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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Dwarf Fortress reviewed by Jon Bolding on PC.
Infinitely explorable in its complexity and equally rewarding in the depth you’ll find there, this is the quintessential world simulation and building management game. Until now its magnificent worlds have been inaccessible to all but the dedicated few, but this new Steam version is beefed up with lovely graphics and equipped with modern controls, opening the floodgates for a new generation to blissfully drown in its magnificent story engine. What spills forth is a genre-defining masterpiece, proving just how incredible video games can be when a developer has a precise goal and valiantly strives to achieve it, even if the effort takes decades.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.6 (2/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GgeGQOP10RQ/mqdefault.jpg)
The fact that every dwarf has 32 teeth that are tracked by the game should tell you the level of obsessive detail orientation that spawned this monument of simulation.
What the heck
@@zegrasisinnocent dwarf fortress
@@Azure9577 Is the most complex and in depth game to ever exist, and probably the last game to reach such a feat
@@etholus1000 yes
@@etholus1000 wait why do you think that?
If absolutely nothing else, they certainly delegated this game to their best possible choice of reviewer.
It really is a fantastic review.
Absolutely!!!!! Great reviewer, and DF deserves it.
It is great htey had someone who actually loves the game, or at least, made a great research on the subject, and appreciates it.
It does feel like a veteran player reviewing a polished version rather than a completely new player trying to understand and enjoy the game. It honestly needs both viewpoints.
@@KarlOlofsson So you're saying I'm the perfect choice for the other side of the review.
On the steam forum for DF, someone asked something along the lines of, "Jesus, were all y'all just waiting 20 years to finally spend money on this game?" The answer was a resounding, "Yes."
saw that a minute ago, dude is currently sat underneath 252 jester awards and 2500+ comments saying "yes" 😄
Yes.
@@FeekyChucker Joke's on them as he's raking in the steam points.
@@Luce_3 he finna have a sick emoticon collection
@@Luce_3 "muh Plebbit karma"
This was the review Dwarf Fortress deserved. IGN hit the jackpot when they hired this guy.
His writing is excellent and his taste in games impeccable.
They just find a guy who loves Dwarf Fortress in their employees lol
@@PerryKobalt they find a guy who can handle df to review
Watch SeethTzeentach's dwarf fortress review, its what sold me
@@notyours5780 Same here.
You are altogether too kind, thank you.
Dwarf Fortress is just fun. That's it - there are no leaderboards, seasons or mentally online gamers to tell you to "git gud". Everyone just brews a cup of coffee, generates a fort and shares stories about the wacky stuff that happens. The raw essence of video games - fun.
this
Oh but you do absolutely have to git gud to play dwarf fortress. People think dark souls is hard? No. Dwarf fortress is hard. And not just because you can't even win it.
Im just now actually getting into df, the ASCII graphics just fried my brain before, but the reason I've been anticipating this steam release so much is literally because of all the stories I've heard, ranging from fantastical to maniacal equally.
Whats the best place to read and share stories these days? Still 4chan? reddit?
@@sazo1st Heard the story of the Elven dwarf King? It is not a story many a dwarf wants to say without some decent mead in their belly.
Glad IGN gave this masterpiece the review it deserved. Many games have tried to ape its style but nothing can compare. One of gaming's highest peaks.
Rimworld?
@@akashparua4606 Rimworld was inspired by and loosely based off of DF
@@akashparua4606 DF is on a whole other level compared to Rimworld. DF's depth and story telling are 100x more complex than Rimworld's.
@@akashparua4606 Rimworld is a game. DF is a fantasy world simulator.
z levels alone make dwarf fortress better
This wasn’t a review.
This was a love letter ❤
Hard not to love a game like DF, if it's the sort of thing you can even get into. It's far and away the deepest sim ever created, and the fact that it's basically the life's work of two brothers is impressive.
Reason why it's a garbage review. This game has great depth but gameplay and graphics are atrocious. Also at some point, it's just a cluttery game and unplayable for someone with adhd
@@slapdisgaem6601 yes, the overall reception on steam certainly reflects your singular opinion.
@@slapdisgaem6601 every game is unplayable by someone
surprising since its ign
Watching someone play Dwarf Fortress with the ASCII graphics was literally that scene in The Matrix where Cypher is looking at a stream of random Unicode and going "blonde... brunette... redhead..."
