After nine of public beta access, hugely influential colony sim Dwarf Fortress’ roguelike Adventure Mode is getting its full Steam release on 23rd January.
Adventure Mode, if you’re unfamiliar, offers an alternative way to explore Dwarf Fortress’ ludicrously in-depth, procedurally generated worlds – trading the usual colony management for a roguelike RPG, complete with procedural quests, NPCs, and turn-based battles.
Dwarf Fortress’ Adventure Mode isn’t a new thing, of course. It’s been available as part of the free (and nearly two decade old) ASCII version for years, but it wasn’t included when the game made the jump to Steam as a notably slicker paid release – featuring the likes of sprite-based visuals, a mouse-driven UI, and Steam Workshop compatibility – in 2022.
That changed last May when developer siblings Zach and Tarn Adams launched a public beta version of Adventure Mode for Dwarf Fortress on Steam. At the time, the duo noted the beta had “some missing bits” seen in the ASCII version – ranging from additional graphics and sounds to butchery, crafting, and trading – that would be implemented prior to its full release.