Terraria

Terraria is an action-adventure sandbox game developed by Re-Logic. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows on May 16, 2011, and has since been released for other PC, consoles, handhelds, and mobile platform. Terraria features exploration, crafting, building, and combat with a variety of creatures in a procedurally generated 2D world. Terraria received generally positive reviews, with praise given to its sandbox elements. By April 2020, the game had sold over 30 million copies.

For the container used for growing plants, see Terrarium.

Terraria
Developer(s)Re-Logic[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)505 Games[lower-alpha 2]
Designer(s)
  • Andrew Spinks
  • Whitney Baird
Programmer(s)
  • Yorai Omer
  • Chris Bednarz
Artist(s)
  • Jim Kjexrud
  • Victor Moura
  • Jamison Hayes
Composer(s)Scott Lloyd Shelly
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure, sandbox
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
In-game screenshot from 2011 showing the player character standing next to trees

Terraria is a 2D sandbox game with gameplay that revolves around exploration, building, crafting, combat, and mining, playable in both single-player and multiplayer modes.[1][2] The game has a 2D sprite tile-based graphical style reminiscent of the 16-bit sprites found on the Super NES.[2] The game is noted for its classic exploration-adventure style of gameplay, similar to games such as the Metroid series and Minecraft.[2][3][4]

The game starts in a procedurally generated world, with players starting out with a few basic tools to get them started.[1] Many resources, such as metal ores, can be found while exploring caves. The player begins with low health and mana, which can be increased by finding certain items.[1] Some resources may only be found in certain areas of the map, stored in common and rare containers, or dropped by certain enemies.[1] The player uses resources to craft new items and equipment at an appropriate crafting station for that recipe. For example, tables or other items can be crafted at a workbench, bars can be smelted from ore at a furnace, and armor can be crafted at an anvil. Several advanced items in Terraria require multiple crafting operations where the product of one recipe is used as an ingredient for another.

The player can encounter many different types of enemies in Terraria, the occurrence of which depends on several factors including time, location, and random events.[1] The player can fight against enemies with swords, bows, guns, magic spells, and summoned minions. The player may also battle bosses that utilize a number of different combat mechanics and can drop rare items. All bosses are summoned by using certain items or randomly when certain criteria are met. The defeat of these bosses is directly tied to in-game progression. Defeating a certain one advances the game into "hardmode", which adds many new enemies throughout the world, as well as new NPCs and items.[5]

By completing specific goals, such as defeating a boss or obtaining a certain item, players can attract non-player characters (NPCs) to occupy structures or rooms they have built, such as a merchant, nurse, or wizard.[1] Some NPCs can be acquired by finding them throughout the world and will then reside in player-created houses after being rescued. Players may then buy or sell items and certain services from NPCs with coins found in the world. The game features many different biomes and areas, which are each home to a unique set of enemies and challenges. Some biomes will naturally expand by slowly overtaking and converting blocks in adjacent ones.

"Expert" and "master mode" are difficulty modes that increase the challenge of the game in exchange for some exclusive items. "Journey" mode allows players to duplicate items, adjust the world's difficulty, and control weather and time at will while playing.[6] In addition to standard gameplay, Terraria has support for mods, which is facilitated by the fan-made software tModLoader.[7][8][9] It later received official support from Re-Logic when it was released as downloadable content on Steam alongside the update "Journey's End".[10]

Development and release

Terraria was developed by Re-Logic beginning in January 2011,[11] and is built on the Microsoft XNA framework.[12] Re-Logic was composed of Andrew Spinks, who designed and programmed the game, Finn Brice, who along with Spinks did the graphic design for the game, and Jeremy Guerrette, who was a production assistant at Re-Logic, but left shortly after the game's release. The music was composed by Scott Lloyd Shelly.[13] The game was released for Microsoft Windows on May 16, 2011.[14] In December 2011, the game was updated to version 1.1, adding new monsters, bosses, NPCs, and items. The update also included improvements to the game's world generation technology and lighting system.[15] In February 2012, the developers announced that they would not be continuing active development, but would release a final bug-fix patch.[16] However, development resumed in 2013 with Spinks asking the community for ideas to include in future content updates.[17]

In September 2012, Spinks announced that Engine Software and 505 Games would be porting Terraria to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[18] The game was released for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on March 27, 2013.[19] The PlayStation 3 version was released via the PlayStation Network in North America on March 26, 2013[19] and in Europe and Australia on May 15, 2013.[20] Shortly after the initial console release, 505 Games announced Terraria for PlayStation Vita;[21] it was released in Europe on December 11, 2013, and in North America on December 17, 2013.[22] Spike Chunsoft localized the PlayStation 3 and Vita versions for release in Japan, including exclusive items such as a costume based on Monokuma from their Danganronpa series.[23][24] In May 2013, 505 Games announced a mobile version of Terraria ported by Dutch studio Codeglue for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.[25] It was released for iOS on August 29, 2013,[26] and for Android on September 13, 2013.[27] The Windows Phone version was released on September 12, 2014.[28]

