When comparing Dwarf Fortress vs Pixel Dungeon, the Slant community recommends Dwarf Fortress for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on PC?” Dwarf Fortress is ranked 1st while Pixel Dungeon is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose Dwarf Fortress is:
Starvation, riots, goblins raiders stealing your babies, goblin war parties stealing your lives, elephants, vampires, werewolves, werebears, werebadgers, carp, digging into an aquifer, digging into lava, digging into the nesting area of a Forgotten Beast, selling wood to hippies, insanity, drowning in knee-deep water, and being attacked by your own dismembered finger. There are a lot of ways for dwarves to die. Age really isn't one ever heard of. After playing this game long enough, you'll realize why dwarves don't like going outside. Everything from harpies to dangerous man-eating carp is everywhere. Some of them are humorous, but most are a lesson. The entire game acts as a massive learning experience. Don't tell your dwarves to fish; they don't know how to swim. Wall off your fortress or a necromancer will make your lunch attack you. Don't dig too far down, or something scary will follow you back up. There is no victory, only glorious deaths. What goals you set in the game are up to you. Make small, simple goals that you know you can complete. "Surviving for 100 years" is like "curing cancer". Not technically 'impossible', but it might just be easier to settle on building a bridge for now.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Lots of ways to die, no ways to win
Starvation, riots, goblins raiders stealing your babies, goblin war parties stealing your lives, elephants, vampires, werewolves, werebears, werebadgers, carp, digging into an aquifer, digging into lava, digging into the nesting area of a Forgotten Beast, selling wood to hippies, insanity, drowning in knee-deep water, and being attacked by your own dismembered finger.
There are a lot of ways for dwarves to die. Age really isn't one ever heard of. After playing this game long enough, you'll realize why dwarves don't like going outside. Everything from harpies to dangerous man-eating carp is everywhere. Some of them are humorous, but most are a lesson.
The entire game acts as a massive learning experience. Don't tell your dwarves to fish; they don't know how to swim. Wall off your fortress or a necromancer will make your lunch attack you. Don't dig too far down, or something scary will follow you back up.
There is no victory, only glorious deaths. What goals you set in the game are up to you. Make small, simple goals that you know you can complete. "Surviving for 100 years" is like "curing cancer". Not technically 'impossible', but it might just be easier to settle on building a bridge for now.
Pro Massive randomly-generated worlds persist across multiple games
Estimating one meter per tile, the smallest possible Dwarf Fortress world is roughly 13 kilometers on each side, and about 400 layers deep. The largest world is about 197 kilometers (123 miles) on each side. Each world has its own randomly-generated history with thousands of notable figures, warring factions, and numerous settlements of various races. Any number of fortresses and/or adventurers can be played in a particular world, though only one at a time.
Pro Renowned for depth of simulation and emergent gameplay
The ultimate goal of Dwarf Fortress is no less than a total fantasy world simulator. Its simulated systems include geology, metallurgy, fluid pressure, temperature, combustion and phase transitions (melting, evaporation, etc.), shear and tensile strength, ballistics and gravity, anatomy and tissue damage, growth and maturation of animals and plants, emotional states, life goals, and alcohol dependence.
Pro Base game is free (supported by donations)
From the Bay 12 Games donations page:
Bay 12 is dedicated to providing original games free of charge, but that doesn't mean it is free for us to make them. We've been online since December 2000, and you can help Bay 12 Games continue to thrive. If you've enjoyed any of our games, and you are able to give, we accept financial support.
Pro Continuous active development is planned for decades to come
Dwarf Fortress was started in 2002 and first released in 2006. Tarn and Zach Adams, its creators, have estimated that version 1.0 will be done in "about twenty years" and development will continue beyond that point.
Pro "Starter Pack" offers a streamlined introduction
The DF Starter Pack, formerly Lazy Newb Pack, is a collection of community-created enhancements to the interface and visual presentation of Dwarf Fortress. Find it here.
Pro Sim-like "Fortress" and roguelike "Adventurer" modes
Dwarf Fortress offers two primary ways to play. In Fortress Mode, the player oversees a small group of dwarves who embark to build a new settlement. Individual dwarves cannot be controlled directly; instead, the player supplies objectives and constraints and the A.I. decides exactly what is done by whom. Adventurer Mode presents a more classic roguelike experience, wherein the player controls a single character and can explore the entire world (including previous player-made fortresses).
