Recent reviews by Fayhen

Terraria is a game of immense depth that has been cared for and expanded by its developers for several years now. While the long-awaited 1.4 Journey's End final update is close to release and is generating new hype for the game, many who doesn't know what Terraria is about may mistakenly disregard it as "just one of those games". So I'll attempt to summarize it, and maybe get you to try out this amazing adventure:

Terraria follows the classic mechanic of explore -> gather materials -> craft -> beat bosses, rinse and repeat. This may appear as an old formula often over-used in other games, but Terraria is able able to keep it fun and interesting through its combinations of different biomes, highly varied gear and massive diversity of critters and enemies. Of course, there are also several items you'll find only through exploration. Combinations of the equips you find and craft can boost stats, grant buffs and unlock abilities.

It is the sheer amount of equips and their unorthodox combinations that I find the most fun on this game. There are no leveling or perk systems systems on Terraria; instead you increase your stats by finding and combining better gear, expect Health and Mana which you increase permanently through items you find on exploration. This way you can specialize into a "class" and switch it at will. You wanna go classic, like a staff-wielding wizard, a heavy-armored sword-and-shield warrior or a ammo-loaded gatling gun grunt? Terraria got you covered. But what about, say, a shaman summoner that sets a squad of giant spiders and imps upon your enemies? A butterfly-winged fairy with a rocket launcher that shoots stars? How about you hop on a hoverboard and glide at the enemy with a lightsaber or a laser gun? What if you decide you want to beat the game as a yoyo master? Knock yourself out.

The farther you are able to explore, the more stuff you'll discover, get, kill and craft, getting better (and funkier) gear that'll allow you to get even further and beat the bosses. And you will need better gear. Terraria is not a walk in the park, it is hard. It gets harder the more you play. It is Dark Souls hard on the highest difficulty settings. I'm not kidding.

Bosses will be varied on strategy and difficulty, and proceeding to the endgame will require proper slaying of said bosses. Be warned that some will need careful planning and preparing. On the way you'll unlock more bosses, new world events, new materials, more gear and more difficulty. You'll notice that your first several hours figuring out this world you find yourself into were but a scratch on its surface. You'll discover that the lush world you first saw on the game is one of a few "safe" heavens in the map, for there are Eldritch horrors waiting for you down the line. But I'll not spoil it for you.

All this can be enjoyed on single player or multiplayer. There is also the base building part, NPCs, fishing and other things I'll let you discover, if this review has picked your interest.

Oh. There are mods too, don't forget to check then out, especially if like me you're a veteran waiting your way to 1.4.

I am often asked how can I have almost 200 hours of gameplay on ETS. Though I'm a little amazed myself when I check the numbers, I can easily explain. ETS is a game where one can relax a little, and cool down if something's comes to overwhelm you. It's about getting on the road, crossing countries, and enjoying landscapes. Maneuvering can be a little tough at the beginning, but quickly you get the hang of it, and easily get used to the rules of the road. You can play music, inside the game or on a player. Me, I often hear some podcasts while I'm at it. And so you can enjoy some time, which allows you to forget the common problems everybody has, and get back to them with some rest. Works for me, at least.

A work that stands between Bethesda's biggest masterpieces.