"Elf...Dwarf...Goblin..."
@@conanhighwoods4304 "Goblinite ingot... wooden menacing spike... plump helmet spawn..."
A friend of mine used to tell me all kinds of stories about her forts and the cool and crazy stuff that went down in them.
She streamed for a hot minute in the 10s and tried to stream DF.
Not only was it impossible to keep track of what she was doing and talk to chat, but no one watching had any idea what was onscreen, let alone what was happening to it.
Just giving a tour and reacting to stuff going on like being able to know was totally normal.
Damn Jon Bolding is an actual decent reviewer from IGN.
I'm so glad they had him review this game tbh
He reminds me of old IGN, hire more people like him please IGN.
He agreed with you
@Mrslothymacaroony tbf im pretty sure you have to take over the whole thing to win in bannerfront. That like saying he cant review dwarf fortress without experimenting all biomes or finishing a game of it. Also bannerlord's gameplay barely changes , you experience getting a vassal for your kingdom and you basically experienced all the game has to offer.
Who is he? First time hearing of him.
This makes me so happy for Tarn and Zach Adams, they deserve every bit of success.
Can't agree enough. Excited to see what they do with this Stardew valley level of success
this review is a masterpiece itself. this dude deserves an award
IGN actually had a real gamer to review a game
watch sseth review
lol masterpiece? This literally looks horrible.
@@drunkhusband6257 the “review” not the “game” lol
@@baileywills8267 his name "Drunk Husband" for a reason duh.
In Nethack there was a saying "the devs thought of everything." It was used enough to go by the initialism TDTOE. In Dwarf Fortress, thinking of everything wasn't enough, so they built an engine to think of new things.
If every IGN review had this level of effort, people wouldn't hate IGN.
It brings me joy to know that a new generation will get to experience this absolute masterpiece of gaming. What it lacks in graphical prowess it makes up in absolutely unmatched world detail and emergent gameplay. The stories of your failed dwarven colonies will stick with you far longer than your average AAA game. I'm glad IGN did this amazing game justice on its steam release. If you are on the fence, absolutely give it a try!
This is exactly what Zach and Tarn deserve for their efforts.
@@Americanbadashhif it actually sold that much that’s awesome
Dwarf fortress is absolutely one of those things we should send into space for future alien civilizations to find one day. Its the culmination of years of dedicated work and craft on par of something like renaissance painting or sculpture.
The drunk cat story sold me on this game
Same!
The story about a guy donated a necromancy spellbooks to a library and started a zombie outbreak sold me
@@Wilson-kt8or hey hey people
@@Mark-hu7iu sseth here
@@michuop Have you-
Bravo for a well deserved review, but it seems odd that the whole reason for the creation of this new version isn't mentioned. Zach and Tarn made it to help defray medical costs as the original DF was free. May they get all they deserve and more.
This review it's a masterpiece that DF deserved. He definitely knows what he's talking about.
Im hoping this reviewer was a huge fan of dwarf fortress and begged his boss to let him do the review because for once it's a ign reviewer that sounds passionate for the game and knows the game.
getting to a 200 dwarf fortress takes a while and the game hasn't even been out that long.
@@brandonschnacker1854 the game has been out for two decades. Did this guy specifically say he never played the many releases that came out before it's Steam edition?
It's so funny reading some of these bewildered comments. They don't understand. How can a game with lo-fi graphics and aesthetics be hailed so greatly?
You've got to understand. Dwarf Fortress speaks to many "older ages", both in its fiction and in a very real technical sense. There are so many modern conveniences designed to make a user's experience smoother, but this game is one that was built with a very different sensibility in mind. They weren't aiming for ease of use necessarily (although much of their work HAS been to make things easier in the engine they built over the years), they were aiming to create the most detailed simulation of a fantasy world. To literally *take you there* in a fashion, if you were willing to commit to seeing through the "matrix code" of the interface.
There is so much detail under the hood. One dwarf can have religion, belong to several groups, be a major part of politics. They might have a fondness for butterflies and a distaste of certain foods. They can fall in love. There are whole weather simulations happening all around. Liquids can freeze. Items can be projected, a whole physics system is happening under the hood.
