I am going to be honest and say that when I first heard of this game, I wasn't really much of a fan. I kept hearing so many people talk about his much if an awesome game it is but I just never considered playing it, I never even bothered to look up what the game was like or even see a Lets Play of it. Once I heard that the game was like Minecraft, I was turned away from the game even more because I told myself that if it's like Minecraft, I'd might as well just stick to Minecraft and not try something that's like it. Eventually I was given the opportunity to get the game for free so I finally decided to look into the game and after I did some research through wikis and stuff, i told myself that the game sounded good enough and I ended up getting it so I could test it out for myself.

Terraria turned out to be a really fun game, though it was a lot like Minecraft, it had a ton of its own unique and cool features that made it into its own wonderful game. This is actually the first game that I have ever played ever without seeing videos of the game before playing it, and I still have not, I had not yet seen a single Lets Play of it or anything, but I don't really need to because the game turned out to be fun without needing to be encouraged to play it, though im glad that I did end up getting it.

GRAPHICS 7/10

In this game, the graphics are very simple, yet are also very creative at the same time. I will admit that they are small, not as big or as in depth as a few other games but they are very good for such a well made indie game, and as long as the graphics dont interfere with the game play, then there's nothing wrong with them. I would say that the texture and the colors would make mr think of some of the older RPG's and that shouldn't be a problem since there was nothing wrong with those graphics. They aren't bad, they are full of color and bring the game to life, whether its the terrain or the characters, the way the game looks is part of the reason why the game became so popular. I personally like the way that the game looks and I doubt I would like the game any more if better graphics were used and for that my grade for graphics is going to be a 7 out of 10.

SOUND 8/10

I personally really enjoyed the music that plays throughout the game and feel that it fits the mood of the game really well. This isn't the kind of music that I would want to listen to when im not playing the game on my own, but while playing it helps create a really fun experience and it goes well with the game play. I believe there's more than two dozen songs in the soundtrack and if I had to pick which one would be my favorite, I would really have a tough time choosing just one. Each song changes based on where you are in the game, it can change depending on what biome you are in, a specific event that's taking place or a few other factors.

There are a few songs that are happy and can energize you while there are also a few that are dark and I think some of the dark ones can make the game so much better. If there's a dark moment in a game, it's really good if a song can match up with what's going on because it can amplify the experience that you go through while playing it because the mood becomes much stronger. I love it when the music blends together with the action, whether its in a video game or in a movie, and the music in this game does just that to make the overall experience so much better. As a result, my grade for this category is going to be an 8 out of 10.

ADDICTIVENESS 9/10

I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons I didn't want to play the game was because I heard that the game was like Minecraft. There's only one other game like Minecraft that I like, and I felt that if its going to be the same thing, that I would just be better off sticking with those games and not devote time to doing the same thing I could do there in a new game. I was wrong though, this game had so many things that Minecraft did not have, it offered so many unique features, and overall it turned out to be a very addicting game. I played the game only for a little bit before I had begun to realize how much this game had to offer and how much fun I was going to have playing it.

Unlike Minecraft. It's a 2D game, and its a platformer, but it still had all the characteristics and more. I haven't played the game enough to get a good count, but there's hundreds of items for you to find, there's a ton of enemies for you to fight your way through, and there's a good assortment of biomes ready to be explored. It's one of those awesome little games that you can play over and over for a few hours at a time and never get bored of it. This is for two reasons, not only is there so much for you to do, but each time you play there's going to be a different way of doing things leading to a different experience each time you play the game. Because of this, my grade for addictiveness is going to be a near perfect 9 out of 10.

STORY 6/10

Personally I dont think that there's too much in terms of a story, especially towards the beginning of the game. When you first start off the game, its a lot like Minecraft or most other games that would fall under this genre, you start off mainly with nothing and you try to get yourself some supplies. As you progress your way through the game, you will begin to encounter many new features to help you out over the course of your journey. The main goal of the game is again, just like Minecraft in the sense that you have to survive by mining resources, crafting various items, and fighting off various enemies, but there's so much that stems out of that to give the game more of a meaning in what you do.

