Terraria is a 2D action-adventure game released in 2011 by the company Re-Logic. It Centers around progressing to fight bosses, which there are 33 of. Everyone and their grandma has probably heard of the hit game Minecraft, the game where you explore a vast, blocky world while fighting zombies, mining new ores in caves, and building beautiful structures with the plethora of blocks you can find throughout the world. You may even end up fighting the final boss of the game, The Ender Dragon. But there’s also another game, a slightly less popular one, that’s also about fighting enemies, mining in caves, building and fighting bosses; that game is Terraria. If you ask most people who haven’t played Terraria they’ll probably say it’s just 2D Minecraft, but if you really take the time to play it you’ll notice that it’s really so much more. So, what are the main differences between Minecraft and Terraria?

Let’s start with the exploring aspect. Minecraft is 3D and has a bigger world, which leaves a lot more exploring potential. At the same time it makes it quite easy to get lost if you don’t keep track of where you’ve been or how to get back. On the other hand, Terraria’s world is significantly different to Minecraft’s. In Terraria the world is basically a rectangle, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; each world in Terraria is generated with all the necessary biomes, a dungeon, and two beaches at the very ends of your world. It is almost impossible to get lost in Terraria, thanks to the helpful map you have. In Terraria, the map is a feature that you start the game with; the more you explore the world, the more the map gets filled out. Also you never have to worry about needing to get something from somewhere due to the world being quite easy to navigate; it even shows the location of your last death so you can easily get back to your previous task.

Speaking of dying, that leads me to my next comparison, the things that enemies drop on death. In Minecraft, upon death you drop your inventory, and in Minecraft, after too long items despawn (disappear), so when you die if you were too far away from your house you’re basically on a race against the clock to get to where you died, that is if you can even remember where you were. Meanwhile, in Terraria, on death you drop in game money that you can easily earn back from killing enemies or just go back and get. Also, in Terraria killing enemies is crucial due to the fact they usually drop helpful and important items, whilst in minecraft there’s less enemies that drop important stuff, although there are some that do, like Blazes for Blaze Rods and skeletons for bones. In Minecraft there’s a mechanic where upon death you drop Experience, which is represented by a small bar above your hotbar (that’s where all the things you’re holding are stored). It’s also crucial for a game mechanic called enchanting. Experience is also dropped by mobs and enemies when they are killed by you, and sometimes certain ores too.

Now, this brings me to the biggest difference: the game progression. The difference between progression in Minecraft and Terraria is major. In Terraria the game mostly focuses on preparing for the next boss and discovering more parts of  your world. Sure, there’s other things to do than that, but the main focus of the game certainly isn’t fishing quests or something. Minecraft’s game progression is a lot more relaxed. In Terraria you’re always thinking, “what’s the next weapon I need?,” “should I keep this accessory or find some better ones?,” and, “Do I need to defeat this boss before I can get this item?,” while in Minecraft if you feel like taking on the Ender dragon? Sure, do that; Wanna build a giant castle? That’s cool too! In Minecraft you don’t really have a set goal, and sure, technically you beat the game when you kill the Ender Dragon, but it’s really a lot more fun to do other things like building and challenges.

Now, you may think Terraria sounds so much better than Minecraft, but that’s just not the truth. Sure, you can’t really get lost in Terraria, but at the same time it can be really fun just walking in a random direction in Minecraft and seeing what treasures you may find. And sure, Terraria has so many more items, weapons and blocks, but that also means you have to know how to craft all those things and gathering the resources can prove quite tedious. But in Minecraft you don’t need an extensive knowledge of the game to craft your next sword. Both Terraria and Minecraft are great games in their own rights, so I hope I’ve convinced you to change your mind on thinking that Terraria is just some copy so you can see it for the unique game it really is.