16 Best Games With Emergent Gameplay

Dwarf Fortress

There are difficult games that take on their own identities and there’s Dwarf Fortress. This insane game has the player constructing a fortress and influencing a friendly cavalcade of dwarves towards success. From there, things take a turn for the bizarre. Dwarves infected by viruses and attacking their friends; raids with elephants committing murder; a mysterious quiver that kills anyone who tries to pick it up; and The Hamlet of Tyranny, which is an insane epic that could rival other fantasy tales. Dwarf Fortress may have an insurmountable learning curve but its emergent gameplay is top-tier.