Somewhat Practical
Terrarian
*The Wall of Text has Awoken*
I'm writing this letter shortly after I finished my 200th fishing quest and finally got 100% in the game. Consider this a sort of love letter to the game I grew up with and, to a degree, mastered. I should explain where I am coming from. I started to play Terraria pretty early on, 1.1.1 I believe. I have spent almost 1000 hours in the game (Most of any of my steam games) I have played through the game too many times to count. Ive done Melee runs, Ranger runs, mage runs, yes even a few summoner runs and one attempted throwing run. Ive built castles and cottages, shrines and strongholds. I even have dipped my toes into both map making and speedrunning. Needless to say, I know the game well. Terraria had remained at the top of my favorite games list for a good chunk of time, Dethroning Minecraft around 1.3. After 100% the game I thought to myself one question, why? Why do I love this game? Why do others love the game? What makes Terraria a masterpiece?
Terraria to me has always been a game about choice. It’s a game that you can play any way you want to, yet still remains structured with a proper progression system. Re-Logic clearly mastered the delicate balance of making a game that is both structured and open at the same time. Most games can be slotted into two categories, Linear and Sandbox. Super Mario is linear. Minecraft is sandbox. Terraria is one of the few games that manages to straddle the line between these two categories. Terraria technically has a story. Something about dryads and corruption and some hero that will defeat the Moonlord, but you only really know the story if you read up about it. This, to me, is because Terraria is about writing your own story. Many members of the community have used Terraria to tell stories. The Legend of Maxx, Happy Day’s Character let’s plays, and Yrimir all come to mind immediately. These are stories with characters and plots that don’t always follow the “story of Terraria” I to have used Terraria as a medium to tell stories. My most beloved and developed original character started as a Terraria character.
Terraria is a medium in other ways other than storytelling. Terraria is also a medium for complex machines and magnificent works of art. I’d argue to say that good builders in Terraria are more impressive than good builders in other games. As much as Terraria is structured in progression, It is still at its heart, a sandbox game. Some of the pieces I have seen are surreal in their execution and detail.
What would a great game be without great gameplay? Terraria has great mechanics in spadefuls. Now I could go in depth about this but there are plenty of people that have done a better job than me already and this letter is already long enough as it is. I will instead use this section to explain the only real problem I have with the game. It's simply that Terraria is quite hard to get into without outside guidance from the internet on what to do. This isn’t a big problem but given the state of the internet nowadays. It would be nice if the guide gave better and more tips for new players.
Another thing Terraria does extremely well, is atmosphere. The art style and animations, especially after 1.4, really convey an idea of calm in some places, and excitement and adventure in others. The music reflects this idea. Calmer areas have calmer music. Intense areas like the jungle have exciting music. Each boss theme evokes an idea of facing a massive foe whilst remaining unique between other boss themes. The music is one of the most praised aspects of the game and it really proves that any media, be it games, movies, TV shows, etc. Need a strong score to really make it great. The atmosphere is extremely varied. To express this, I have a small sample of atmospheres. A calm day, A windy and slightly chaotic day, floating through space without a care in the world, exploring the depths of the sea, a hectic jungle, a mysterious and dangerous jungle temple, a fast-paced dungeon full of skeletons, fighting a massive flesh monster whilst running through hell, fending your home from extraterrestrials. All of these scenarios and more have music pieces that reflect these moods to a T. I know that Torch Luck is quite the meme in the community but it goes to show the dedication to atmosphere as it is basically Re-Logic encouraging us to use torches that match the mood of a setting. I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard torch luck discussed this way. There is one musical thing I wish was in the game. When I was playing through 1.4 for the first time, I heard about the Journeys End music box. I was under the impression this was a sort of overture of Terraria's greatest musical pieces dedicated to the end of a fantastic game. As it turns out, it was the title theme. If anyone from Re-Logic reads this (they probably won’t) please make a song that compiles the greatest of Terraria songs (possibly crafted by combining all music boxes as a end game reward for dedicated players). I know this will probably never happen but hey, orange torches are a thing!
Overall Terraria is the poster child of what a videogame should be. Plenty of choice, Room for creativity, solid mechanics, and great atmosphere all blend together to make a fantastic game! 10 fallen stars out of 10 fallen stars!
