It is and it still is the best 2D platformer I have ever played: Control is solid, graphics are very nice (so nice that I stopped building things on my worlds and leave them untouched), and the overall execution is excellent. It's a refresher if you've dealt with bad, old action games. Also, the community is respectful and willing to motivate others to take different approaches in the realms. As a narrative element, it's useful: sometimes, it doesn't take itself too seriously; if so, then any conflicts regarding it are trivial (and hilarious). Lastly, who doesn't want to play a side-scroller where you can do whatever you want? It is a force that brings everybody together and the standards that the Masters (my name for Terraria's lovely developers) are ones that every other independent game developer should aspire to follow.