Best Games Like Dwarf Fortress Top City Building Games like Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf Fortress is described as 'Single-player fantasy simulator. You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world. The world is procedurally generated with distinct civilizations spanning centuries of detailed history, multitude of towns, bodies' and is a popular city building game in the games category. There are more than 25 games similar to Dwarf Fortress for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Steam, Mac, Linux and Wine apps. The best Dwarf Fortress alternative is RimWorld. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Veloren or eSoclife. Other Dwarf Fortress like games are Gnomoria, Stonehearth, Banished and Oxygen Not Included.

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Dwarf Fortress alternatives are mainly City Building Games but may also be RTS Games or Survival Games.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Dwarf Fortress.
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Dwarf Fortress is a single-player fantasy simulator. You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world. The world is procedurally generated with distinct civilizations spanning...

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Dwarf Fortress alternatives page was last updated Jun 7, 2023
  1. RimWorld icon
     35 likes

    RimWorld follows three survivors from a crashed space liner as they build a colony on a frontier world at the rim of known space. Inspired by the space western vibe of Firefly, the deep simulation of Dwarf Fortress, and the epic scale of Dune and Warhammer 40,000.

    22 RimWorld alternatives
    RimWorld screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Steam

    RimWorld Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Moddable
    3.  Base building
    4.  Endless gameplay
    5.  Strategy planning
    RimWorld iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    RimWorld VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is RimWorld a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
    Comments about RimWorld as an Alternative to Dwarf Fortress
     
       
    Guest

    Nowhere near as difficult of a learning curve, but has a lot of the same mechanics, with added futuristic sci-fi events. Can micromanage and prioritize down to a tee, main gripe with it is there's UP/DOWN to the world, so you can't build towers or bases deep underground

    Top positive commentJul 13, 2017
    4
    Guest

    Rimworld is just a perfect game. There's a lot of complexity, yet it's still way more accessible than DF. It's hard to say how good this game is with just words unless it's a full 4 hours speach, so I'll just say I could marry this game.

    Positive commentSep 8, 2020
    0
    Guest

    Just awesome world, better graphics and "personally" in the characters. Super game.

    Positive commentNov 30, 2018
    1
    Show more comments
    3 of 10 comments
    Dwarf Fortress Icon
    RimWorld icon
    • Almost everyone thinks RimWorld is a great Dwarf Fortress alternative.

    • RimWorld is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Dwarf Fortress.

    • RimWorld is the most popular commercial alternative to Dwarf Fortress.

    • RimWorld is Paid and ProprietaryDwarf Fortress is Free and Proprietary
  2. Gnomoria icon
     19 likes

    Gnomoria is a sandbox village management game where you help lead a small group of gnomes, who have set out on their own, to thrive into a bustling kingdom!.

    15 Gnomoria alternatives
    Gnomoria screenshot 1

    License model

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Steam

    Gnomoria Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Squad based
    3.  Isometric view
    4.  Building game
    5.  Graphical component
    Discontinued

    No updates since release, also see Steam reviews: http://store.steampowered.com/app/224500/

    Gnomoria iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Gnomoria VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Gnomoria a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
    Comments about Gnomoria as an Alternative to Dwarf Fortress
     
       
    Guest

    Gnomoria is basically dwarf fortress with better graphics.You have to grow food,make an army to defend yourself,and make a home for your gnomes.However this game lacks some features that dwarf fortress has and this game can become quite boring after awhile.

    Top positive commentJan 16, 2016
    3
    Guest

    While I prefer Rimworld as a Dwarf Fortress alternative, this is closer to DF. The world, the gnomes, the z-levels, all these make Gnomoria one of the best Dwarf Fortress clones. However, it's not being updated anymore, and it kinda feels like a less complex version of DF, but with better graphics and UI

    Positive commentSep 8, 2020
    0
    Guest

    It is the best alternative - but that said it has only about 30% of the depth and breadth of DF. And DF is getting deeper and broader every few months whereas Gnomoria development stopped almost 4 years ago. There is a fan reboot of Gnomoria called ingnomia that is still being worked on however at the time of writing this it is still very fa short of playable in for anything more than an hour or two. Dwarf Fortress is unique. All the other games here are very (VERY) much simpler.

    Positive commentJul 9, 2019
    1
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    3 of 5 comments
    Dwarf Fortress Icon
    Gnomoria icon
    • Most users think Gnomoria is a great Dwarf Fortress alternative.

    • Gnomoria is Paid and ProprietaryDwarf Fortress is Free and Proprietary
  3. Veloren icon
     44 likes

    Veloren is a multiplayer voxel RPG written in Rust. It is inspired by games such as Cube World, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft.

