Parents' Guide to Terraria

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire Adventure Games
Terraria Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Chris Morris By Chris Morris , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 11+

Well-done Minecraft-like game, with action twist.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 11+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Terraria App: Screenshot #1
  • Terraria App: Screenshot #2
  • Terraria App: Screenshot #3

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 14 parent reviews

 

 

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age 9+

Based on 50 kid reviews

Kids say this game provides an engaging and action-packed experience with countless items and bosses to confront, often drawing comparisons to Minecraft for its crafting and exploration. While many reviews praise its creativity, some caution its suitability for younger players due to pixelated violence, mild blood, and occasional crude humor, suggesting it is best for those 9 years and older.

  • engaging gameplay
  • pixelated violence
  • suitable for older kids
  • crafting and exploration
  • mild crude humor
  • numerous bosses
Summarized with AI
 

 

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What's It About?

In TERRARIA players are dropped into a randomly generated world, where they must mine for resources using the tools available to them and create structures, such as houses, and other equipment. Movement of the character and the character's tool or weapon is done via two virtual joysticks at the bottom corners of the screen, while a menu of tools sits in the upper-left corner. Players also will encounter monsters, which they can fight or flee from. Every time players start a new map, it's an entirely different game.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 14 ):
Kids say ( 50 ):

Minecraft has some serious competition: Terraria not only lets users indulge their inner builders, creating whatever their imaginations can dream up, but it makes use of those creations by having nonplayer characters live within them. A well-done action element lets players do more than spelunk and build, breaking up what can be a monotonous process to some people. The maps are huge, there are tons of items to craft, and defeating the bosses takes some thought. One potential drawback is that the controls might not be intuitive to kids who are unfamiliar with this type of game, and, although the open-ended nature of the game is endlessly enthralling to some, it might be overwhelming and confusing to others. If a kid is initially daunted but determined to play, there's a large community and lots of resources that can get a new player over the hump.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about creative energy and how to channel it. What can you create with the resources you mine in the game?

  • Talk about environmental impact and using resources wisely. What happens if you chop down that many trees in the real world?

  • Discuss the aspects of the game and game modes they like best. Do they like building things? Killing the bosses? Using player-vs.-player (PvP) mode?

App Details

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