In October 2013, Re-Logic released version 1.2 for Terraria on Windows. The update added a host of new mechanics, gameplay changes, and graphics adjustments.[29] After the 1.2 update was released the game returned to receiving continuous updates.[30][31] The console and mobile versions received the update in 2014.[32][33] Terraria released on GOG.com on October 2, 2014.[34] A downloadable version of Terraria was released for PlayStation 4 on November 11, 2014, and Xbox One on November 14, 2014,[35][36] with a retail release on December 2, 2014.[37] In September 2014, Re-Logic announced that Terraria would be coming to macOS and Linux.[38] They were both released on August 12, 2015.[39] The Nintendo 3DS version was first released on the Nintendo eShop on December 10, 2015.[40] A Wii U version was released on the eShop in June 2016.[41]

Version 1.3 was released on June 30, 2015, adding even more items, events, enemies, bosses, and gameplay features. The update was released for consoles on December 12, 2017, and was released for mobile on August 27, 2019.[42] In July 2016, 505 Games announced that Engine Software and Codeglue would no longer be working on the console and mobile versions respectively and that a new studio, Pipeworks, would take over the development of those versions.[43] A version for the Nintendo Switch, ported by 505 Games, was released on June 27, 2019.[44] In December 2018, 505 Games announced that development of the 1.3 update for mobile would be taken over by DR Studios to help Pipeworks focus on the Switch port of the game.[45]

The fourth and final major update for the game, Journey's End, was released on May 16, 2020, exactly 9 years after the game's initial release.[46] As with previous updates, it added new items, enemies, difficulty modes, and gameplay features.[47][48]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticPC: 83/100[49]
PS3: 81/100[50]
X360: 81/100[51]
iOS: 82/100[52]
VITA: 85/100[53]
PS4: 83/100[54]
XONE: 84/100[55]
3DS: 71/100[56]
NS: 82/100[57]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8/10[58]
GameSpot8/10[1]
GameZone9/10[59]
IGN9/10[60]
PC Gamer (US)79%[61]
TouchArcadeiOS: [62]

Terraria received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[49][50][51][52][53][54][55] A review for Destructoid included praise for Terraria as "full of depth".[63] Another reviewer praised Terraria's integration of some of Minecraft's concepts into two dimensions.[64]

GameSpot praised Terraria's exploration and feeling of accomplishment but criticized its lack of tutorial or explicit directions.[1] IGN praised the game, claiming that Terraria: "expands on the familiar sandbox gameplay with a greater emphasis on combat and adventure."[60] Terraria received the #1 of 2011 Indie of the Year Player Choice on IndieDB.[65]

Terraria has been described as a Minecraft clone by various video gaming media outlets.[60][66][67][68][69]

Sales

Terraria reached 200,000 copies sold in the first nine days following its release, where it remained on Steam's top sellers during the first week of sales.[70] Within a month, Terraria had sold over 432,000 copies.[71] By June 2015, over 12 million copies of Terraria were sold across all platforms,[72] with that number increasing to over 30.3 million by April 2020, with 14 million on PC, 7.6 million on consoles, and 8.7 million on mobile platforms.[73]

Legacy

In October 2013, Spinks announced that he was planning Terraria 2, stating that it would be significantly different from the original game.[74][75] Terraria: Otherworld was another planned game set in the Terraria universe, and was announced in February 2015 to be released later that year.[76] Otherworld tasked the player with trying to purify the world of the Corruption, which was to be achieved mainly by finding and activating "purifying towers" that push back the spread of the Corruption. Otherworld would have included more strategy and role-playing elements, such as a tower defense gameplay element, skill trees, and a plot. In April 2017, Re-Logic announced that the previous partner on the project, Engine Software, would be dropped in favor of a new studio, Pipeworks, due to the game being behind schedule.[77][78] In April 2018, Re-Logic announced that the game had been cancelled due to them not being satisfied with its development and unwilling to rush the release of a non-quality product.[79]

Notes
  1. Ported to mobile platforms by DR Studios, formerly by Codeglue. Also ported to various consoles by Pipeworks Studios, formerly by Engine Software.
  2. The PC versions are self-published by Re-Logic, while a retail Windows version was published by Headup Games in Europe

References
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