There's a type of currency that you get from fighting monsters and this can be used to buy various things from NPC's that you unlock over time. Other than that there's a ton of main bosses for you to fight and there's a few special events that you need to complete as part of the story. In terms of a story, there's nothing that's really big and stands out in this game in my opinion so my grade for story is going to be a 6 out of 10.

DEPTH 10/10

To people who play Minecraft a lot, it's kind of common sense that the game has a lot of depth, and in my opinion, this game is capable of having just as much depth, if not more. I'm telling the truth, the game has a ton of depth, just the fact that it's a sandbox game says a lot about how much depth there is because these kinds of games tend to have a lot to offer, and this game is no different. On top of the game being a sandbox, you have all of the items that you work with, there's a ton of items for you to find and then beyond that there's so many different item combinations to craft with.

There's an abundance of basic enemies and a ton of main bosses for you to fight across a variety of intense biomes and that's not even close to being all there is. I personally believe that the NPC and currency system is huge and is one the only real aspect of the game that is better than Minecraft. Sure, in Minecraft you have the villagers who will trade items with you, but I think the system used in this game takes that to the next level and offers a whole lot more for you to mess around with. The game has a lot to offer, if you play it for just a couple of hours, you aren't going to be able to discover everything that there is to the game, there's so much that you are going to keep playing it for a long time in order to find everything. The game has everything pretty much, and my grade for depth is going to be a perfect 10 out of 10.

DIFFICULTY 5

When it comes to the difficulty, I would have to say that I'm somewhat split on this aspect because I feel that the game is the same amount of hard as it is easy and that's ok because it leaves a good balance. Once you start off the game, it may be a bit hard to get a hold of but that's only because you need to get used to the controls and such but as you play the game longer, you will know more about the game and be able to play it better. However, it also works the other way around in terms of the game play, because as you first begin the game its somewhat easy while later on you battle tougher enemies and both aspects seem to counter each other. I dont think that at any point the game will either be too difficult or too easy so as for a grade, I am going to give this aspect a 5.

OVERALL 9/10

Overall, im going to have to agree with all of those people who had said that this is a great game. I agree because it's true, the game had a lot of great qualities and it's really fun to play. I love Minecraft and this is like Minecraft so just that alone should make the game sound good though I won't like and say that this game is better than Minecraft because its not. This game has a few great features, some of which does Minecraft does not have, but at the moment there's no real reason for me to say that this game is better because it's not.

I find some of the features to be really cool such as the whole NPC and currency system which for me takes the game to a whole new level and offers a better experience. I doubt there's going to be too many people left who have not played this game, but if you haven't, then I suggest that you give it a try and see if you like it. The game is for a couple other systems as well so who knows, maybe someone you know has the game for whatever system and you can check it out that way. I really like this game and I highly recommend it so my overall grade for Terraria is going to be a 9 out of 10.

Another great review of yours! I liked your introduction and the explanation on how you came to play the game. I don't know if friends could convince me like that!

Nice work, Zander. I recently began compiling lists of PS4 and PS Vita games that I want to try, and somehow I overlooked this one. I had heard of it but had no idea what it was, and I probably would never have tried it had I not found this review which made it sound decent and also lead me to the screenshots of it. I love modern "8-bit" sidescrollers, and now I MUST get this game. xD

Thanks for reviewing it.

Eirinn : This is not a Playstation version, so I believe that there might be quite a few differences between this one and the one that you might get if you do, so I'm not too sure if it turns out the way you are expecting it to, but if you do ever get it, then I hope that you enjoy it because the PC version is fun.

Oh yeah, I know the reviews and pictures are Windows, I looked up the PS4 version later and found some info on it. It's been upscaled and had some additional functionality features added and such, but otherwise it looks to be the same. I'm pretty hyped about trying it out.