    20 Veloren alternatives
    Veloren screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Top Veloren Features

    1.  Open World Game
    2.  DRM Free
    3.  Voxel-based geometry
    4.  Linux-games-native
    5.  Multiplayer
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Endless gameplay
    8.  Single player
    9.  Moddable
    10.  Player vs Player
    11.  Online co-op
    12.  Support for scripting
    Veloren iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Veloren VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Veloren a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
    • Veloren is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Dwarf Fortress.

    • Veloren is Free and Open SourceDwarf Fortress is Free and Proprietary
    • Veloren is MultiplayerDwarf Fortress is not according to our users
  4. Stonehearth icon
     7 likes

    Stonehearth is a game of exploration and survival in an epic fantasy setting. Build your town, care for your hearthlings, and defend against marauding invaders.

    46 Stonehearth alternatives
    Stonehearth screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Wine
    • Steam

    Stonehearth Features

    1.  Customizable Buildings
    2.  Building game
    Stonehearth iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Stonehearth VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Stonehearth a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
  5. Banished icon
     19 likes

    In this city-building strategy game, you control a group of exiled travelers who decide to restart their lives in a new land. They have only the clothes on their backs and a cart filled with supplies from their homeland.

    46 Banished alternatives
    Banished screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Wine
    • Steam

    Banished Features

    1.  Single player
    2.  Logistics
    3.  Production Chains
    4.  Medieval
    Banished iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Banished VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Banished a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
    Comments about Banished as an Alternative to Dwarf Fortress
     
    Guest

    Banished is much more of a city building game. It lacks the feature of micro managing individuals and even if it was implemented, you just end up with too many people after 2 years to even make that feasible.

    Basically, think of sim city, but with the difficulty of Dwarf Fortress (not exactly, but almost)

    Negative commentApr 23, 2016
    2
    Guest

    Dwarf Fortress aims to simulate life to the point where it's more of a story than a game. Banished is very much "a game", and shares more in common with titles such as Civilization or Sim City.

    Negative commentApr 16, 2018
    0
    Dwarf Fortress Icon
    Banished icon
    • Some users think Banished is a great Dwarf Fortress alternative, some don't.

    • Banished is Paid and ProprietaryDwarf Fortress is Free and Proprietary
  6. Oxygen Not Included icon
     5 likes

    Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Manage your colonists and help them dig, build and maintain a subterranean asteroid base. You'll need water, warmth, food, and oxygen to keep them alive, and even more than that to keep them happy.

    8 Oxygen Not Included alternatives
    Oxygen Not Included screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Steam

    Oxygen Not Included Features

    1.  Base building
    Oxygen Not Included iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Oxygen Not Included VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Oxygen Not Included a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
  7. Dungeon Keeper 2 icon
     20 likes

    Discover your evil side as you build your own underground kingdom. Carve out a living, breathing world and attract a host of devilish creatures to swell the ranks of your dark hoards. Form an alliance with the Horned Reaper and expand your empire in your quest to reach the...

    13 Dungeon Keeper 2 alternatives
    Dungeon Keeper 2 screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    Discontinued but available at GoG: https://www.gog.com/game/dungeon_keeper_2

    Dungeon Keeper 2 iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Dungeon Keeper 2 VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Dungeon Keeper 2 a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
    Comments about Dungeon Keeper 2 as an Alternative to Dwarf Fortress
     
    Guest

    Dwarf Fortress is a simulator, Dungeon Keeper 2 is real time strategy

    Negative commentJan 19, 2020
    0
    Guest

    This game is a harsh reminder that cause a game was once great, that it will have a game just good or better as its predecessor.

    Negative commentSep 18, 2017
    -1
    Dwarf Fortress Icon
    Dungeon Keeper 2 icon
    • Some users think Dungeon Keeper 2 is a great Dwarf Fortress alternative, some don't.

    • Dungeon Keeper 2 is Paid and ProprietaryDwarf Fortress is Free and Proprietary
  8. Evil Genius icon
     12 likes

    Build a secret base, gain notoriety by completing daring missions, repel the forces of justice in real-time combat, and develop evil super-weapons to complete your nefarious master plan. As a malevolent mastermind bent on achieving global domination, through the construction of...

    15 Evil Genius alternatives
    Evil Genius screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Evil Genius Features

    1.  Building game
    Discontinued

    The game was released on September 28, 2004. It can be still bought from GOG.com

    Evil Genius iconDwarf Fortress Icon

    Evil Genius VS Dwarf Fortress

    Is Evil Genius a good alternative to Dwarf Fortress?
     
8 of 26 Dwarf Fortress alternatives