First Impression - Terraria

I started off in the world with a crappy copper shortsword, some wandering NPC and the drive to jump in to a new game. What I didn't know, is that 80+ hours of my life would slowly be mined away and placed into terrifying displays of obsession. Terraria is an interesting game - no real purpose but to explore, mine, fight and build but with an incredible flexibility that really sucks the time away.

At first, I was happily figuring out what the hell was even going on:

How do I build anything more than a torch?
Oh. I have to build a workbench with some wood...

Okay, then how do I make weapons?
Oh - that requires an Anvil!

Hmm, I seem to get owned by zombies...what the hell?
Oh - build a crude shelter and hide like a little girl.

This went on for a good first few playthroughs, and then the real meat and potatoes! More exploration, digging deep into the underworld, fighting bosses (gigantic horrible eye-beasts and huge worms), collecting new metals...Secretly, 40-50 more hours went by...

And then, the full horror set in once I realized just how large and intricate my gigantic castle was.

Without a story, a goal, objectives, dialogue, or statistics (well, kind of...there is gear with stats on it) this game sucked me in. My friends agree: the entire time you're playing you have no idea why you're so involved and having tons of fun.

Ultimately, I'd say Terraria is an excellent game even if just for the cost-to-fun ratio. It definitely appeals to a certain type of obsession; and, while there is not much "content" after "beating" the game by getting the best items, it is still very fun to explore new maps or create new castles/monuments/death-traps. Oh, and did I mention gigantic content updates every few weeks?

I'd definitely recommend it.

5 out of 5


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