Terraria

Create a character and enter the world – beware nightfall and the arrival of the zombies, so your first task will almost always be building yourself some kind of shelter. It does get genuinely dark at night in the game, so make sure you remember to find, buy or create some kind of light source.

Much of your time will be spent underground – after you’ve found your way into the underworld through one of the sparse entry points in the game – mining for the iron/ lead and tin/ copper as well as the loot (the latter from the chests you will stumble across, randomly situated within the game) which can be crafted into more tools, better products and more sophisticated items with which to build even more advanced buildings, machines etc.

Building houses attracts NPCs (non-playing characters) who arrive and move in, often bringing skills like hairdressing, clothing and exotic items that you can then use in your crafting or to decorate. In time, you will craft yourself weapons and armour that will defeat the night-time zombies, and you will be able to go out and about in the dark as readily as in the daylight.

It’s Not Minecraft!

While the basic premise of the game shows the similarity to Minecraft – also a sandbox building and crafting game in which pretty much whatever the player wants goes – there are many ways that show the differences between the two.

3D vs 2D: Minecraft is a 3D game, with isometric views of the field of play possible. Terraria is 2D, side-scrolling action, which makes it simpler for you to move around and keep a good sense of where everything is.

Combat, Exploration vs Building, Crafting: Terraria places much more importance on exploring the whole map, to gather all the possible resources, and you will almost always stumble across villains at some point within ten minutes or so of playtime. In Minecraft, you can stay close to home if you wish, working on your building and crafting, and while there are enemies, these can be switched off for the easier levels, so they are not central to the game.

End vs No Real End: Minecraft has a very vague story arc, and it is possible to extend your play forever, working on a building until it is perfected, and then immediately starting another, and so on. Terraria on the other hand has levels like other video games, and the final moments of each level bring you up against a boss whose defeat is both challenging and satisfying

Classy Four Ways

The main four sub-classes are as follows:

Melee: Up close combat, you will need good armour to defend yourself and good weapons to make quick clean kills.

Ranged: Distant battles, using both bows and arrows or guns. Of course, any ranged weapon needs plenty of ammo which you acquire from pots and chests and also by crafting once you are able to find and gather the right materials needed.

Sorcery: Gather fallen stars to boost your mana bar, and then use magical items to channel the mana to defeat your enemies. Have fun with this power as you can channel your mana through various tools and materials.

Summon: Using small amounts of mana, summon creatures from special staffs which produce minion to fight for you. You can get slime monsters, imps, hornets and spiders and more all battling for you. Increase their power and your capacity by gathering and creating special accessories.