Terraria, Re-huge Logic's 2D sandbox game, has quietly become one of the most popular and widely played independent games since its release nearly a decade ago, with over 27 million copies sold to date. This rich and sprawling adventure blends Metroidvania gameplay with retro-style action and Minecraft-like construction in a 2D realm, making it both familiar and unusual.
The beautiful pixel art has a visual allure that pulls the player in and won't let go. It can be difficult to discover games with a similar style due to the unique blend of genres and unlimited variety. However, there are numerous options that incorporate some of Terraria's major features. This list will include a variety of high-quality games that are most similar to this indie gem.
1. Steamworld Dig 2
Instead of construction, Steamworld Dig—and especially its deeper sequel—captures the exploring, mining, and battle features of Terraria. In any case, the experience is far more expansive, sophisticated, and addictive than one might expect from a cartoony indie.
In Image & Form, players adopt the character of Dorothy, a steam-powered bot, and spend the night mining and hunting. They'll travel from lush biome to lush biome, plundering for wealth, equipment, and other things to trade at the shop. With little more than a pickaxe, this mining hero will begin modestly. Dorothy, on the other hand, continues to arm herself with more powerful, more efficient equipment and talents, such as a bomb launcher. She'll also face battle against some exciting Terraria-style bosses.
2. Oxygen Not Included
It's easy to get lost in this intergalactic adventure, which sets three colonists on an asteroid against one other. As players must learn to make do and create an on-the-fly space colony, a hostile space rock must be domesticated and cultivated. Oxygen Not Included mimics the aforementioned underground plundering or Re-game, Logic's but with a vivid and adorable animation look.
While basic on some levels, the game's dynamically generated maps and several duties to manage at once keep players guessing. Players must also be careful not to run out of oxygen, as the name implies, adding a challenging element to the gameplay.
3. Crea
Crea is frequently compared to Terraria, but its RPG style and structure set it apart significantly. Not only does the player level up instead of improving their gear, but the game's talent system offers over 80 skills to learn (comparable to a skill tree).
The game features its own history and culture, as well as enemies with distinct abilities, a robust crafting system, and randomly generated regions and dungeons to explore. This game is ideal for anyone who like both RPGs and Terraria.
4. It Lurks Below
This game shares a lot of visual and gameplay similarities with Terraria. It Lurks Below is an action-based survival role-playing game with stats and character classes to please RPG fans. It Lurks Below also features randomly generated underground levels with plenty of opponents, loot, and thrills.
The game was released in 2018 and has received regular upgrades and maintenance since then. Cooking and farming, missions, potion brewing, holiday events, and, of course, a plethora of weaponry to collect are all available to players.
5. Spelunky
Terraria aficionados may recognise some of the similarities in this delightful mining game. Exploring, gathering riches, and defeating monsters all evoke the same sense of adventure. The game also has a remarkable amount of "depth" for a shareware game, both metaphorically and literally.
Spelunky emphasises arduous platforming challenges and perils strewn over the map. Navigating the randomly created locations while attempting to avoid hordes of critters is thrilling. People can even participate in multiplayer chaos with up to four other players.
6. Alchemage
This sandbox title is a fantastic way to unwind at the end of the day. Alchemage is unmistakably a Terraria clone—in a good way—and features many of the game's gameplay mechanics, as well as excellent music, weather, and aesthetics. Despite this, it stands out with a gentle, storybook-like visual aesthetic.
The players discover themselves in an unfamiliar world and must work to return home. Players can build homes and shelters, explore to their hearts' content, fight monsters, and play multiplayer with friends along the way.
7. Hollow Knight
While players do not dig or construct structures in this Metroidvania, Hollow Knight has a comparable fighting system and free-flowing exploration. Like Terraria's underground mines and chasms, the game takes place in a large underground labyrinth with an ominous ambiance.
Hollow Knight, despite its 2D sidescrolling, provides a fantastic sense of freedom as players explore huge mazes of interwoven dungeons and hallways. Exploration is interspersed with exhilarating combat and a complex advancement system, all of which reflect Terraria's arcade sensibility. Team Cherry's Metroidvania delivers a visually and gameplay-rich experience.
8. Don't Starve
Klei Entertainment's gorgeous indie shares more than Terraria's publisher (505 games); it also has the same air of eerieness and urgency. After all, you'll be spending a lot of time in a difficult environment trying to stay alive. Don't Starve places the player in a dark and bleak foreign environment that must be explored in order to gather resources, build towns, and fulfil tasks in order to progress.
In essence, the survival horror roguelike combines Eternal Darkness and Terraria-style travelling with a delightful Tim Burton flavour. Try dealing with the protagonist as they get progressively insane as the hordes of wild monsters grow greater in this game.
9. Starbound
Starbound is the consequence of expanding the scale and diversity of Re-quest. Logic's This game has the feel of an epic space-fantasy version of Terraria on a spaceship, as the name suggests. The player's ship acts as the game's main "hub," travelling to a variety of lively planets where players can gather items and grow their one-world empire.
Chucklefish's space odyssey actually outperforms RE-game Logic's in terms of level design, for those who respect Terraria's rich, broad level design.
10. Craft The World
According to the game's makers, Dekovir, Craft the World combines elements of Terraria, Dungeon Keeper, and Dwarf Fortress to create a delightful adventure. As a result, you'll have an engrossing and dynamic experience that's equal parts sandbox and strategy game.
While the emphasis is on fortifications and management rather than adventure, the concept of fending off enemy attacks and defending one's fortified territory seems very Terraria-like. Those who enjoy displaying indestructible strongholds while defeating monster hordes should check it out.