I first got into Terraria after it was gaining ground right around the time Minecraft was taking over the world.
I like the idea of Terraria in that it was 2D and it was more action based than Minecraft, but at the same time, it had a lot of exploration and crafting. What really sold me on it was the combat. I had a lot of fun with Minecraft (and thanks to my son I still do) but the combat never really did it for me.
I think the combat in Terraria is much better and it reminds me of some of the old 2D RPG games I would playback on the Sega Mega Drive.
Today I am sharing with you a list of Terraria alternatives. Now some of these at first glance may make you wonder what I am thinking. However, I do feel that the games I have picked have elements that make them games you will have fun with if you enjoy Terraria.
Starbound
Starbound is like the sci-fi version of Terraria and that right there scores it major cool points from me. You have to collect resources, fight enemies and so on just like in Terraria, but I felt that Starbound had much more exploration going on.
The game sees you having to feel your planet, but when you do you end up lost in space and you have to go to different planets in order to find resources that you can use to craft and help you on your journey.
You can create your own settlement, find alien creatures and go to all kinds of planets. There is a lot of variety in the different places you go and you never really know what the game is going to throw your way next.
While creating a settlement is one thing, do you have the guts to try and save the galaxy from the same fate that your own planet had! This is a really fun game and those of you who have played a ton of Terraria are going to feel right at home with Starbound.
Minecraft
I would say that Minecraft is legally required to be on this list. These two games went hand in hand for many years and most gamers who played one played the other. I only got into Minecraft as it was a game my son really liked.
He had a lot of fun with the creative aspect of the game and he would spend hours and hours making really cool buildings and giant characters and so on. What I liked about Minecraft was the survival aspect and I think that is how it best compares to Terraria.
The survival mode in Minecraft is pretty brutal. You better make sure that before it turns dark you have a basic shelter and something to defend yourself with or you could be in big trouble. I really like how it encourages you to move away from where you have built your shelter in order to find new and better resources.
You can really build yourself up into a powerful warrior, but then one wrong step on a mountain can lead you to fall, die and lose all your stuff!
Planet Centauri
Like Starbound, Planet Centauri takes a lot of inspiration from Terraria. It is a side-scrolling survival and collect a thon type of game.
You are on the exotic Planet Centauri and this could be the perfect place for a settlement of people to thrive. However, in order for this you to happen you need to step up and be the badass adventurer you have always wanted to be. If you do this then your settlement will be happy and productive.
In Planet Centauri you will be exploring caves, dungeons, forests and so on. You will also be collecting resources that you can then use to craft things that will help you in combat, but also help build things for your settlement.
Two of the coolest things about Planet Centauri though are first of all the different beasts that you can find and tame and also the magic that you can create. This is really cool and it gives what looks like a sci-fi game at first a bit of a fantasy edge.
Junk Jack
Here is a game that is going to keep you really busy. While this is a 2D exploration game like Terraria. I feel that it has a lot in common with Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon as well. Many people love Junk Jack as it is a lot more laid back than other games that are done in this survival. I am actually hesitant to call this a survival game as there is not as much stuff that wants you dead like in other games of this style.
The main goal of Junk Jack is to build the most awesome home possible! To do this you are going to have to do a lot of exploring so that you can find the best stuff possible. You can find animal buddies, go fishing, plant flowers and crops and do a million other things.
One of the things that I found with Junk Jack was that you always had something to do and more often than not you would set out with the intent on doing one thing, but end up getting distracted and ending up on a quest for something else.
Crea
Man, Crea is one heck of an adventure. This is more of an RPG than anything else and it is one that I had a lot of fun with. What really clicked with me about Crea was how combat heavy it is. Let me warn you right away that at the start this game is very, very hard as you start off with next to nothing to protect yourself.
However, that is all part of the game and the idea is that each enemy you face off against is going to make you stronger and there are a lot of enemies for you to fight!
There are tons of skills that you can level up so you can make your character fit your play style which is something I always like.
You need to find loot and items so that you can craft powerful weapons that will help you take on the stronger enemies that the game throws your way.
There are also boss battles and boss battles are really going to test your skills. If you are into Terraria but want one that is very combat focused, Crea is for you.
Dig or Die
Here is a game that really did take me by surprise. I thought for sure that Dig or Die was going to be another standard 2D survival type game.
The type of game where you need to explore, craft weapons and do all you can to make sure your home and yourself survive. Well, that is part of Dig or Die, but this is way more strategic than most other games that are in this sort of style.
