It’s taken a long time, but the iconic civilization management game Dwarf Fortress is finally available on Steam and Itch.io. It will be available for $30 in both stores on December 6th. While it may appear to be a costly price for a game that has already been around for 16 years and is available for free elsewhere, the current version has some significant improvements.
For one thing, you won’t have to deal with Dwarf Fortress’s notoriously crude graphics any longer. The ASCII visuals were replaced with a pixel art tileset. New music and sound effects, a redesigned user interface and menus, a tutorial for newbies, and other quality-of-life enhancements are also included. All of these features are intended to make the game more friendly.
Tarn and Zach Adams have been working on the game at their firm, Bay 12, for 20 years. They collaborated with Kitfox Games (of Boyfriend Dungeon fame) on this improved version, which is officially titled Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress.
The primary Fortress mode and the Legends mode will be accessible right away, with the Adventure and Arena modes from the original game arriving later. Even said, Bay 12 is far from finished, with the studio planning significant adjustments to the map system as well as procedurally generated mythologies and magic systems. According to a press release, the project has “no conclusion in sight.”
If none of that appeals to you, you can always download the original version of Dwarf Fortress in all its ASCII splendor from Bay 12’s website for free. Until now, fans have contributed to the construction of Bay 12 and the game.
