I received a gift copy of the Steam version so I replayed this for a bit. The new UI is pretty good, the game feels accessible now, the ingame help system explains many things and will help you get to the fun part a lot quicker than used to be the case.

But. I do feel like newer entries in the genre have surpassed this game by focusing more on the gameplay impact of what's on display here. You like it when your dwarves get into funky emotional states and start a lil' rampage? Rimworld has this but goes further by actively managing the tension, injecting dramatic events as you start to feel comfortable. Do you enjoy the physics of water or magma sloshing around your fortress, taking all the valuables in the throne room? Boy, let me tell you about Oxygen Not Included, which next to fluid simulation also involves temperatures, gas mixtures, and germ levels tracking. And there's probably a bunch more colony sims I haven't played that are smaller in scope but that have their own flavor of the formula.

Dwarves are inherently cool! And the history of this game is amazing! And it is still a giant among the genre (pun intended)! But the shoulders of this giant are very much stood upon.

This is easily the most complex and most rewarding game in existence. I'm not sure how to write a review of DF, even if I wrote ten pages or spent an hour describing this game I would not be able to do it justice, there's just so much depth to this game that you really need to experience it to fully understand it, and even though I've been playing it on and off for 5 or 6 years I've still hardly scratched the surface.

Dwarf Fortress has been in development for around 20 years by an ex-mathematician called Tarn Adams. It was the primary inspiration for Minecraft, and also spawned a whole bunch of imitators with games such as Rimworld, Towns, Gnomoria, etc. So, what is it?

When you first run DF (it's a free game by the way) you generate a world (like minecraft). Except, unlike minecraft, there's more depth. DF will generate an entire world map, complete with continents, mountains, valleys, flora, fauna, weather systems, oceans, volcanoes, geology, caves etc. Then the software plops down a bunch of civilisations and allows time to pass. Over hundreds (or thousands) of simulated years roads are built, cities form, wars and battles occur. Kings are crowned and defeated, some cities grow, others fall. Erosion happens, forests grow and change, some areas become infested with evil, or underground lairs and caves become inhabited with evil brooding monsters. Different factions, civilisations or cities set up alliances with each other, trade routes, etc. Heroes travel from place to place, scribes pen the history, kings die and new leaders take their place. Some monsters or dragons are slain, others grow more powerful. Dynasties rise and fall, heroes build reputations and songs, poetry and artworks are made about them. Some cities become sprawling, rich and magnificent filled with golden statues, proud citizens and a healthy economy. Other places, perhaps ravaged by war, fall into ruin and become haunted and abandoned with horrible things or bandits lurking in the shadows. And note: all of this takes place in the world generation screen, this is before you even start playing! Basically a huge rich and detailed world dripping with history and depth is created. So, the stage is set. Once this ridiculously-detailed fantasy world is generated you have three ways to play DF: fort mode, adventure mode and history mode.

History mode is basically just a giant encyclopaedia. In this mode you simply open up this gigantic sprawling interface and you can read all of the information about the rich world and its history. This in itself is incredible and is fascinating to explore. If you were wanting to write a story in a fantasy setting this would give you endless piles of inspiration. It's like each time you generate a new world the software creates an entire 30-volume Lord of the Rings-style epic tale, complete with characters, history, lore and everything in rich detail. The next mode is adventurer mode. In this mode you take control of one single adventurer (you can choose a dwarf, human or elf). This mode is like a classic RPG. You start off at your home civilisation and go out and seek adventure. You can explore every corner of the world, fight monsters, level up your character, complete quests, role-play, hunt, camp, visit haunted ruins, meet kings, trade in cities, travel into deep mines or caves, visit castles or necromancer towers and fight hordes of the undead, adopt followers to create a party, etc. You can become skilled in any style of combat. Equally you can live the boring life of a peasant, settling down and farming, drinking in the tavern etc.

