A very whimsical, creative and fun game. Some may describe it as "2D Minecraft" mainly because it has a similar mechanic of resource gathering, crafting equipment and items, and building. But Terraria also puts a lot of focus on fighting. What I enjoyed most about this game is the fact that it doesn't try to strictly adhere to a formula. You can see that the people behind it had some ideas and just threw them in the game and tried to make them work. Which is why at times you can notice some "jank" or lack of consistency. But that is what makes Terraria endearing. It's fun and it has soul. Also, the developers have been supporting and adding content to the game for a long time. Which is laudable. All in all wholeheartedly recommend the game up to its current version 1.4.4.9. It is a very fun experience. "SO WHY THE 3 STARS" you ask? I initially planned to give this game 5 stars. But I had to knock down 2 because it seems that the next update (1.4.5) will bring certain elements purely for the sake of appeasing an extremely small but extremely vocal group of cult-like activists in America (and a couple of other western countries). One of those changes include the removal of some gender-related elements (such as in character creation) for the sake of "inclusivity". This is generally a bad move, especially when its done after so many years since the game's launch. Virtually NOBODY asked for these changes, because nobody was bothered by the existance of male-female selection options or other similar gender-related things. It is dishonest at the core especially when you're not even allowed to question it in the anglosphere. It is usually only done because the developers want to signal their appartenance to an ideology. Such moves are usually a bad sign of what's to come from the developers in the future. It shows lack of ethics. I will revise the score if these specific changes wont be implemented in the next update. Although I don't hold much hope for that.
I don't know how this game managed to fly under my radar for so many years. I may not be THAT much into brawlers, but I've played enough of them and looked up some on the new ones from time to time. Somebody mentioned Fight'N Rage on YT and it stirred my curiosity. Took a quick look at it and at first glance it didn't seem too impressive, at least visually. But now that I've played it for some time, I have to say that I regret not getting this game earlier. The controls are very responsive. The mechanics are tight. Moves are quick and chain nicely, giving battles a beautiful flow. Music slaps on each and every level. And speaking of levels, this game has many forking paths (some of which you might not expect), so the replayability of the MAIN game mode alone is quite high. And yes, the game has more than one game mode. Also, visuals are not as a bad as I thought initially. The designs are actually quite nice, and in some cases a bit daring ;^) (which is something that I've come to appreciate a bit more nowadays). The game does not take itself too seriously, and I like it. Also, if you're into that kind of thing, the game is chock full of references to various classics (more or less niche). The developer has some good taste. But, of course, I also have to list some of the cons. I mentioned earlier that the battle flow in this game is nice. Well, in my experience, that applies to 2 of the 3 playable characters. The third one is more of a slow, powerful and tanky grappler type of fighter, but it feels like he was more of an afterthought. His moveset is more limited, and after playing with the other 2 characters, controlling him feels sluggish and clunky. Even his animations seem to be less detailed. Some of the enemies are VERY annoying. Some of them have like 1-2 frames in their attack animations and they can easily sneak up on you and ruin your combos. Level design could use a bit more variety. Not visually, but rather mechanically (walls, traps, etc).
