Over the years I had heard many things about Dwarf Fortress; mostly daunting words such as ‘intimidating’ and ‘hard-as-nails’. This is the father – or perhaps even the grandfather – of colony sims, and its reputation precedes it.
The original version of the game – which has been in development since all the way back in 2003 (!) – has Rogue-like ASCII visuals. The wall of information it presents isn’t easy to parse, yet despite its simple yet complex graphics, the depth of the simulation that it offers has garnered a loyal and passionate following over the years.
So, when the game dropped on Steam in 2022 with a shiny new pixel tileset, my interest was piqued. More recently, following the addition of the beta version of the Adventure Mode, I finally took the plunge.
Not for the faint of heart
I love discovering game mechanics – I was delighted when suffering brought learning in games such as Project Zomboid. However, Dwarf Fortress has one of the hardest difficulty curves I’ve ever faced. In this storied fantasy sandbox, you manage a colony of the eponymous dwarves, but there are so many factors to consider thanks to the complexity of the simulation.
If you’re looking for a drop-in, drop-out experience, look elsewhere – this one needs patience, persistence, and all of your intellectual might. There is a tutorial in Fortress Mode – the main game experience – although as a newcomer it probably doesn’t go as far as you would like, as it covers only a fraction of what the game entails. Still, you need to start here or you won’t have a clue as to what’s going on later.
There is a lot to learn and it will require a serious investment of time – yet it will reward those who are willing to slog it out. I consider this to be a two-screen game; one to play the game on and the other to watch YouTube tutorials. There is such incredible depth here so you may want to have resources on hand to get you up to speed when you inevitably start scratching the old noggin.
We’re going deeper underground: Fortress Mode
If you’re still with me, it means you’re up for it, so let’s get into it. The game has two main modes – Fortress Mode and the new Adventure Mode. In Fortress Mode, you create a new procedurally-generated world at the start of your game, all with the simple click of a button.
I love how the game creates decades of detailed history each time – procedurally generated and written out for you to enjoy. Although I did find myself losing the will to keep reading after a while, it was still impressive. Generating these worlds, complete with legends, myths and histories can, depending on their size, take a while, so grab yourself a coffee and maybe even a biccy (or a tankard of ale, if you want the full Dwarven experience) while you wait.
Once created, it’s time to make a home in this brave new world. When choosing your colony starting point, you need to think about all the usual stuff: terrain, resources, and biomes. Access to resources like wood, stone, and water are essential. And, obviously, ale. Oh, and trust me on this: newcomers should probably start on the easiest setting, so you don’t inadvertently “shaft” yourself later on (yes, that was a mining joke).
Colony placed, it’s time to build a fortress, gather resources and erect the buildings that will help your dwarves thrive. Management of the essentials – fresh water, ale, security and the actual dwarves – will keep you on your toes at first, although bigger threats await as you get into it. Keep an eye out for lava, madness and many, many beasts.
Just about everything is out to get you – and therein lies much of the fun. Pesky goblins and other enemies only add to the challenge of keeping your colony alive. There’s a lot to think about, a lot to read, and a lot to learn. You’ll fail. You’ll start again. You’ll get better each time – if you’re willing to put the hours in, naturally.
It’s a strangely addictive formula. I love how deep and involving it all is, and once you know what you’re doing, I think it’s hugely rewarding – even if getting to that point is a proper challenge, especially if you’re a more casual player coming to the genre for the first time.
Into the thick of it: Adventure Mode
In Adventure mode, there is a real change of pace. You create characters – from one lone adventurer to a party – and then head off to explore a world that you have created. Unlike the god-like control you have in Fortress Mode, this is a top-down open-world sandbox RPG with simple turn-based movement.
In the final version, you’ll be able to choose between Ordinary, Hero and Chosen modes for your character, which essentially defines the level of guidance and direction you’re given in the game. The more directed Chosen option isn’t in place yet, and I think this is where Adventure Mode will come into its own for people who are new to the game and just getting started.At the moment it’s very open-ended.
You can pick from a large menu of character types, including Goblins, Elves, Rat Men, Wolverines and, of course, our favourite short kings, the Dwarves. On top of that, you have a broad range of tweakable options to help you further define the strengths of your character – perfect if you have a playstyle in mind.
It’s highly adjustable and you can play as a bard, a warrior, or even a smooth-talking Red Panda – the choice is yours. Come up with a name, adjust their attributes, give them a background and maybe even a pet (I immediately made myself a little dog to follow me around – what a good boy!), choose a hometown, and then read the bio that describes your character’s personality.
Once you’ve done all that you’re finally ready to head off in search of… well, whatever you want. Don’t expect Dwarf Fortress to do any heavy lifting from a narrative point of view, it’s up to you to draw the story out of the world around you.
And so it begins…
Exploration (and danger) awaits as you leave your fortress and head out into the world. You’ll be fighting monsters, exploring vast swathes of land, and generally RPG-ing your way around an adventure of your own making. Be warned, though, as things can be a bit disjointed and overwhelming; my first steps left me feeling quite discombobulated.
Combat can be as simple as that of a traditional roguelike, where you simply bang into your opponent and dish out pain based on your stats, or you can take things in a more granular direction should you want to make the most out of each encounter. However, you can queue up your preferred attacks, which streamlines things a lot.
It’s not just wildlife and the monsters out waiting for you, either. Everything will try to kill you in Dwarf Fortress, and if you don’t lick all the right plants you will eventually starve to death – but isn’t that what we’re all here for?
Even the smaller maps feel huge and they’re all richly populated with both friends and enemies. If you’ve built a world in Fortress Mode, you can explore your ruins many years later. Alternatively, you can start afresh with a new procedurally generated realm – although if you do make a new world from scratch, I daresay you won’t have the same connection to it.
It’s still in beta, and not all aspects of the classic Adventure Mode are in place yet – but keep your eyes peeled as it’s developing all the time. The tighter focus of this mode might make this look like the best entry point, but there are still really nuanced controls to master, even if you don’t have a whole colony to manage. In fact, I think having a greater understanding of how everything works from Fortress Mode would be of benefit to any would-be adventurer.
If looks could kill
As mentioned up top, gone are the ASCII graphics of the classic game, herein replaced with more expressive pixel art tiles and sprites. Back in the day, you had to remember all the symbols and so on, but now a tree actually looks like a tree – surprisingly helpful in an already complex game.
Newcomers will almost certainly benefit from the improved visual clarity – it’s easier to see danger when the lava looks like lava – and long-time fans will enjoy the pretty aesthetics and muted colour palette. It looks great. And it sounds good too, with a new original soundtrack that sounds especially nice in Adventure Mode. It’s a big upgrade, even if it’s not finished yet.
So, who’s going to love it? Well, if you appreciate more recent colony sims such as RimWorld, you’ll know what is expected, at least to a certain degree. On the other hand, if you love learning detailed RPG systems, you’ll find lots here to get stuck into, too.
I’d go as far as saying that if you like managing, building, colony creation, reading lore, and a fair amount of trial and error, then Dwarf Fortress is the game for you. There’s no escaping the fact that you will need to make a big investment if you’re going to get the most out of it, but the best things in life are rarely easy…
The ASCII version of Dwarf Fortress is available via the Bay12 website, but you can play the version discussed above via Steam. Thank you to publisher Kitfox Games for providing us with access. Finally, stay tuned for more on Adventure Mode, which we’ll return to for a proper deep dive once it has left beta.