There is so much goddamn detail.
So when you look at this Steam version of the game, with "lul" features like mouse support, an easier to read interface....you have to understand that to bring the existing work of a *decades-long* project into a frontend and STILL retain all that underlying detail?
Yeah. Masterpiece doesn't begin to cut it.
been into DF for 15 whole years...... This comment puts it down well!
isn't it pretty sad that we judge games so much on how they look? And not the narrative or gameplay?
@@inigo137 "You might not marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness doesn't it help?" -marilyn monroe
Dwarf fortress, sadly, to me is one of those games it's MUCH more fun to read about than to actually play.
@@AngelusNielson Kinda like Eve Online
Wasn't expecting ign to give this a 10
Very few games deserve the Golden 10. This game is one of them . 😊
Maybe in 2006. Right now it's just fanaticism and fear of sect people.
@@rockyjetproject1345 It hands down does, Glad IGN gave the rating it truly deserves
Or to be strict 9.5 cause they can keep improving it. It should belong in the library of every true gamer.
Since 10 no longer means "Perfect" but "Masterpiece", it makes sense
Dwarf fortress: "After 20 years, the latest update adds graphics and the ability to click."
It was pretty bizarre to hear him say that mouse support alone is worth the $30 price of admission.
@@Vanished_Mostly Tbh the Steam / other platform version was made because of a health scare the developers had, that and them mainly subsisting off of Patreon money for years
To be fair, there has been some third party mouse support from DFHack for years now. You can't click through menus, though.
A 10.
Absolute Perfection for a rebirth of a Legendary Game.
the fact that this games source code will go to the museum of modern art says enough, the games a masterpiece
Probably the best IGN video ever. Glad this game is reaching a larger audience, it’s a masterpiece.
Explain why it's a masterpiece again? It literally looks like a chore to play
@@drunkhusband6257 it s the most complex game of all time, the engine is so impresive, it s hard to get into it but when you are in, you can just enjoy the rich of the world character event , and story that will be told on your screen
@@drunkhusband6257 If you think it looks like a chore to play don't even bother, it's way worse than you can ever imagine. But it's STILL a masterpiece. Yeah it's just that kinda game.
@@drunkhusband6257 the attention to detail is something you'd never find in any game that exists right now.
I've barely played the fortress mode but I'll generate a world with 1000 years of history and read about the legendary heroes that lived, the wars that were fought and the civilizations that existed. The amount of things that are simulated in world gen (down to rainfall and erosion) is insane
@@ftb282 Sounds like the exact opposite of a fun time.
Dwarf Fortress is not a game in the sense we now understand games. It is an Interactive Story Generator, Where your job as the player is not to control the Dwarves, but Rather sit back and watch their story unfold and futilely attempt to delay their inevitable destruction. All the while cackling madly at the Dwarf Baby that goes on a Murderous rampage with a sock, and crying in Frustration at the Undead Horde that suddenly appeared at your doorstep right when your traps are full of those pesky elven traders and your best defences have been neutralised.
This is not a game where you win, or even attempt to win. Its a game you lose. But always remember..... Losing is FUN
A game where you find out, personally, that every civilization falls in time, but that yours is probably gonna fall in the most spectacular, unexpected, and darkly humorous fashion.
Just ask Boatmurdered.
"Beware! Elephants!"
I'm so glad to see a game get called a masterpiece while having nothing more than sprite art for graphics! It definitely deserves it.
This is the first ign review I've seen in a long time that feels not only genuine but well made
10/10 and didnt even mention the banger soundtrack
seriously, been on repeat here for a week
clicked this out of morbid curiosity and was pleasantly surprised to hear someone who actually knew what they were talking about do justice to this game
A game 20 years in the making. Of course it's going to absolutely crushing all those instant noodle games out there
Jon Bolding is the only reliable reviewer in IGN. He's the only one in the company who knows what he's talking about
@@mrslothymacaroony4643 Cause it's a garbage, empty game.
@@zavil6219 bugs still haven't fixed lol
Dont forget Luke Reilly though; hes a golden at reviewing racing games too
Jesus Christ this game is truly a test of time.
RImworld Dwarf mod>Dwarf Fortress
@@essentialeconomist184 Rimworld is amazing, but it's not even close to the depth of DF.