But, the most popular mode, fortress mode, is my favourite part of the game. In fort mode you choose an embark area and are dropped off there with a set of seven pioneering dwarfs with a handful of resources. This mode is more like an RTS or something; it's a bit like rimworld, a bit of dungeon keeper and a hint of The Sims. To begin you "strike the earth." From humble beginnings you dig for resources, and build a fortress. In this mode you can do whatever you want, there are many areas of specialisation. Perhaps you will make a fishing village, or a gigantic tower full of traps, or a sprawling underground mine, a grand castle full of luxurious lodgings. Your dwarves can do practically anything from beekeeping, creating weapons and armour, fishing, animal training, creating fancy artefacts and statues, leather and tanning, digging for gems and gold, farming, animal husbandry, soap-making, glass-blowing, brewing, butchery, ceramics, furniture and textiles. You can create libraries or a bunch of performers, poets and musicians (who will create their own artwork, songs, poetry and dances), or you can create a tavern for travelling adventurers to visit. Your little corner of the world is tied directly to the generated world: your location will influence the weather, the environment, plants and trading partners. If you embark near a goblin stronghold then you'll most likely eventually be attacked by them. Conversely if you embark on a little island you'll not see any invaders and your dwarves will be surviving from lobster and fish. As your fortress grows you will attract attention. The good attention means that more migrant dwarves will arrive, strengthening your numbers and allowing you to form a military and bolster your defences, build your industries as well as the arrival of various travelling merchants. Conversely you will also attract unwanted attention and all sorts of nasty things will arrive to plunder your halls, goblin armies, forgotten beasts, dragons, vampires, were-beasts and necromancers and an infinite range of procedurally-generated strange creatures and animals. The fun part of this game is thinking of ingenious ways to protect your fort and your wealth by creating custom weapons, traps, perhaps a lava-filled moat, towering walls, trained attack-animals, prisons filled with prisoners, arenas, military training areas. The entire world is custom and destructible (like minecraft) so you can dig and build anything anywhere. You can also create complex things like raising/lowering bridges or waterwheels, pumps, etc. You also have to deal with weather, storms, freezing winters (depending on your latitude), steamy summers. Finally you must also keep your dwarves happy. Each dwarf must be monitored to ensure they have fine lodgings, good health, booze, entertainment, healthy relationships and children, etc. Each dwarf has a unique personality (for example some dwarves might be afraid of cats, fond of limestone statues or strawberries, etc.).

So, it sounds the the most fascinating game ever made plus it's free! But what's the catch? Well there's a couple catches. Firstly, this game has a very steep learning curve. It will take you a long time to figure out how to play it. The interface is not particularly intuitive and you have to use practically every key on the keyboard to control things. I've been playing it for 5 or 6 years and I still don't fully understand everything about it. Secondly the graphics take a little while getting used to; it's a tile-based game (screenshot below). But if you spend a couple hours getting used to it and if you're willing to invest time in it you'll soon forget about these quirks and it will feel as natural as any other game. I have actually grown to enjoy the simple graphical style: it's almost like reading a book, the game plays out in your imagination rather than on the screen, which is far more exciting than any computer graphics.

So I've tried my best to explain this game but I still feel like I haven't done it justice. All I can say is that playing this game is unlike anything else, it's totally unique and incredibly rewarding. Playing this game is like the ultimate sandbox, anything is possible and you will have some of the funniest and strangest stories to tell people, however they won't understand what on earth you're talking about (e.g. try googling Boatmurdered). Once you figure out how to play it, it'll suck you in and eat up all of your free time. If you want to try it, I would recommend using the "Lazy Newb Pack" (http://lazynewbpack.com/) which automatically applies a bunch of tilepacks (making it look pretty), the soundsense (making it sound pretty) and a bunch of other useful tools, making the DF process a lot easier and more enjoyable. If you just want to dip your toes in or have a peep at it, many youtubers have helpful tutorials and LPs, especially SilverDragonLord, Captnduck & Quill18. Strike the earth!