I liked DF, though it is complex and nearly impossible to get into without help from the wiki.
At first I didn't want to play it with the asci gfx because I was worried it would be bad for my eyes, but I ended up playing without skins eventually because some update or other made them not work anymore. iirc it wasn't so bad once I learned what symbol represented what, though I'd still recommend useing a gfx pack or whatever it is called when you start, before you've learned the game.
There are a lot of tools that makes the game easier to manage too.