I'm writing this letter shortly after I finished my 200th fishing quest and finally got 100% in the game. Consider this a sort of love letter to the game I grew up with and, to a degree, mastered. I should explain where I am coming from. I started to play Terraria pretty early on, 1.1.1 I believe. I have spent almost 1000 hours in the game (Most of any of my steam games) I have played through the game too many times to count. Ive done Melee runs, Ranger runs, mage runs, yes even a few summoner runs and one attempted throwing run. Ive built castles and cottages, shrines and strongholds. I even have dipped my toes into both map making and speedrunning. Needless to say, I know the game well. Terraria had remained at the top of my favorite games list for a good chunk of time, Dethroning Minecraft around 1.3. After 100% the game I thought to myself one question, why? Why do I love this game? Why do others love the game? What makes Terraria a masterpiece?
Terraria to me has always been a game about choice. It’s a game that you can play any way you want to, yet still remains structured with a proper progression system. Re-Logic clearly mastered the delicate balance of making a game that is both structured and open at the same time. Most games can be slotted into two categories, Linear and Sandbox. Super Mario is linear. Minecraft is sandbox. Terraria is one of the few games that manages to straddle the line between these two categories. Terraria technically has a story. Something about dryads and corruption and some hero that will defeat the Moonlord, but you only really know the story if you read up about it. This, to me, is because Terraria is about writing your own story. Many members of the community have used Terraria to tell stories. The Legend of Maxx, Happy Day’s Character let’s plays, and Yrimir all come to mind immediately. These are stories with characters and plots that don’t always follow the “story of Terraria” I to have used Terraria as a medium to tell stories. My most beloved and developed original character started as a Terraria character.
Terraria is a medium in other ways other than storytelling. Terraria is also a medium for complex machines and magnificent works of art. I’d argue to say that good builders in Terraria are more impressive than good builders in other games. As much as Terraria is structured in progression, It is still at its heart, a sandbox game. Some of the pieces I have seen are surreal in their execution and detail.
What would a great game be without great gameplay? Terraria has great mechanics in spadefuls. Now I could go in depth about this but there are plenty of people that have done a better job than me already and this letter is already long enough as it is. I will instead use this section to explain the only real problem I have with the game. It's simply that Terraria is quite hard to get into without outside guidance from the internet on what to do. This isn’t a big problem but given the state of the internet nowadays. It would be nice if the guide gave better and more tips for new players.
Another thing Terraria does extremely well, is atmosphere. The art style and animations, especially after 1.4, really convey an idea of calm in some places, and excitement and adventure in others. The music reflects this idea. Calmer areas have calmer music. Intense areas like the jungle have exciting music. Each boss theme evokes an idea of facing a massive foe whilst remaining unique between other boss themes. The music is one of the most praised aspects of the game and it really proves that any media, be it games, movies, TV shows, etc. Need a strong score to really make it great. The atmosphere is extremely varied. To express this, I have a small sample of atmospheres. A calm day, A windy and slightly chaotic day, floating through space without a care in the world, exploring the depths of the sea, a hectic jungle, a mysterious and dangerous jungle temple, a fast-paced dungeon full of skeletons, fighting a massive flesh monster whilst running through hell, fending your home from extraterrestrials. All of these scenarios and more have music pieces that reflect these moods to a T. I know that Torch Luck is quite the meme in the community but it goes to show the dedication to atmosphere as it is basically Re-Logic encouraging us to use torches that match the mood of a setting. I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard torch luck discussed this way. There is one musical thing I wish was in the game. When I was playing through 1.4 for the first time, I heard about the Journeys End music box. I was under the impression this was a sort of overture of Terraria's greatest musical pieces dedicated to the end of a fantastic game. As it turns out, it was the title theme. If anyone from Re-Logic reads this (they probably won’t) please make a song that compiles the greatest of Terraria songs (possibly crafted by combining all music boxes as a end game reward for dedicated players). I know this will probably never happen but hey, orange torches are a thing!
Overall Terraria is the poster child of what a videogame should be. Plenty of choice, Room for creativity, solid mechanics, and great atmosphere all blend together to make a fantastic game! 10 fallen stars out of 10 fallen stars!