All done? Then let's discuss.
Terraria was a very tricky game to review. Most games that I'm given to write about are very straightforward, and generally either downloadable for PSN/ XBLA or the mid- to low-tier releases that staff writers can't get to, meaning most stuff that I get is on the short side. It's actually a pretty good setup, since I don't always have a ton of time to play through 40 hours of something over the span of a week. But I will if I have to, and even large-scale games like Skyrim typically have a critical path that is easy enough to follow through that I can at least see the end of, well, something. None of that describes Terraria.
It was, basically, a directionless game by design where you could alter the entirety of the environment as you see fit. The Guide NPC is usually floating around to offer you tips about summoning and killing bosses if you want them, but they're fairly vague on the outset. Worse, my Guide got killed during the first night in the game because I didn't realize that I needed to build him a house. So there I was, digging holes for the sake of digging holes, hoping against hope that I would just stumble across something that made me want to keep playing. The first several hours, then, were about as exciting as spectating a staring contest. I wasn't exactly baffled, but I didn't know what to make of any of it.
This is when I decided to replay Symphony of the Night.
First, this is something I never, ever do. If someone is paying me to play a video game for them and relay my thoughts, I keep pretty well focused on the task until I'm comfortable enough to make honest judgment calls. For whatever reason, I found that I needed a sort of basis of comparison against which to make those judgements, and SotN was the clearest example of great explorative platform gameplay that I could think of at the time. Plus, I can finish the map at 200%+ in a little less than 5 hours (give or take the rate of the Crissaegrim drop), so after a long evening or day with Terraria I could pop in SotN for an hour or so for both refreshment and cleansing after aimless wandering.
You would think, then, that since I'm replaying one of my all-time favorite games while playing something else that it might taint my view of the new game. At first, it actually did. As I played more and more of Terraria, and did a little research here and there, it actually turned into the other way around. SotN gave me the perspective that I needed to start focusing my thoughts, and keyed me into Terraria's greatest strength.
Be with me here: In true "Metroidvania" style, there is a lot to see and explore, but it will always be walled off to you with breadcrumbs leading the way to your next objective. You'll do everything you possible can (outside of level grinding in SotN's case, but even this gives diminished returns) which will drop your progress to a halt. Eventually, Alucard will come to a point where he can't do anything other than squat and fight enemies or find the next unexplored location. In Terraria, almost every location (other than the sky) is able to be explored right from the start, so the impetus for advancing the game is based on mood and whim and not necessity. In fact, "advancing the game" is sort of a secondary concept, and while I kind of knew to expect that when I started, it took a long time for it to sink in. It was Be Here Now to its fullest.
Eventually, I did find ways for "advancement," and by then, I had put at least 10 hours into it, and over the course of the days that I had left I put in at least another 10 more, more focused and determined but purposely loose. I didn't have to do anything, but once I found it, the path to "conclusion" was there if I wanted walk it. And by all accounts, I didn't even come close to that quasi-end point.
I stand by my score for the review, and the criticisms I've made for its systems and mechanics. But I'm completely smitten with Terraria. I even clocked in a few more hours of it last night, long after write up to GamesRadar was gone from my desktop. Thankfully, I had the Shmoos to give me an extra hand.
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