Re-Logic’s epic 2D sandbox game, Terraria, has quietly become one of the biggest and most played indie games since its launch almost a decade ago, selling over 27 million copies to date.
This rich and expansive romp manages to be both familiar and unique; blending Metroidvania gameplay with retro-style action and Minecraft-like crafting in a 2D space. The charming pixel art provides a visual charm that draws in the player and refuses to let go.
With this distinct fusion of genres and versatility in the gameplay, it can be tough to find games that adhere to a similar style. Yet, there are plenty of choices that draw from many of Terraria‘s attributes. This list will cover some quality games that best resemble this indie gem to one degree or another.
Updated March 20th, 2020 by Stephen LaGioia: This Metroidvania sandbox from 2011 has remained a favorite among many gamers despite its age, thanks to its massive scope and its addictive, rewarding gameplay. Multiplatform releases – including its Stadia arrival – along with a steady stream of updates have also helped keep Terraria‘s momentum rolling. As such, it seemed like a good idea to update fans with a few more great titles that should scratch that Terraria itch.
18 Raft
Take the survival and management aspects of Minecraft or Terraria, shifting the setting to the open sea – and this hidden gem for PC might be the result.
Like Re-Logic’s romp, Raft has players use their wits, and a slew of items, to survive the vulnerable, hostile conditions surrounding them, either alone or with a friend. As one might imagine with an ocean locale, the game takes a more minimal approach. Still, there’s plenty to occupy oneself with while performing tasks on the crucial life raft, and ample shark attacks to stave off in the meantime.
17 Ark: Survival Evolved
When it comes to its sleek, realistic visuals, this survival adventure by Studio Wildcard is seemingly about as far removed from 2D pixel art as can be. Yet, looking beyond the awe-inspiring aesthetic, Ark: Survival Evolved is comparable to Terraria on a core level.
The game drops players on a vast, dangerous island crawling with deadly beasts and various hazards. And in typical Terraria form, working with the large diversity of items to build and craft with is essential. Progression is also similar, as the game balances open-world freedom with a loosely-bound arc of slaying a few bosses and reaching an ominous end dungeon.
The game taps into that exhilarating fight-or-flight instinct along with a personal sense of adventure, making for a truly addictive experience.
16 Astroneer
A hallmark of a great game is often staying power; a sort of addictive, timeless appeal that keeps beckoning the player back to accomplish more. This is true for Terraria, and it’s also the case for many who have discovered this hidden gem from System Era Softworks.
Not unlike Re-Logic’s title, Astroneer presents a visually simple, yet deep wilderness to explore and colonize in open-ended fashion. The game feels akin to Minecraft fused with the sci-fi film The Martian, as an astronaut must venture through foreign planets to seek out crafting materials and resources. These tasks allow them to complete challenges, construct buildings, and reshape the land.
The game offers plenty for solo explorers, though its co-op feature adds even more depth and enjoyment to the experience.
15 It Lurks Below
This title shares plenty of similarities with Terraria, especially with its aesthetics and gameplay. It Lurks Below is an action-oriented survival RPG, complete with stats and character classes that will satisfy gamers more familiar with RPGs. The game also has randomly-generated underground levels that hold plenty of enemies, items, and excitement.
The game was released back in 2018 and has had continuous updates and support since its release. There is plenty to keep players occupied, including cooking and farming, quests, crafting potions, holiday events, and of course lots of weapons to collect.
14 Crea
Crea draws many comparisons to Terraria, though its RPG genre and vibe set it apart in a great light. Not only does the player level up instead of improving their gear, but there are over 80 skills to learn through the game’s talent system (comparable to a skill tree).
The game has its own history and lore to be learned, named monsters with unique talents to defeat, a robust crafting system to enjoy, and generated worlds and dungeons to explore. This game is great for those who love both RPG elements and Terraria.
13 Alchemage
This Early Access sandbox title is a great little game to relax with at the end of a long day. Alchemage is undoubtedly a Terraria clone, that being a positive aspect, and has many of the gameplay elements players have come to love from the game, along with great music, weather, and graphics.
Players find themselves in a mysterious land and must work towards the hope of returning home. Along the way, players can build homes and shelters, explore to their heart’s content, fight monsters, and play with friends in multiplayer mode.
12 Forager
Forager has been described as “Zelda meets Stardew Valley meets Terraria,” and it’s a tall order to be compared to such a roster of esteemed titles. Still, Forager manages to be addictive and adorable enough to warrant the attention. For players that love survival and crafting games, the game goes all-in on its building and fighting to the point that many have felt hours go by in a flash while playing.
The main goal is to purchase land, build, and explore from the ground up, clearing and developing purchased lands in order to unlock more resources and gameplay. Of course, battling is the other core component, raiding dungeons and defeating monsters to further one’s quest for riches and triumph.
11 Dig or Die
It’s hard to pick one genre of game as a favorite, so it’s always interesting and appealing when games manage to combine genres in great ways. Dig or Die is marketed as a Sci-Fi platformer, sandbox game, and tower defense game, which according to reviews works exceedingly well. Besides its night dangers, tile system, and excessive exploration and mining, Dig or Die diverts from Terraria in its detail and difficulty.
It becomes a real challenge to ward off the increasingly intelligent and crafty enemies at night who can destroy walls in their path to get to the player and their resources. The game also benefits from fluid movement and controls, unique weapons, and a genuinely fun crafting system that encourages building.
10 Spelunky
There are many parallels in this delightful mining adventure that Terraria fans should be familiar with here. There’s that same sense of wonder as one goes exploring, collecting treasure, and slaying monsters. There’s a surprising amount of “depth” to be had for a freeware game; pun not intended.
