If you didn’t entirely understand how upcoming not-sequel Terraria: Otherworld [official site] differed from Terraria then congratulations, you’re as dumb as I am. Fortunately, some GDC footage and a more detailed breakdown of stuff and things from the developers has made matters a little clearer. … [visit site to read more]
When Re-Logic announced a follow up to Terraria last month, the studio stopped short of explaining what it actually is. But now we're in the future, a pleasant future bearing details on Terraria: Otherworld, and the gist of these details is that Otherworld adds "strategy and roleplaying" elements to the pixel art sandbox, as well as "purpose", in case building things for no reason isn't your bag.
"Set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe, Terraria: Otherworld places the player in a life-and-death struggle to restore a once-pristine world," the update reads. "Along with a rag-tag band of survivors, will you be able to successfully harness the power of an array of weaponry, magic, defenses, and even the world itself to thwart the designs of this unseen evil?"
For every life and death struggle comes the inevitable levelling requirements, and Terraria: Otherworld will add them in spades while still retaining the open-ended nature of the original. That means the story-focused elements won't be linear, the NPCs will do more than just sell stuff, and skill trees are in.
On the topic of "purpose", you'll be tasked with "pushing back the Corruption until it is no more". You'll do this by finding or crafting Purifying Towers and then activating them. Once activated, you'll need to defend them also. That activity forms the basis of the story-driven game, but if all you want to do is explore and build, it sounds like you'll be free to do that, too.
The full details are on the Terraria forum, but no release date beyond a vague 2015 window has been announced.
Ooh, you don’t see many spin-offs these days. Oh, right, Better Call Saul. Well, not in games. Oh, right, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. Look, OK, c’mon, just go with me here. It’s pretty unusual for a game series to divert into a spin-off rather than climb aboard the sequel treadmill. Side-on buildy/survival hit Terraria is doing just that however, with an RPG-inclined follow-up known Terraria: Otherworld. It’s set in an “alternate dimension” to Terraria prime and everything. Take a look below. … [visit site to read more]
Terraria: Otherworld is a newly announced follow up to the 2011 crafting and survival game, but it's not a sequel, according to the developers. In an announcement on the official Terraria forums, collaborating studios Re-Logic and Engine Software stress repeatedly that it is not a sequel. Which is fine, but what is it?
There's not a heap of information out there at the moment (the studios are inviting fans to speculate on the forum) but according to the official line, Otherworld will "explore what might have been, and approach gameplay in a new direction".
"Set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe, Terraria: Otherworld places the player in a life-and-death struggle to restore a once-pristine world now overrun by a malevolent force that has corrupted nature itself to its original splendor," the announcement presser reads.
"Along with a rag-tag band of survivors, will you be able to successfully harness the power of an array of weaponry, magic, defenses, and even the world itself to thwart the designs of this unseen evil?"
The game will be on display at GDC next month, so no doubt we'll hear more about it then. In the meantime, why not watch the teaser trailer below, which shows a very familiar looking Terraria setting.
