Minecraft Vs Terraria, The ULTIMATE Non-Rage review!

A little note before we start! I started writing this review months ago, but never posted it. Iono why, other stuff happened and I never finished it. Well, I did now. I know both games changes (Terraria in particular) however I will talk about core elements of both games, so it will make sense even for someone who never played neither of these games. Now go enjoy that review!


I'm gonna be honest with you: Nerd wars are both hilarious and annoying. On EVERYTHING!

May it be video games, books  comics, movies, their characters or whatever, people always made war instead of love. And really, I never understood that. Even when I was younger, the Nintendo Vs. Sega war was raging, nerds vaillantly battling in schools. Personally, I had both a Super Nintendo and a Genesis, and I loved both Mario and Sonic (and a lot more characters, for that matter).

Such wars still rages on everyday, but the one that affected me the most recently is the conflict between Terraria and Minecraft. Now, being older, not exclusively french and having an internet connection sure helps understanding this battle, but I still find it useless. As a veteran nerd (and I am very proud of this term), I love both games. Sure, there is similarities but it never stopped me from enjoying both games and the experience they gave me. So, to stop this mad war that leads nowhere (or trying....rofl), I shall compare the game's similarities and differences and state how I "experienced" them.


First game I played is Minecraft, obviously. Kinjry told me to  BUY THE FKIN GAME RIGHT NAOH!! So I did, and I was really satisfied. I loved the exploration, the mine spelunking and the fact that you could build things with the stuff you mine. Really simple, but really enjoyable.


Then, terraria launched. I saw the trailer, got hyped, bought the game and thoroughly enjoyed it a lot for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the internet got nuked. Rage plagues everywhere, no place to hide!

There was a lot of claims that the game completely plagiated Minecraft, which I think is wrong! It is inspired from it, obviously, but I don't see no creepers anywhere at all! I mean, sure, you can move blocks around, and you can craft tools, there is caves and there's monsters, but the way these gimmicks are placed into the game works differently! It's like saying that Metroid is EXACTLY like Zelda because you need upgrades to progress further into the game. It's nonsense! (Also, Samus has a gun)

So, first point, moving blocks. Do I really have to talk about Minecraft stealing ideas from Lego blocks? Really? I mean, making houses, starships, boats and bad guys, Lego did all of that first :D
They also have pirates...
Furthermore, and more seriously, Minecraft is a 3D game, and Terraria a 2D game. No awesome mage tower and colosseums for you, Terraria XD

Next, the crafting of tools and stuff. All right, let's answer this question with another question: why do you craft in Minecraft? To get better tools, of course, but why? Obviously, the only difference between the tools (except for the picks) is that better tools with do the job faster. That's about it! Once you hit Diamond, you just beat the game, good work! Now go build some crap to kill boredom, and that's Minecraft for you!

On the other hand, Crafting in Terraria is more like a progression path in Metroid and Zelda.
You start with copper, then iron, then silver, then gold( and you need a lot of veins to make only one pick). Then, once you have enough upgraded gear, multiple options will be available to you. Either try to kill an Eye of Cthulhu or go hunt meteors (by crushing the orbs), which will give you materials for even better gear. Then, do the thing you didn't do at first, THEN either killing the last boss OR dig straight to hell to get yourself the best gear. If you're lucky, you may hit the jungle or some floating islands.

Also, most of the items you can craft in terraria are super helpful not only to kill shit faster but to navigate around faster and more effectively. Platforms will let you bridge through gaps, allowing you to pass through them. The grappling hook helps you with these gigantic holes and can save your life on multiple occasions. Getting yourself better equipment is not only convenient, it is essential to explore the game further. Also, your gear in Terraria never breaks and you keep everything when you die, except money. As a tradeoff, it is harder to create, which reinforce the exploration aspect of the game. In this way, getting better equipment is a lot more like unlocking something new in an adventure game. Getting the gold pick means you can go accomplish something you couldn't do before, and it goes on like this until you technically "beat" the game (by exploring the dungeon guarded by Skeletron)

I think THIS is the big difference between both games. However that is my personal opinion.

