Terraria Review
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 5
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Terraria finally brings the preeminent 2D take on Minecraft to mobile. While other games have taken this perspective on mobile (Junk Jack, which released a sequel the same day as this release, and the excellent The Blockheads), Terraria brings to the table a feel closer to RPGs and to Metroidvania-style adventures.
The action part: that’s what makes Terraria what it is. There’s something more to do than just “well, let’s figure it out!” like in other games. Granted, the process is the same, but the final goal isn’t. Terraria can be a bit obscure: the tutorial is a must. Seriously, it actually gives very important information about the mechanics that aren’t quite knowable through gameplay alone. Even the tutorial-adverse need to check it out.
While tweaks were necessary to make the game work on mobile, and overall the startup process of not having to choose between a difficulty and a world size is better for first time players, the loss of multiplayer is disappointing. One, it’s something that other games like The Blockheads have added in, not to mention Minecraft proper experimenting with it. Two, I think that a big part of the fun of many of these games is to explore together with someone, to have the emergent narrative be discovered with someone else, to tell the ‘war stories’ of crazy things that happened. When other people can get involved, it’s just much more satisfying. Losing that from Terraria feels disappointing.
And really, while I think the heart of the game is well-represented here, considering what other titles native to mobile have been able to do Terraria feels rather lacking. There’s still value here, but it’s just not as much as it could have been.