Terraria Review

Terraria is often accused of being a 2D clone of Minecraft, but JTB thinks differently...

Presentation: 4.0

Terraria, advertised as a 2D Minecraft, uses a cartoony art style with the same block system as Minecraft. The animations are flawless, and the sprites look good enough for them not to irritate you during gameplay. The lighting system is good, although there is a small animation for the mud falling through the dark sections of your vision, simply for effect, while adding a needed bit of tension, this animation can get annoying after playing for long periods of time. The menu’s are slick, and easy to use, which smoothes the experience. Generally, the visuals are good, but nothing special.

Gameplay: 4.5

Starting off as a less exciting version of Minecraft, I began with a heavy heart, the same series of collecting wood and metal I had done countless times on the opposing game. However, once you reach the mid and end games, the result is vastly different. It becomes more about armour collecting and item finding (there are far, far more items than in Minecraft) and taking down the numerous types of enemies you can find. Exploration is great, but there are, like Minecraft, only a few biomes to explore, but the first time you find each it’s a brilliant experience, especially in co-op as you both nervously edge forward into the dark underground jungles of Terraria.

Lasting Appeal: 3.0

If you’re buying this for the building side of things, to be frank, don’t, buy Minecraft. The 2D aspect, simply does not allow enough room to build interesting structures. It is a long uphill struggle, to the best set of armour, but once achieved, there is really very little to come back for, so enjoy your first playthrough, because it may well be the last.

Overall: 4.0

I would like to specify, before concluding, that this is not Minecraft, and it does not try to be, do not disregard this as a Minecraft clone. Sure, it takes ideas from it, but it is a totally different game, with bosses, dungeons, magical abilities, it plays more like an RPG than a sandbox. The experience is infinitely better if you have a friend to play with, the multiplayer systems are clever, incorporating PVP and parties into the mix. In conclusion, this is a fun game, but unless it seems like the kind of thing you would love, I would think twice. You will have a great time in Terraria, but I wouldn’t say it was worth the price-tag*.

*It is worth noting at this point that Terraria costs £5.99 on Steam.

-JTB-