Following the third point is the caves (and generated maps). Again, same concept, different interpretation. Yes, both games have randomly generated maps, and both contains natural caves, but the way you explore them is different. In minecraft, the minimal depth is minus 64 blocks which can be sort of deep. Sometimes, you find caves so gigantic you literally lose your north, and then you're officially lost. There's also the 3D element, which adds to the confusion. Still, caves are the best ways of finding materials (or magma, for that matter) and it's always a joy to pierce through the darkness.

As for Terraria...it is actually pretty much the same. Randomly generated caves, you explore them, you get the booty. However, the depth of this game is INSANE! getting to the bottom is a very long adventure that takes a lot of preparations, and having good equipment is a must. I actually made a video where I simply go to the bottom through a already explored cave, and it took me about 8 minutes.
IT'S HUGE!
In addition, there's about three vertical levels in Terraria: Close to the surface, deep underground, and Freakin' Hell! A sudden change in the background will happen when you reach the next level of....deepness? Point is, starting at level two you better find that grappling hook or the game will punish you as soon as it can. One missed jump and you'll end up like a pretty stain. Nah, I'm lying.
You actually explode.

And I didn't talked about all the treasures in here. Going deeper means you'll get better loot. Goes from health extention, double jump bottle and flippers to bombs, magic items and boomerangs, and there's a lot more. Some items only increases your stats, but most of them adds a new aspect to the game. As such, you have a pretty good reason to explore the deep caves of Terraria, unlike Minecraft.

Briefly getting back to the first point, you can place outposts deep underground, as long as you have a bed and walls. Sure, you can do that in Minecraft, but it's usually not worth it(at least, not underground)

Finally, the monsters. Well, for a change, there is daylight monsters in Terraria, the slimes. Sure, they're as annoying as they are in Minecraft, but they're also the most useful monster around. You need their goo to make torches. Other than that, different biomes will spawn different monsters. There's about 20 different creatures to fight against, but even if there was 300 of them it wouldn't matter. Minecraft monsters each have their roles to play, and they play it really well. Whiiiiiich is not the same for Terraria. Sure, you have slimes and bees and devil eyes and zombies and eater of souls, but all of these monsters play pretty much the same role. Ram into the player, inflict damage, rinse and repeat. And sure, some monsters are annoying, like the worms and the fire imps, but none of them ever pose a serious threat. Their main strategy is pretty much to mass spawn and slowly grind my health, and when I die because of them it's always because my stock of potions was grinded to nothing.

In Minecraft, a single well placed creeper can be your end. And trust me, it happens a lot. Skeletons and zombies will easily halt your progress for several minutes and since you die really fast, taking risks is often a bad idea. In terraria, you can simply tear through them or completely ignore them. And that's without stacks of 30x potions. This actually reminds me of some of the recent castlevania games. Having problems getting through a certain point of the game? Then simply grind your way through it until you become strong enough.

*(However, this was *fixed* in a recent update, making the game more difficult. It essentially removes the cheap tactics, like potion grinding. I'm keeping this part in the review because...well, it WAS like that for a long time)

But, there's bosses in Terraria. Three of them. And each encounter can be satisfying when you're not spoiling yourself in Multiplayer. Sure, at a certain point you'll be so strong that you can rape them. Really fast. But the first encounter is always nice enough.



So. I think I made my points. Of course, all of this is a matter of personal opinion. I love the adventure aspect of Terraria, and I love my Super Awesome Mage Tower in Minecraft. I love both games for the "different" experience they give me, and that goes for multiplayer too!
If you have anything to add or think I missed a very obvious point, then simply leave a comment (even if I should have posted this reviews months ago. I blame google and my lazyness alltogether). I read all of them anyway, so might as well tell me I'm stupid because I missed this or that or whatever.

See ya next time XD,
Anzariel