@@NavidIsANoob literally, as rimworld doesn’t have z layers hahaha
@@essentialeconomist184 Ok? Moving on.
True words Chadules, true words.
And not to forget that this 16 year old game lived off of CONSTANT and fully voluntary payments by its fanbase long before patreon was even invented.
This is the only person they need to review on IGN this was a masterful review. Super informative and to the point. Dwarf Fortress now has my money
This is a masterful IGN review. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It menaces with spikes of storytelling. It tells a story in relation to the 2022 release of Dwarf Fortress.
❤️
Wasn’t expecting that score!
...
has a little something for everyone
definitely far from being a game for everyone, but in it's genre, it sits on top, up there above every other title that tried to bring similar experience.
If any game and it's devs deserve a 10, it's Dwarf Fortress! Bravo
Who knew that the secret to making a great game was dwarves and alcohol? Strike the Earth! and Rock and Stone!
Rock and stone, brother.
WE FIGHT! FOR ROCK AND STONE!
ROOOOOOCK. AAAAAAND. STOOOOOOOONE!!!!
Karl would approve of this🍻
This is the review that DF deserves. Glad there's someone at IGN who appreciates this masterpiece and is willing to put the word out.
This review is of the highest quality.
Its adorned with spindals of Adamantite
It menaces with spikes of onyx
This is probably one of the best games there is. It certainly strikes the Earth in more ways than one.
it's easily my favorite game.
@@dentureadventure1490 Yeah. And for the record, the absolutely utterly absurd level of painstakingly elaborate detail that Tarn and his brother Zach have put into it shows how much love and dedication they have for their craft.
The Ultimate game descends to a newer generation.
Challenge accepted. C:
One of the most underrated underground games of all time, glad it's getting some public attention.
This is perhaps the only reviewer at IGN who plays games and should be reviewing.
Boatmurdered : It's not about the destination , it's about the journey ... away form that death-trap/hellhole!
The fact that this game looks the way it does but still tanks any pcs is wild that’s a lot of stuff going on 🤯
this comment section does an excellent job at showing you how most gamers are low iq babies that care more about walking animations than a game where you can accidentally dig so deep that you reach literal hell.
This game is older than many people playing it for the first time now! And has been developping all that time just like them!
This comment got me to start tearing up a bit. Beautifully said
Lets be honest, you looked at the steam reviews and now you're looking at video reviews. You won't find anything negative about this, buy the game.
Gotta give the reviewer a 10/10, he was informative of the game and, above all, invested in showing how fun it can be without stretching the truth.
That 10 was unexpected... DF isn't the sort of game that most gamers will tolerate much less play, but it's a masterpiece that everyone who calls themself a "gamer" should have tried at least once.
Hey IGN, glad to see you're hiring more than influencers to do your reviews. Thank you for having a dude with such impeccable taste in your team. Masterpiece indeed. If anyone remember that Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Picard spends like 50 years in a dream but to him he felt every second of every day as if it was real... well this game approaches that.
If any game should get an IGN 10/10, it's this game. The love and passion in Dwarf Fortress is crazy.
The right person to review the right game, without a doubt. Anyone else would have been screaming after losing a fortress at the first unpause to goblin mucous rain and suffocated dwaves.
Something this refreshing being such an old artefact is already making it a piece of art. A masterpiece, indeed.
Thanks IGN for this great and in-depth review AND for opening the players scenery to new places !
DF: In your game fish swim away from you when you approach them. In my game cats get drunk because they licked themselves after they stepped on alcohol which you spilled on the floor by accident... we are not the same.
Worth adding that cats licking themselves to get clean was added because dwarves were getting dirt in their eyes and leaving it there, so Tarn made it so eyelids actually perform a cleaning function. This is a game in which creatures have functioning eyelids.
The reviewer needs to leave ign and do his own thing.
Behold Dwarf Fortress - our sacred relic of beauty! 10/10, we expect nothing less for this game made of love from Tarn and Zach Adams
If there is one game that really deserves a perfect score, it's Dwarf Fortress. Great review IGN, I'm impressed
Amazing review for an amazing game. been playing for more than a decade and will probably never stop. thank you so much Zach & Tarn!