Two secondary modes are also provided: Legends Mode, which allows you to browse through all of the notable people, places, objects and events in a particular world's history; and the Object Testing Arena, where AI combat scenarios can be played out with any arbitrary combination of creatures and weaponry.
Pro A variety of mods are available, which extend the gameplay by a large margin
There are multiple mods available that extend the gameplay or even just change it outright. This way there are many choices to the player as to how they would like the game to play.
Pro Tons of replayability thanks to the randomly generated level
In true roguelike fashion, levels are randomly generated each time a new game is started. On top of this mechanic, Pixel Dungeon goes one step further by randomizing effects of all items as well, so it's impossible to tell if a dropped item will have a positive or a negative effect based on its sprite representation.
Pro Challenging and fun gameplay that lends itself well to repeat plays
Pixel Dungeon's gameplay is intuitive, allowing for it to be easy to get into. What is great though is that it's also very challenging, quickly making the experience both rewarding and addictive. Just one more game is a thought many will have before actually turning off their device.
Pro Detail-oriented design lends itself well to many gameplay elements, giving a feeling of polish and care not normally found on mobile
Small details in the art design helps to add immersion to the gameplay.
Pro A good variation in items allows the player to constantly discover new and exciting ways to tackle the game
Next to the typical selection of buffs, de-buffs, potions (that can be either consumed or thrown), weapons and armor (the latter two have to identified and can carry with them bonuses and curses), there are also less common items like random teleportation scrolls, map reveals, etc.
Pro Easily play without an internet connection as the game can be played in-full offline
Pixel Dungeon does not require an internet connection to use, making for a good game to play when there is no internet to connect to such as on flights.
Pro Beautiful pixel artwork that should offer a good bit of nostalgia for anyone who grew up with games that look similar
This looks like one of the good SNES RPGs. For someone who grew up loving those games, that's a huge plus.
Pro Being completely free and open-source means that anyone can try the game in order to see if they like it
No advertisements, no in-game store, and available for free with the source code available on GitHub.
*There is a link in the game where users can donate money to the developer. This of course does not mean you have to, but it is marked as a game with in-app-purchased because of it.
Pro Has a reasonable amount of strategical depth where the player can easily plan out their next move
The top-down, turn-based nature of the game gives the opportunity to plan out a complex series of moves. This way there is no time constraint, and the player can leisurely strategize what they would like to do next.
Pro Hold your device as you like as the game can be played in portrait or landscape
Allowing the user to switch from portrait or landscape makes for an easy way to switch playstyles (one handed, two handed) depending on what device is being used (tablet, phone) as well as what is most comfortable for the user.
Cons
Con Controls are complex and often counterintuitive
New players are advised to read the Quickstart Guide.
Dwarf Fortress takes a lot of patience to learn. Even something as basic and early as world creation might take a guide to understand the first time around.
It doesn't really matter how experienced of a gamer you are; if you try to play this game without a guide, you're going to have a hard time.
Con No inherent goals or objectives
Simulation, and the resulting emergent stories, are (by design) all there is to the game. Adventurers can die and fortresses can fall, but there is no such thing as winning.
Con ASCII text-based display (alternatives available via mods)
Con Pixel Dungeon is hard
Pixel Dungeon's difficulty can be a turn off for some players as it is quite challenging. While there will be those that enjoy such difficulty, those looking for something easy may not enjoy the game.
Con Overly random
A lot of people see roguelike design as being based around randomness. It's actually a far more precise set of balances than that. A lot of roguelike developers shy way from "randomly generated content" in favor of the term "procedurally generated content." The reason for this is that a well designed roguelike is well balanced enough that if you lose or win, it's all because of the actions you took.
Pixel Dungeon has a habit of sometimes generating dungeons that are basically impossible and sometimes generating dungeons that are laughably easy.
Con Randomness cannot be turned off
Since everything in Pixel Dungeon is randomized, sometimes a player's character can get killed in ways that cannot be avoided. There is no way to escape this issue since randomization is baked in with no way to turn it off.