Many people have likened Terraria to the well-known sandbox game Minecraft. However, this is unbelievably wrong. They are very different games, and to compare them would be like comparing playing solitaire to playing on an online casino.
Sure, they may share some characteristics, but the entire package is what makes each game a unique and wonderful experience. They are both amazing games, and to pit one against the other is a tad silly.
What is Terraria?
Terraria is a 2d side scroller open-world sandbox-style game where you must collect resources and loot in order to grow more powerful. As you grow in strength you will fight more and more bosses and eventually ‘beat’ the game.
I put ‘beat’ in parentheses, as there isn’t really an ending to the game. Even if you beat the final boss, you can still continue playing the game in that same world. There is even extra content for when after you fight the final boss.
This includes the fact that in order to craft some of the best items in the game, you must beat the final boss several times in order to collect his drops. This applies to most other bosses as well. If you want their loot, you have to beat them more than once.
Graphics
Terraria has some of the most beautiful graphics I have seen if you like that 16-bit style look. That may not sound very impressive, but it can actually be quite tough to make a 2d pixel style game that looks very nice!
Many other games I have seen with a similar style fall a little flat in some regards when it comes to their graphics. A great example is Starbound. Starbound is very similar to Terraria in gameplay and graphics.
Yet I personally think that Starbound’s graphics can look a little flat and plain to me. Terraria just uses vibrant colours and backgrounds so wonderfully to make a beautiful game that truly stands out in its class.
The animations are also quite good. Everything feels smooth and elegant, and nothing feels like it wasn’t properly polished before it was added.
From the player’s movements to the swinging of swords, the fluidity of movement and monsters in the game is outstanding. This is seen even more when it comes to magic in the game.
Magic can be a tough thing to implement in some games. You want spells to feel powerful and vibrant, but if you go overboard it will feel like too much. Terraria has found a perfect balance. Spells look and feel powerful and responsive, and don’t overwhelm your view.
Basic Gameplay
In Terraria, you start the game off with just some simple tools and are left to fend for yourself in the world. You must chop down trees, mine precious ores, and collect loot from chests in order to become more powerful.
As you progress you will have to get better and better gear. This works through a kind of tiered system. For example, first, you must get iron gear, and then you will be able to mine silver to make silver gear.
With a silver pickaxe, you will then be able to mind golden gear. It’s around here that you would have to start fighting bosses to get better gear.
So, now that you have your golden armor, swords, bows, and whatever other accessory items you want, how do you continue to progress?
Bosses
Terraria has about 10 main bosses for the player to fight. All of them will give the player vital tools and materials to continue leveling up.
The first boss most players will fight is King Slime. He can be summoned on purpose or accidentally, and isn’t too difficult to beat. He also drops some useful items for fighting other bosses.
The next boss is the Eye of Cthulhu. He can also be summoned, or simply just spawn at night if the player has above a certain amount of health or armor.
He is easier than King Slime as he is easy to dodge. It is worthwhile for players to fight him a couple times for his drops, or to sell what he drops for money.
Now we come to the first mandatory boss. That is either the Brain of Cthulhu or the Eater of Worlds. Which you have in your world will depend on what kind of Evil your world spawns with. The Brain of Cthulhu is for Crimson, Eater of Worlds for corruption.
After you beat the mandatory boss for your world’s Evil, you come to one of the most useful bosses to beat Pre-Hardmode. That is of course Queen Bee. Queen Bee’s drops are some of the most useful you can have for fighting the final boss before Hardmode.
You could fight him either before or after Queen Bee, but Skeletron is another boss worth taking down. Killing him grants you access to the dungeon and the loot stored within.
The final boss of Pre-Hardmode is named the Wall of Flesh. You summon him by sacrificing the Guide NPC. This is done by throwing the Voodoo Doll into the lava. Killing the Wall of Flesh turns the game to Hardmode.
In Hardmode, enemies are harder, but also the loot and resources you can acquire are much better. You will now have to redo the tier style equipment upgrading except with the new Hardmode ores.
Now, the first bosses of Hardmode are called the Mechanical Bosses. These are all buffed and reskinned versions of bosses Pre-Hardmode. You can also fight them in any order you like.
However, the order most people would fight them is by starting with the Destroyer. This is the mechanical version of the Eater of Worlds. He is the easiest Mechanical Boss as you can easily cheese the fight by building a platform high enough above the ground.
The Destroy is unable to fly and must stay at least partially rooted to the ground. So, building high enough up makes it so he can’t attack you.
After the Destroyer usually comes Skeletron Prime. He is once again just a reskin of a Pre-Hardmode boss. This time it is Skeletron.
Finally, we have the Twins. Named Spazmatism and Retinizer, they are a more powerful and difficult version of the Eye of Cthulhu. One of them has a death laser, and the other breathes fire. So, pick your poison.
Now, once all three mechanical bosses are defeated, you can fight Plantera. Widely considered one of the hardest bosses in the game, Plantera is found within the Jungle biome.
In the Jungle, you simply just need to break the Plantera Bulb flower, and it will spawn Plantera. Plantera has a lot of health and multiple stages. Also, the confined space of the underground Jungle makes it hard to dodge and get away from Plantera.
However, where there is a will there’s a way. You can build an arena equipped with the games teleporter pads and have a much easier time fighting this boss. Just watch out, as one misstep could make you Planteras lunch…
Sadly, the next boss is another one that is cheesable. This boss is called the Golem. He lives in the Jungle Temple that unlocks after you kill Plantera.
As I said, this fight is another one that is cheesable if you do the right preparation. You are actually able to just stand in a corner with a ranged weapon or spell and just continually hit Golem.
His fists that he attacks you with will actually retract if they are hit. So, if you just happen to have a quick enough weapon, you can force him to not hit you for most of the fight.
Once Golem is defeated, Cultists will spawn at the entrance to the Dungeon. Killing the Cultists will spawn the next boss named the Lunatic Cultist.
Killing the Lunatic Cultist is what starts the Lunar Events. This means that 4 Celestial pillars will spawn around the map. These pillars must be destroyed in order to fight the final boss.
However, beware! The pillars are protected by some powerful enemies. And, you must kill around 200 of them in order to be able to deal damage to the pillar itself!
So now, the pillars have been destroyed. A message pops up on the screen saying, “Impending Doom Approaches…”
1 minute later, the Moon Lord spawns. The Moon Lord is the hardest boss in Terraria, and he is the final boss of the game. He has many powerful abilities, so woe unto anyone who wasn’t absolutely prepared…
Final Thoughts
After having given you an outline of what you can expect from the game, I think all I could really say is that Terraria is absolutely worth a buy and certainly a play.
Not only is it a fun adventure-exploration game that will keep you hooked, but there is also just so much content you will want to play it over and over again!
I mean, I haven’t even touched on all the loot, the different styles of combat you can play, or all the NPCs you can get. There is just so much content packed into this game.
So, if you like adventure games, or you like games where you have to fight lots of bosses to progress, Terraria is the game for you. It is certainly worth the money you would pay for it, and you will definitely not regret your purchase!
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