Terraria
By Re-Logic
Genre: 2D sandbox action-adventure-puzzler-RPG?
Not rated, but if it were it’d probably be E10+.
Terraria is an extremely addictive sandbox game that supports co-op, and you will need your friends for this. You make your character from quite a few presets of color and basic look; you create a randomly-generated world, small, medium or large (though even small maps are quite massive!) and you basically do anything you wish within the rules.
You can craft a few things by yourself, as well as with your basic equipment of an axe and pickaxe. Chop wood, dig out a hole for yourself in the terrain, and start to build a shelter. And be quick about it; you might not have much to worry about in the daytime besides slimes (motile balls of slime that also attack the cute, innocent bunnies that hop about), but come the night, zombies and Demon Eyes (disembodied eyes that fly and bounce off walls to get to you) come out to play. And don’t get me started on the blood moon…
More and varied enemy types pop up as you scroll to the left or right in this 16-bit-styled (like the Super Nintendo!) adventure, so spend some time digging for your treasure. You can mine up stone, copper, silver, gold and more to make better equipment and tools at your workbench, forge and anvil (which you also craft). Nearly any small item you find lying around or dropped by enemies can be crafted into interesting new implements, from primitive swords and bows, to “phaseblades” (lawyer-friendly lightsabers, basically) and laser guns.
When you’ve seemingly gotten to the end of your tether as far as the land goes, stuff just seems too hard, maybe you need to call in some help. Build the appropriate buildings the right way, and NPCs will come! These include a Nurse, a Merchant, an Arms Dealer, and more; they’ll be happy to serve you, for the right price.
If your journeys take you deep enough into the earth, or to the far sides of the map, you may encounter the Underworld, a hellish landscape of fire, brimstone and even stronger enemies; or the Dungeon, a sprawling labyrinth guarded by the ferocious Skeletron! These locations and more, all randomly generated, hold the keys you need to succeed in this long-running, epic sandbox game.
Pick this gem up on Steam now for $10 (or less on special)! It’s a deal you absolutely can’t pass up. Five out of five, easily!