Spelunky stresses more grueling platforming trials and hazards scattered all over the place. Navigating the slew of randomly-generated areas as one tries to survive hordes of critters provides plenty of thrills, and is definitely reminiscent of Re-Logic’s game. Players can even engage in some multiplayer insanity with up to 4 players total.
9 Don’t Starve
This artistic indie by Klei Entertainment shares more than just Terraria’s publisher (505 games); it also shares that same sense of eerieness and urgency as much of the time will be spent in a hostile land fighting for survival.
Don’t Starve pits the player in a dark and dismal foreign world, which must be traversed in order to collect resources, cobble together settlements, and just doing anything necessary to keep going. This game can be creepy as is, but try dealing with the protagonist as they grow increasingly insane, and the hordes of crazy monsters grow.
This roguelike survival-horror feels like a blend of Eternal Darkness and Terraria-style adventuring, laced with a charming Tim Burton vibe.
8 Hollow Knight
While players won’t mining or building in this epic Metroidvania, Hollow Knight contains a similar feel when it comes to combat and open-ended exploration. The game takes place in a vast underground labyrinth thick with an eerie atmosphere, much like Terraria‘s underground mines and chasms.
Despite the 2D sidescrolling, Hollow Knight offers a great sense of freedom as players will explore vast mazes of interlaced dungeons and corridors. This venturing is mixed with plenty of thrilling combat and an intricate progression system – all qualities that capture Terraria‘s arcade-style traits. Team Cherry’s Metroidvania is a captivating experience on the visual and gameplay front.
7 Growtopia
Growtopia takes a page of the Terraria playbook in more ways than one. This delightful sandbox game takes the same free-flowing adventure and crafting elements from that game and makes it even more accessible. Unlike some on our list, this can be played on just about every modern platform imaginable, including mobile devices.
This cute little MMO is definitely more on the lax, passive side in terms of the gameplay. Yet, those that appreciate the building and multiplayer aspects of Terraria should definitely get some joy out of this colorful game. Those who enjoy flexing their creative side in games but seek a break from being harassed by giant spiders or zombies may want to give Growtopia a look.
6 Dragon Quest Builders 2
This sandbox RPG builder is quite underrated – thanks in part to its cute visuals, and being overshadowed by the more popular mainline DQ games. Still, judging it on its own merits, this sequel to Dragon Quest Builders is impressive with how vast and diverse the experience is. The game offers a gripping, streamlined campaign with a more typical RPG plot and monster-slaying combat.
Yet, there’s also ample Minecraft-style building, resource gathering, and even some town management, making for a rich, well-rounded adventure. This sequel fleshes out the multiplayer aspects even further too, allowing a player to team up with friends and experience this majestic sandbox together.
5 Dig-N-Rig
Many were at least initially drawn to Terraria for its colorful retro style that reminds one of late 8-bit or early 16-bit software. Dig-N-Rig invokes this same sort of feeling artistically, but it goes even further back in time with its crude, blocky visuals that resemble early 80s PC software.
This game, crafted by students of DigiPen, similarly stresses mining and resource collection but dilutes things down to a simpler premise and mechanics. Players take control of a mining robot, who must lay down conveyor belts and plunder increasingly deep depths to nab resources. These are then converted to more effective tools and other upgrades. This software, which combines a building sim with mining and crafting, feels akin to a simpler, but inventive new take on the Terraria formula.
4 Craft The World
Going by the description of this game’s own developers Dekovir – Craft the World takes Terraria, Dungeon Keeper, and Dwarf Fortress aspects to round out this enjoyable romp. The result is an addictive and dynamic game that’s part sandbox and part strategy-sim.
While the game focuses more on building and managing one’s fortresses rather than adventuring, there’s definitely a similar vibe to Re-Logic’s game when it comes to staving off attacks. It reminds one of fending off super-aggressive mobs in Terraria during those hostile nights at the home base. Those who like to show off their indestructible Terraria fortresses while taking out monster hordes should definitely give this a look.
3 Steamworld Dig 2
Flipping things somewhat on their head here, Steamworld Dig – and especially its deeper sequel – emulates the exploration, mining, and combat traits of Terraria rather than building. Regardless, the experience is more vast, complex, and addicting than one might expect from this cute, cartoony indie.
In the sequel, studio Image & Form will have players mining and hunting the night away as they assume the role of the steam-powered bot, Dorothy. They’ll venture from one lavish, distinct biome to the next, plundering for riches, equipment, and other assets that can be bartered with at the shop. This mining hero will begin humbly with a little more than a pickaxe. Yet, Dorothy will increasingly juice herself up with stronger, more efficient tools and abilities like a bomb launcher. She’ll also be facing off against some thrilling bosses Terraria style.
2 Minecraft
It’s tough to discuss Terraria without mentioning what’s largely its 3D counterpart, Minecraft. Seriously, outside the added 3rd dimension, these two gems are extremely similar, and we mean this in the best way possible. Just like Terraria, this retro-style sandbox journey is rife with tons of activities to take part in.
Players can take on intimidating bosses, mess around with friends, or carve their own story by venturing through procedurally generated lands. One can build complex structures, delve deep underground to mine for riches, or go on monster hunting escapades.
There is definitely much crossover appeal between Terraria and this similarly vast, open-world journey.
1 Starbound
Broaden the scale and diverse elements in Re-Logic’s adventure, and the result is Starbound, a game which – as its name might reveal – feels like a more epic version of Terraria on a spaceship. The player’s ship serves as the main “hub,” as it’ll travel to a number of unique, colorful planets where players can gather goods and expand their empire of one.
Those who view Terraria as rich and expansive will definitely want to try Chucklefish’s space odyssey, as it actually manages to eclipse that experience.
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