TL;DR - The most complex strategy/simulation sandbox ever created - one you may or may not enjoy, depending on whether you're a stinky, tree-hugging elf or a soapy, jolly, and most importantly drunk dwarf. Would recommend trying out.

The actual review:

As the game has (really quickly, please save me) reached my top five, and will most likely soon climb into my top three games by playtime, I feel obligated to finally write a review of this classic.

Dwarf Fortress is a game I've played on and off for a long while now, even way before the Steam release, but I never managed to dive as deep as I have now - mostly due to the steep learning curve and a UX not meant for the faint of heart. This time, though, with a brand-new coat of paint in the form of a full graphical UI overhaul (and not just a tileset), something finally clicked. I simply cannot stop coming back to it.

The game is a feat of engineering like no other. Once you dive deep into it and begin to grasp even a fraction of its inner workings - world generation, history generation, abstract spheres of influence, and the way history actually evolves - you start to realize just how ingenious this title truly is. The generated world history isn't merely five A4 pages of static text, but a living continuum that actively shapes the world you're dropped into. A world you continue to influence, even across multiple timelines that you may create. Beneath the surface, the game is constantly running hundreds of decision flows, driven not only by fortress management and supply, demand, and orders, but also by individual creature motivations, needs and endless hidden parameters. The dynamic worldbuilding is so complex in fact, that some people have created whole D&D campaigns and stories based on their playthrough. The game also supports many mechanical simulations, such as fluid and pressure.

The gameplay loop is super fun, sometimes rough around the edges, but the possibilities are virtually endless. The "I should totally build this", or "What if I did this? Oh my god it works!" moments are bread and butter with this game, as it genuinely rewards creativity.

Wanna build a pitfall trap for tens of siegers to fall into and get drowned by? Sure, go ahead. Try lava even. Or better yet, trap something dangerous down there, so they have more fun during their stay in the pit.
Wanna build a water cycling system with cisterns, pressure towers and waterwheel generators? Yeah, why not, it'll surely work.
Wanna use that water cycling system to create a self-refilling dam that'll isolate your fortress in case of a siege? That's cool, do that!
Pressure plate traps that use folding bridges to yeet your siegers into the oblivion, Team Rocket "ting" included? Hell yeah, Kinem.

At that point, it becomes hard to argue that Dwarf Fortress isn't the most complex sandbox ever created...

...that's actively designed and developed by just two people - Tarn and Zach Adams, AKA Toady One and ThreeToe. Of course, Kitfox is now in the picture as well, but more on that later. Two brothers - one programmer and co-designer, the other a designer - breathing life into digital, vertically challenged alcoholics and causing catsplosions since circa 2002. Tarn has become something of an idol to me, after I read up on the technicalities and history of the project. Actively developing code for the same product for over 20 years (without going insane) and still introducing fresh features while smoothing the rough edges of older ones is impressive in itself. But keeping the codebase stable, optimizing it so the game doesn't grind itself into the ground (too quickly), pushing hotfixes for accidental regressions within days rather than weeks/months, and refusing to half-ass the work with AI crutches (as many so-called "developers" seem happy to do these days) is genuinely remarkable. If the non-innovative, sloppy, unremarkable AI slop cesspool that is 99% of the current digital product market ever decides to tuck its tail and give way to actual quality products made by genuinely skilled people, people like Tarn and Zach Adams should absolutely be the titans that everyone looks up to.

I think the brothers teaming up with Kitfox was a huge step in this game's life - not so much on the mechanical side of things (as that's still Tarn's domain AFAIK), but in terms of its target audience. The graphical UI, and especially the artwork, aren't just beautiful and cozy, they also make the game far more approachable, and I'm sure will convince many more people to finally give it a try.

Kitfox Games - and more specifically Tanya Short convincing Tarn and helping the lads bring the game to Steam - was another pivotal moment. It pulled Dwarf Fortress out of its niche and into a much wider market, while finally giving the brothers the recognition and reward they so clearly deserve - not just Strategy/Simulation of the Year, but also, at long last, real financial success from their masterpiece.

Another thing that absolutely cannot be overlooked is the magnificent soundtrack by Dabu and Simon Swerwer, and the way it organically happens in the world. More than once, I've been busy setting up a tight supply chain with stockpiles, when I'm suddenly greeted with “ILUN KINEM!”, followed by an absolute banger of a tavern track and clinking of glasses, because my dwarves collectively decided that it was drinking time. Really helps breathe even more life to a bustling fortress.

And one last thing worth mentioning: DFHack. The game isn't just fully supported by its creators - it also provides a channel for community support. DFHack is an age-old plugin that's been around forever and offers a vast collection of community-made scripts, mostly focused on quality-of-life improvements. These range from quick fixes and macros that streamline some of the more tedious aspects of micromanagement, to excellent tools like StoneSense and building designer. Rule of thumb is - if you don't like something, there's most likely a DFHack script that fixes it for you. Personally I run suspend-manager, tailor and autofish as always on/autostart, and occassionally do "cleanowned scattered x" once my dwarves become beauty pageant divas and start dropping their tattered clothing everywhere for me to designate as trash. It's available directly on Steam - just download it and launch the game. There's no need to start the game through the DFHack launcher - it hooks into the game automatically once installed.

So that's about it. Sterilize your cats, don't dig too deep and strike the earth! And remember - losing is fun.

Greatest game ever. Been playing it since 2018. Before playing, I recommend watching a couple tutorials. To really see the possibilities of the game, look up Boatmurdered and read the whole thing, After reading if you still do not want to play I don't know what to tell ya.

very great game, there is a steep learning curve but if you dedicate time you can have really awesome stories. love it