon Trail), and finally begin your game. When you select your site, you can do your preparations, such as selecting professions, and what you are bringing along with you, such as food, materials, tools, and so forth.

   Once you arrive at the site, your game begins, you will see your dwarves huddled about your wagon and you can begin building your fortress. I won't go indepth with how to play, as there is a wiki for it, and the game has a learning curve to size of a cliff, in which failure will come to you, but that is where the "fun" is. "Losing is Fun" is the motto for dwarf fortress, and some of the most hilarious stuff to ever happen in the forums has been because of Dwarven stupidity. Boatmurdered, and other famous forts, are legendary in the fact the the sites failed to such hilarity, that they have become immortalized in the Dwarf Fortress Community.

  Goblins, Kobolds, Trolls, and other nasty creatures will arrive at your fort to cause mayhem when you meet the right requirements, and depending on your fort's layout and security, they will either over run your base, or you will repel them in a bloody fashion, painting the walls and grounds of your fort with their blood. This game is also excessively violent and non-discriminating to all in the Dwarf Fortress world. Blood will explode from your enemies and your dwarves, body parts will be severed, and teeth will be broken, and it is all displayed in gruesome text detail on the combat reports.

   Other bad things that can happen to your fortress is tantrums, crazed dwarves from can't take it anymore and proceed to chop anyone in sight, ghosts seeking revenge on the living, the walking dead, and much more nasty beings. The odds can be stacked against you, but that is the fun of Dwarf Fortress, you can play it however you like!

   Dwarf Fortress is also a very mod-friendly game, with the community always creating new mods for the game. Better graphic packs, new monsters, tools, even full on conversions! The game is easy to mod if you are into modding, where you can make the game easier, or harder, however you like.

  Overall, I find Dwarf Fortress to be a highly entertaining game, with randomly generated worlds, history and so much more! You will never encounter the same world twice (unless you seed it that way of course). I will provide links to all the sites so you get the game and begin playing!

                                        Dwarf Fortress Wiki
                                        Bay12 Games - Official Dwarf Fortress Site
                                        Dwarf Fortress File Depot