Dwarf Fortress fills its niche very well, to the point that anything that tries to make the same tradeoffs (extreme depth at the cost of accessability) in the same arena will inevitably be compared to DF unfavorably.
But I will argue that DF has a cousin in a game that is comically far outside of its arena: Quake, and the Quake family tree in general.
Both have a devoted audience that sticks with the games despite their extreme age and poor graphics. But more importantly - by accident more than by design - Quake has a ridiculous depth (both in mechanics and strategy) at the cost of exteme mechanical complexity (Just look at what you have to do to get the RA on Aerowalk).
If you're looking for Dwarf Fortress lite, I'd suggest taking a look at games by Paradox Interactive, which have a similar reputation.
But I will argue that DF has a cousin in a game that is comically far outside of its arena: Quake, and the Quake family tree in general.
Both have a devoted audience that sticks with the games despite their extreme age and poor graphics. But more importantly - by accident more than by design - Quake has a ridiculous depth (both in mechanics and strategy) at the cost of exteme mechanical complexity (Just look at what you have to do to get the RA on Aerowalk).
If you're looking for Dwarf Fortress lite, I'd suggest taking a look at games by Paradox Interactive, which have a similar reputation.