“Let’s take ‘Minecraft’ and remove the 3D aspect.”  That may sound like a bad idea, but it is the way most people describe “Terraria.” This is unfair – “Terraria” is “Minecraft” with a point.

At its core, “Terraria” is a 2D game that involves digging into the earth, collecting resources, and transforming them into new objects. However, it also combines dungeon crawling hack-and-slash combat along with city management simulation elements. The end result is a game that is constantly surprising you with its depth.

The amount of different materials and items simply dwarfs “Minecraft.” This is not a knock on “Minecraft.” “Terraria” simply has more materials, more items and more crafting options. In addition to the workbench and furnace, “Terraria” also offers a cooking pot, a loom, a brewing keg, a forge, a bookcase and a few other options for crafting. Even after hours of playing, you’ll be rushing back to your crafting equipment to see what kind of new things you can craft.

There is combat in “Minecraft,” but it is limited to poking a few skellys. “Terraria” amps up the hack-and-slash with a multitude of weapons (and, of course, materials from which those weapons can be constructed) and weapon enchantments. Weapons are no good unless there are things to kill and “Terraria” offers over 50 different enemies (compounded by palette swaps) and eight bosses. Most “Minecraft” players craft a diamond sword and call it good for the bulk of the game. You’ll be seeking weapon upgrades and enchantments constantly. Just when you think you’ve got the current batch of enemies handled, you’ll drop into a new environment and face all new enemies. You’ll be longing for your old boomerang that you gave up for a fancy sword.

Environments are a bit more of a factor in “Terraria,” as well. While the “Minecraft” environments are varied and pretty, realistically you spend most of your time in the “underground” environment. “Terraria” lets you explore varied environment both above and below ground, and the environments actually have an impact on enemies and materials available.

The point of this review isn’t to say, “Too bad, ‘Minecraft,’ you’ve had your day”. “Terraria” is often written off as a 2D “Minecraft” clone. In reality, it’s a much deeper game.