Games like Dwarf Fortress

4.0average player rating•5 games

Dwarf Fortress’s pull is the colony-sim crucible: simulation-driven drama where labor, geology, and invaders collide into stories. These picks keep that systems-first building and emergent narrative, each through a different constraint or survival pressure.

Open in Discovery All “games like” lists

Games5

Avg. Metacritic83

Avg. player rating4.0/5

Avg. playtime7h

Main genreIndie

Released2015–2021

What these games share

The genres these 5 picks have in common, straight from their store data.

Indie4 of 5
Simulation4 of 5
Strategy4 of 5
RPG2 of 5

The picks

Ranked by player rating, Metacritic breaks ties.

1
RimWorld
StrategySimulationIndie
Colony drama from interlocking needs, skills, and storyteller-driven events that spiral into unforgettable sagas.
4.3/5Player ratingMC87View game
2
Kenshi
ActionRPGStrategy
Sandbox survival where squads, wounds, and hunger knit long-form stories, and any settlement you raise invites raids.
4.2/5Player ratingMC75View game
3
Oxygen Not Included
StrategySimulationIndie
Systems-first base building where heat, gases, fluids, and power chains force intricate engineering just to keep anyone breathing.
4.1/5Player ratingMC86View game
4
KeeperRL
RPGStrategy
Dungeon management with digging, traps, and sieges, simulating every minion and invader down to body parts.
3.8/5Player ratingView game
5
Going Medieval
SimulationIndie
Voxel-by-voxel fort building with verticality and structural integrity, then holding fast against raiders and famine.
3.7/5Player ratingView game