Terraria turned 13 this month. Despite announcements of the game ending multiple times, it continues to shine as the brightest gem in indie gaming.

As we’re seeing more and more AAA studios working on unthinkably huge budgets like never seen before, it can be tricky for independent studios to stick out in the sea of new releases. But here at Overheat we’re big advocates for indie gaming, and no game demonstrates that importance indies hold quite like Terraria does.

With the game turning 13 years old a couple of weeks back, not many games can say they’ve seen the long-term success that the game has. The Redigit team’s continual work over the past 13 years even culminated in the game winning the Steam award for ‘Labour of Love’ back in 2021.

And with version 1.4.5 of the game set to release this year, fans of the game are as excited as ever. Set to release several quality of life features to appeal to long-time players, as well bringing a Dead Cells crossover event to the game – the future of the game looks bright.

But how well does Terraria hold up today? With the 2D gameplay not differing too much from its 2011 release, it’d be fair to assume that the game isn’t all that thrilling – but this couldn’t be further from the truth, in my eyes.

The game sees players engage in exhilarating combat, taking on a range of bosses and enemy invasions. Fighting the Lovecraftian forces of Cthulhu as well as the terrifying fully-original bosses in the game like Plantera, the player can follow the paths of the Warrior, Ranger, Mage or Summoner in their journey to defeating the Moon Lord. The gameplay is very fast-paced, and the thrill of the final moments of a boss fight make your heart race. 

The game welcomes all kinds of players with a range of game difficulty settings, but there’s also a calmer side to the gameplay for more lax players – the game has a hugely creative community, known for making art projects in the game, as well as creating huge buildings and towns for the in-game community of NPCs.

Additionally, for players that tend to be ‘collectors’, a range of deep crafting trees result in a range of nice side objectives to keep players busy at all times.

Terraria’s pixel art-influenced graphical direction might seem jarring to new players. But in reality, when the player grows accustomed to it, it creates a vibrance that reflects the joyful mood of the game perfectly. Whether you’re walking the forests of the game flying a kite on a windy day, or traversing the chaotic hell-inspired depths of the underworld: The game’s succinct art direction stands out.

The music of the game is brilliant. With several tracks from the game’s OST intertwining with meme culture, the impact of the game’s soundtrack is significant. Additionally, the music plays a large helping hand in making the game never having a dull moment. Whether its’s the iconic and intense theme music of the ‘Eye of Cthulhu’ fight, or the groovy jam that plays in the ‘underground mushroom’ biome, the soundtrack never feels out of place.

However, one big issue with the game is that it just doesn’t play as well on consoles. Unlike contemporaries such as Stardew Valley, there’s a slight awkwardness to the gameplay on controller, whereas the gameplay on a mouse and keyboard feels buttery smooth. However, with the upcoming 1.4.5 update expected to bring crossplay to the game after a few patches, it seems like Redigit is trying to level up the experience for their console audience.

The game also has a deep modding scene, with mods like Fabsol’s ‘Calamity’ completely revamping the game’s balancing, as well as introducing a range of new content to the game – bosses included. But there’s also a variety of small quality of life tweaks for players looking for a more vanilla experience, too.

Overall, Terraria is a game with its success best proven by its ability to stand the test of time. With the 2024 fandom still going strong and new content for the game being on the way, it seems to show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

All in all, Terraria is an indie classic that has been so successful that it’s managed to somewhat outgrow that label. The gameplay is equally fun, thrilling and relaxing but also easily approachable by most gamers. I can say with complete confidence that it’s the first game that I’d ever recommend to anybody – and for good reason.