Terraria

This is a great game if you like exploration and building shit, just know what you are getting yourself into. You'll have to entertain yourself with this one as this game does not follow a story-line or has levels or even has a path set out for you. It's just a big ass sandbox and you can go about your business exploring the world with little to no direction or hints of where you are supposed to go (if you are supposed to go anywhere in the first place). Eventually you'll meet the requirements of a event or boss to trigger or for the world to progress. There are two kinds of progress in this game. Character progress by the means of collecting different or better items which give you more abilities, and world progression by meeting requirements for events and beating bosses. You can create multiple characters and worlds and each can progress individually but you can also mix them in any way you'd like. Any character can enter any world you've made and they can swap equipment. The music in this game is especially good, it has many hints to other older games woven into it very subtly. Its really nice to listen to even if you're playing for hours, which can easily end up being the case. Another good thing is the insane about of items you can collect. Do yourself a favor and don't look at its wiki pages, you will lose all hope of ever collecting it all. But the game is not perfect. World creation is far too limited, you can only choose the size of the world and nothing else. It is also impossible to create a character that does not suffer some kind of penalty upon death. Some items are just a pain to find like those found in the pyramid. There are also a ridiculous number of NPC's in this game who are fucking annoying until you lock them away in their own privet home and completely box them in. Some deaths are just unfair and come out of nowhere. Some bosses are way to easy to come across and will simply kill you because you are not prepared for them.

Terraria finally has received its last content update! This is significant considering it boasts so much sheer content with not a DLC to its name since release. It's a sandbox/adventure/platformer which starts you off with basic tools and lets you explore, farm mine, fish, build, craft & fight to upgrade your character and gear. Whichever one you choose, the gameplay loop is incredibly rewarding and satisfying. You can try the melee, ranged, magic, or summon archetypes - each with a further few playstyles. They're only dependent on which items you equip, so you can VERY easily switch up your gameplay part-way into a playthrough. Elephant in the room: Is it like Minecraft? Answer: No. Minecraft has more of a focus on sandbox, whereas Terraria has a traditional gameplay loop and more of an adventure style. Some pros can finish Minecraft easily within the half-hour, meanwhile Terraria presents barriers to limit progress until you've killed the necessary boss. In my opinion, this makes it feel more like you're treading progress and never the same ground twice. Not sure what else to say other than it's a must-play because it still breaks away from a lot of conventions in its own, super fun, way. I think everyone ought to give it a go. Really, everyone!

There's something about this game that bonds with me spiritually, I just cant explain it. It speaks to me on an otherworldly level in ways I cannot fathom. Sure I've had my frustrations with it, but it has never kept me away. This isnt just a game, its up there with greatest pieces of art created by us humans.

I have hundreds of hours put into Terraria and I'm still playing. One of my favorite games ever. I like this game better than Minecraft for building, because even though it is *somewhat* more limited in terms of what you can make, it has the benefit of having graphics which are intrinsically pretty. I really like the naturey aesthetic of the game, and the fact that it has attractive art makes building much more appealing. Plus, the developers are STILL working on FREE new content for the game, 5 years later! One of the planned future updates is to add even more wiring and mechanism options. Terraria allows for many different styles of play. You can play multiplayer, either PvP or cooperatively, or you can play alone. You can just try to survive and beat the game, or you can enjoy building and creativity, or you can invent new group games to play--there are servers out there where people have organized bunny races and parkour courses and things like that. You can make maps and upload them for others to use; for example there are maps where people have re-created Zelda-type games within a Terraria map, for others to play through. There are so many options! The only caution I have is that some of the most popular player-made mods work only on the Steam version of the game. The excellent player modding community is one of the nice things about Terraria, so this stinks a bit. I'm a loyal GOG-er myself, but if you think this might matter to you, it might be better to buy Steam's version.

Many others have gushed over how long they've spent in the game, so I'll post actual reasons why you should buy it. There's a breadth of variety you don't see in other sandbox games - you aren't stuck progressing from items A to B to C. In each tier alone you have numerous choices that suit different playstyles. Prefer melee and want to wield badass swords and armor? You can. Prefer ranged combat and increased mobility? Sure. Want magic or even summoning? It's there. Mix-and-match? Absolutely. Certain points in the quality tiers are gated behind boss battles - this creates an incentive to master existing tools, and also means you aren't forced to come up with your own goals like in other sandbox games, there are already key challenges prepared. Additionally, there are overall world states - time isn't frozen like in every other game. If you ignore (whether accidentally or purposely) the spread of the Corruption or Crimson, some biomes can be lost - sometimes for good (though you can always roll new worlds). This means you have additional optional goals of building barriers and safe zones. You aren't just building empty monuments bereft of function and meaning. You can literally "save the world", and put as little or as much effort into it as you prefer. As if that wasn't enough, there are also specific themed events that can happen - from as minor as a brief slime rain, to as major as an alien invasion or complete world mode change. NPCs can be recruited, some appearing when you fulfill specific criteria (and have available housing for them to move in to), while others have to be rescued. While not fleshed out like RPG characters they do have personality, and many offer services or sell you unique things. The game also supports multiplayer and does it well. This is one of the rare few games I've bought over multiple platforms - PS3, Vita, PS4, and here on GoG. Completely worth the asking price, and a steal when on sale.