Terraria

Terraria is the 2D sandbox that turned "dig, build, fight" into one of the longest adventures you can play on a single screen. You create a character, generate a world, and wake up on the surface with a copper shortsword, a copper pickaxe and a copper axe. There are no quest markers and no story cutscenes - just a forest, a guide who answers questions, and an enormous world that stretches down through caves, underground jungles and lava all the way to the underworld. This is the full PC version 1.4.4.9, the "Labor of Love" update, with the whole menu, world generator and crafting tree intact.

Your First Night

The early game is a race against the sun. Chop trees for wood, build a small room with walls behind it, a door, a light source and a table and chair, and you have a valid house. At night zombies and flying demon eyes come out, and a roof over your head makes a huge difference. A workbench lets you craft basic items, and torches are the most important thing you will make all game - press the hotbar key, place them, and never explore a cave in the dark.

The Guide NPC is your recipe book. Talk to him and show him an item to see everything it can be used for. More NPCs move in as you meet their conditions and give them empty houses: the Merchant once you have enough silver, the Nurse after you gain extra health, the Demolitionist after you carry an explosive, and many others later on.

Digging and Crafting Your Way Up

Ore is the backbone of progression. Copper and tin come first, then iron or lead, silver or tungsten, gold or platinum. Every tier gives better pickaxes, swords, bows and armor sets, and better pickaxes can mine harder ore. An anvil and a furnace are the first real crafting stations you will need. Cave chests hold accessories that change how you move: Hermes Boots for running, a Cloud in a Bottle for a double jump, a Grappling Hook to pull yourself to walls. Combining accessories at a Tinkerer's Workshop is one of the best feelings in the game.

Fallen Stars drop from the sky at night; collect them to craft Mana Crystals. Life Crystals hidden underground, glowing red hearts, raise your maximum health by 20 each. Finding all of them early makes the first bosses far easier.

Biomes Worth Exploring

• Underground Jungle - dangerous early, full of hornets and man-eaters, but rich in rare materials.
• The Corruption or the Crimson - each world gets one. It spreads, holds an evil boss and gives powerful early ore.
• Snow biome and Desert - frozen caves and the sandy underground hive are loaded with unique chests.
• The Dungeon - a brick fortress guarded by a giant skeleton until you defeat its curse.
• The Underworld - lava, demons and Hellstone at the very bottom of the map.

Bosses and the Road to Hardmode

Terraria is paced by its bosses. The Eye of Cthulhu is usually the first: it may appear on its own once you are strong enough, or you can summon it with a Suspicious Looking Eye. Then come the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu depending on your world evil, the King Slime, the Queen Bee in the jungle and Skeletron at the dungeon door. The fight that changes everything is the Wall of Flesh in the underworld. Beat it and your world enters Hardmode: new ores, new enemies, new biomes spreading across the map, and a second half of the game that is as long as the first.

A good habit before any boss: build a long flat arena out of platforms, add a campfire and a heart lantern for regeneration, and drink any buff potions you have found.

Controls

• A / D - walk left and right; Space - jump (hold to go higher).
• S - drop through platforms.
• Left click - use the selected item: swing, mine, chop, place blocks.
• Right click - open chests and doors, talk to NPCs.
• 1-0 or the mouse wheel - pick a hotbar slot.
• Esc - open the inventory and crafting menu.
• H - quick heal with a potion; E - grappling hook.

Small Tips That Save Big Headaches

• Set your character to Classic difficulty for the first world. You only drop coins on death, not your items.
• Dig a straight vertical shaft near your base and line it with platforms or a rope. It turns a long cave trip into a quick drop.
• Put chests in your base early and sort ore, potions and building blocks into separate ones.
• When a blood moon rises, stay indoors and close the doors. Zombies can open them during that event.

If you like the dig-and-build side most, Paper Minecraft brings blocky crafting into 2D as well, and Eaglercraft gives you the full 3D version of that idea.