Terraria remains one of the best and most satisfying RPGs I’ve ever played. But by design it’s always been confined to a finite world size, in order to carefully structure your progression and the location of all its key pieces. Taking that sandbox core and combining it with the sprawling, unlimited world exploration of Minecraft, plus a Stardew Valley aesthetic, indie RPG Wildaria is four years in the making, and you can try it right now for free on Steam.
Developer SpaceFudge says that Wildaria started its life inspired by procedurally generated fantasy RPG Cube World, and that sense of freeform exploration is immediately apparent. The top-down perspective and pixel-art designs are much more reminiscent of Stardew Valley, however, while its progression and gameplay systems resemble those of Terraria.
Wildaria’s defining feature is its Minecraft-style infinite world. It procedurally generates an endless procession of diverse biomes packed with creatures, people, natural features, and some well-hidden secrets for you to uncover. Starting with a created character from five different fantasy species, you’ll put points into a skill tree as you level up, allowing you to specialize in whichever direction takes your fancy.
You’ll be able to fight using a range of different weapon types, and with a bit of work can tame any animal you find in the world to turn them into a companion that you can either ride into battle or fight alongside. Wildaria’s main quest “depicts the true struggle between civilization and nature through choices that lead to different boss fights and allegiances,” allowing you to impact the world with the decisions you make.
Wildaria is still in development with no release date set, but you can download the demo right now if you’re eager to try it for yourself.
Alternatively, here are more of the best indie games in 2024. Make sure you haven’t missed any hidden gems, or fulfill your heart’s desire for exploration in the best open-world games instead.
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