Well stated, love it. I've been watching DF for all these 20 years. Welcoming it back to my top list with the renewed playability.
Pro tip: If you're experiencing FPS slowdown with a 200 plus fort then you simply didn't set your worldgen to be savage enough!
Fun fact: my brother has been playing this for 15 years. He emailed one of the devs years back, and the guy has a PhD in geometry, and basically lives on chicken tenders and mountain dew!
finally this game gets the love it DESERVES
shut up dude
@@new_dill tough day?
Because it's DF this is the only upvote you will ever get from me
based
my man really said he'd choose this game over every game for the rest of his life... thats some love
10/10 masterpiece have never had so many zombis as best friends before
This review was really wholesome, thank you.
As someone who knows next to nothing about this genre, I’m impressed by the complexity and have to admit it seems amazing! Well deserved 10 from what this reviewer explained.
One of the Most Underrated Games of Our Time
It just got rated a 10
@@liamgray2589 that’s too low though
It's one of those games that is very influential to game designers and critics, so its impact is felt, but not apparent to the average gamer who hasn't played it.
Overlooked might be a better word
Until now?
A wonderful review for one of the best games in my life.
"you will almost certainly read an article to figure out what a quern is"
SO TRUE
Thanks for reviewing the game!
Wow 10/10! Congrats Dwarf Fortress!
Which other games got this score from IGN?
FANTASTIC REVIEW give this man a raise
One of those rare reviews were the reviewer actually played and immersed into the game.
Honestly, this review is excellent, great job Jon!
this review radiated so much love for the game, and genre that it pushed me to the edge to actually buy this game
Great Review!!!
Next, we need to see a graphics comparison review from Digital Foundry between this, enhanced version and the ASCII original
Clicked on this video expecting IGN to give one of the most significant games in interactive media an 8.5; I’m glad to be proven wrong.
The story of piles of dead cats in taverns is what sold me on this game.
Forgot to mention the amazing soundtrack
possibly the best modern ign review imo
Their Postal 4 review was great. It was a great example of how unhinged and vitriolic gamers become when you disagree with their opinion.
(Plus, Postal 4 really is a mess of a game but everyone started praising it simply because IGN gave it a well deserved low score.)
It's an utter shame that video games followed the path of visual fidelity over the path of interactive depth and nuanced systems like this (though DF isn't quite a "game" in the traditional sense, it's more of a highly-detailed, user-modifiable simulation). There is astronomically more...let's say "novel content" here than there is in 99.9% of AAA games ever made. DF is also possibly the de-facto standard for storytelling in video games, given that they're entirely organic and dynamic (though you could also argue in favor of Metroid Prime's top-notch narrative coherency, and I'd accept that).
Glad that this game has finally reached a place where it should be accessible to a lot more people, because it's a game that deserves to be played by as many people as possible.
Jon bolding deserves a raise and his own TH-cam channel
I’ve only recently learned about DF but it seemed too daunting. Now that there is a more approachable version on Steam, I’ll grab it for sure!
Heavy complexity in a game is rare nowadays, and for that reason alone I'm in!
that's because the game has been around for like 20 years
this game is perfect. its barely still a game, its a whole platform. to me, the free version was a 10/10 game already. the steam release just allows people like you to play it. there will never be a game like dwarf fortress again.
A) Congrats to Zack and Adam for this fantastic achievement
B) Thanks to Zack and Adam for the 20 year prior making this masterpiece for free
find you a spouse that loves you as much as this person loves dwarf fortress
Tbf it’s hard not to love the game
Everything about this game is masterpiece.
A look, a real video game. Oh look, an actual work of art. Oh look, something that will last.
Jon Bolding is a real gamer. What an amazing review.
Never heard of this game, but this definitely seems like a fun new type of game (at least for me) I’m gonna buy it tonight.
Also check out Rimworld if this genre interests you.
@@inhalemusic8926 DF and Rimworld are my two favorite games. DF led me to Rimworld, actually.
Yes.... *fun*
IGN need to use this reviewer for more games.
"we call those dwarven shotguns"
Proud of Tarn and Zach Adams, you guys deserve it
This reviewer is a keeper
Would probably never play it but this was a really great heartfelt review
This review has Idle Thumbs podcast energy. A warm blanket.