For one thing, there is a heavy emphasis on building things that are going to help protect your home from the aliens! You crash land on a planet and everything wants to kill you.
The combat is very neat in that you will need to build turrets and other defenses to help keep the onslaught of enemies at bay.
What is really cool is that you have to think before you build. The first structure I tried to build was a mess and it ended up collapsing and I got flooded! So if you like your games to have some strategy about them, I think that you are going to have a lot of fun with Dig or Die.
Craft The World
Craft The World is a pretty cool game that has a little bit of Terraria mixed with some Dwarf Fortress. In this game, you play as a Dwarf who as you would expect needs to find resources and then use these resources to build places to live, weapons, items and so on.
The crafting in Craft The World is fantastic. I sometimes think that games make crafting far too complicated. That is not the case with Craft The World and despite there being so many things you can craft it is pretty simple.
What really sets this apart from the rest is how much control you have over other characters. This makes your life on one hand much easier as you can task other dwarfs with digging in certain places. On the other hand, it also means you have one more thing that you need to keep your eye on. This is part sandbox game and part god sim and that is a mix I actually really like.
Factorio
This may be right at the edge of what I would class as a game like Terraria, but I feel that there is a lot here that fans of Terraria would like. You are tasked with having to build factories. Things start off pretty slow, but by the end, you will have built these epic fully automated factories that can pretty much do everything themselves. When you get it all to click and the factories are running like clockwork it really is a cool feeling.
You can have more than one factory and that is where the challenge lies. It is one thing having just one factory, but having a bunch of them is like having a load of spinning plates. While they are fully automated, things can still go wrong so you have to keep an eye on them to make sure they are running just the way they should be. Factorio is one of those games that I was sure would not be for me.
However, I was really hooked by this and had a lot of fun with it.
Don’t Starve
Full disclosure here folks, I hated and I mean hated Don’t Starve when I first played it! However, I stuck with it.
The real reason I stuck with it was that this was one of the first games on the PlayStation 4 that was given away as part of the PlayStation Plus program so I did not have a whole lot of PS4 games to play so I was determined to get the best out of whatever games I had. Eventually, I got the hang of it and I found myself pretty hooked on Don’t Starve.
The idea of Don’t Starve is that you are in this really weird place and everything here wants you dead! You need to use science and magic to defend yourself, craft items and look for food and weapons.
There is a lot of depth here and one of the things that is cool about it is that the way I play Don’t Starve will most likely be completely different to the way that you play it. Let me warn you it can be brutally tough and there is a lot of trial and error. But I do feel that Don’t Starve is a game worth sticking with.
SteamWorld Dig
Ahh, SteamWorld Dig. Here is a game that I would never have bought in a million years. However a few years back my sister got me it for Christmas and I am glad she did.
SteamWorld Dig is available on most platforms these days, but it was on the Nintendo 3DS that I played the game. This is a really cool game and had I known that people had said it was a Metroidvania style game I would not have been so quick to dismiss it.
There is a lot of action here and you play as a robot called Rusty. Rusty needs to dig deep underground so that he can find awesome resources to help the town up above and also help himself to cool new gear. There is something evil brewing in these mines though so be careful! The combat is actually pretty cool and something that I personally had a lot of fun with.
Stardew Valley (Wild Card)
Some might say that Stardew Valley has very little in common with Terraria. However, I would counter that by saying if you love the sense of wonder and exploration that you get in Terraria. I feel that there is a lot in Stardew Valley that you would enjoy.
Stardew Valley is one of my favorite games of the last few years and thankfully now you can play it on pretty much anything. I even read this morning that it is coming to mobile devices!
The idea of Stardew Valley is that you have inherited a farm that has seen way better days. As a matter of fact, it is a bit of a dump.
You need to roll your sleeves up to bring the farm back to its former glory. You will grow and sell crops, look after animals, go exploring for resources and build all kinds of cool stuff. There is always something to do on your farm and also the town.
There are people to talk to and do jobs for and you may even get lucky and find the perfect partner! Stardew Valley is a truly tremendous game that offers hours and hours of fun.
I think that some are closer to Terraria than others, but all of the games on this list I have had fun with.
I am having a really hard time picking some that I feel are the best, but I will give it a try. SteamWorld Dig is truly awesome, so much so that in writing this it made me remember how much I love it so I am thinking of playing through one of the other versions. Another game that I highly recommend is Planet Centauri, I love how it has a sci-fi mixed with a fantasy style.
Last game I want to give special mention to is Stardew Valley, sure it is not combat heavy like Terraria, but it is awesome and everyone needs to check it out!