Recent reviews by SleepyFirearms

Dwarf fortress is, and always has been, an advanced game with a high barrier of entry for the unengaged. The current steam build feels like it was made with accessibility to new players at the forefront of design. Id like to preface this by saying that I have been around DF since the days of Armok (I know, I'm getting old)

A part of what made dwarf fortress, dwarf fortress, was the seemingly insurmountable difficulty. Being faced with a myriad of issues and misconceptions, the first obstacle the player encounters against them is the UI itself. It was like staring into the matrix, seeing those 7 smiley faces blinking in a sea of semicolons. My primary complaint with the new UI is that it has sacrificed elegance and high end maneuverability in favor of a more typical interface. The steam build has never been easier to use, and understand. But as a veteran who has ran the game analog for all these years it feels like the soul has been sapped out of the experience.

A lot of veterans, my self included, preferred the OG tileset because it added that additional layer of inaccessibility. Having people look over your shoulder and audibly go "WTF am I looking at" was a point of pride. The new tile set looks great, and it is easy to discern what is what, but gone are the days of speculation. Picturing what an enemy looked like based off its body parts, or instantly telling the difference between animals at a glance, all meaningless frills that gave DF more soul than it's competitors.

Most of my complaints about this build of DF are periphery. The game runs great, and has never been more accessible. My complaints of UI, the tileset, the event system, etc feel like the setting pains of this games future. I hope no one forgets that world of dots and letters, that world of insurmountable odds and nigh divine might, that world we all loved and hated through thick and thin.

To all the old players, and especially the new, just remember,

Losing is Fun!

The game would have been better if it was semi linear with a more story oriented aproach. The open world is half finished and feels pretty bland once youve done a few things. Overall the side gigs and side quests in general make me wish the open world was more immerisive and fleshed out, or the story ended in a way that you would remain playing in a world shaped by your choice or at least something other than the *check point before the ending* thing. Sort of like dying light, oblivion, skyrim, etc. Overall not bad but it is deffinetly unfinished at BEST

The game is honestly underwhelming in every aspect. The horror is sub par and 90% of the time you can just run through enemies or kite them, making them not even remotely scary. The exploration in the 5th part is exceedingly repetitive and boring. My main complaint is that the games lore delivery is entirely via the looking glass (sort of, not even really then) and audio logs. There should have been some way of reading notes or the sort. The game overall was very short, I beat it in under 3 hours and a second go at it. The game feels like it's trying to be bioshock without the large maps, well thought out combat system, lore delivery, progression, and overall substance. The third chapter was by far the best having a very large area to roam with various goals that can overlap on certain floors. I know, I know, it's an indie game. Even then I expected a little more that a 3 hour "horror" jaunt through mickey mouse club house. The graphics were spot on, and I have 0 complaints about the lore apart from the delivery. I'd recommend this to people to try at least once, but the 20$ price tag is a bit much for a game with so little content.

GOOD