Minecraft's cheaper, denser, 2D cousin - with eight slots.
By Stephen V., Founder & Editor · Last updated August 11, 2026 · How we pick
Terraria and the shared-world games most often weighed against it. Prices are live from Amazon.
| # | Game | Best for | Crossplay | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Terraria Sandbox / adventure | A group that wants a cheaper, 2D take on build-and-survive together. | Partial - crossplay across most platforms (same version) | $22.34 |
| 2 |  Minecraft Sandbox / survival | A mixed group that wants to build or survive together, any devices. | Yes - Bedrock crossplay across all platforms | $29.83 |
| 3 |  Stardew Valley Farming / life sim | A calm group on the same system that wants to build a farm together. | No - multiplayer is same-platform only | $33.99 |
| 4 |  Deep Rock Galactic Co-op shooter | A crew of up to four dwarves who want procedural co-op mining. | PC + Xbox crossplay (PlayStation separate) | $11.90 |
Short verdict: Terraria is the best-value shared world a group can buy. Up to eight players, cross-platform play across most systems running the same version, a price that has been low for years, and - unlike Minecraft - an actual progression arc with bosses to beat together. The catch is density: it throws an enormous amount at newcomers with very little explanation, and groups without a guide can stall in the first two hours.
You dig, build, fight, and craft your way through a 2D world, unlocking better gear that lets you survive deeper areas and beat bigger bosses. It looks small and it is not - the content in it dwarfs most full-price releases.
Two reasons. First, it has a direction. Minecraft gives you a sandbox and leaves the goals to you; Terraria has a chain of bosses and gear tiers, so a group always knows what it is working towards. For crews who drift without a target, that structure is the difference between a game they keep playing and one they abandon in week two.
Second, it is cheap and it takes eight. That combination is rare. Our Minecraft vs Terraria comparison is the page to read if you are choosing between the two.
Terraria supports cross-platform play across most platforms, and the condition attached is important: everyone needs to be on the same version. Updates arrive on different platforms at different times, so a console that has not updated is effectively on a different game.
In practice this means checking before a session rather than during one. It is the same class of problem as the Minecraft Bedrock-versus-Java split, and our crossplay setup guide covers both.
Most co-op games cap at four. Terraria's eight slots mean a whole friend group can share one world without anybody sitting out, and because the world is large, people can wander off to do their own thing and come back for a boss fight.
That makes it a strong pick for groups who cannot all be online at once - see games for friends in different time zones - because the world keeps its progress and every session contributes.
One to skip
Skip it if nobody in the group has played it before. This is the honest warning. Terraria explains almost nothing: crafting recipes are hidden, progression order is implicit, and a new group can spend two hours mining aimlessly and conclude the game is boring. It is not - it is dense - but it genuinely benefits from one person who has played before, or a willingness to keep a wiki open. If nobody wants to do that, buy Minecraft instead and enjoy a gentler start.
Best for: A group that wants a cheaper, 2D take on build-and-survive together.
1-8 co-op online + local · Sandbox / adventure
A huge 2D sandbox with deep co-op for up to eight, and cross-platform play across most systems running the same version. Cheap and endless. It is dense - newcomers may want a veteran to guide the first few hours.
Facts verified via Steam store page.
Best for: A mixed group that wants to build or survive together, any devices.
1-8+ players, online + local · Sandbox / survival
The Bedrock edition plays crossplatform across phone, console, and PC, so it is the default answer when your group is on wildly different hardware. Endless, low-pressure, and works for kids and adults alike. Java edition (PC-only) does not crossplay with Bedrock - buy the console/mobile version for mixed groups.
Facts verified via Minecraft official site.
Also a top pick in Best Games to Play With Friends and Online.
Best for: A calm group on the same system that wants to build a farm together.
1-4 players co-op (same platform) · Farming / life sim
Four-player co-op farming that is the antidote to competitive stress - everyone shares one farm. The catch: multiplayer is same-platform only, so everyone needs to be on Switch, or everyone on PC. Not a crossplay pick.
Facts verified via Stardew Valley official site.
Also a top pick in Best Games to Play With Friends and Switch.
Best for: A crew of up to four dwarves who want procedural co-op mining.
1-4 online co-op · Co-op shooter
Rock and Stone - four-player co-op cave shooting with destructible tunnels and real teamwork. Crossplay works between PC and Xbox; PlayStation is a separate pool, so check where your group is. Endlessly replayable and often cheap.
Facts verified via Steam store page.
Also a top pick in Best Games to Play With Friends and Online.
A group of four to eight on a budget. The cost per player is close to unbeatable for this much game.
Groups who want goals. The boss ladder gives every session a purpose, which sandbox games usually lack.
Mixed-platform friends. It bridges most systems, provided everyone updates.
Anyone who bounced off Minecraft's aimlessness. Same shared-world appeal, with a spine.
Groups with no patience for systems. Recipes, ores, biomes, and event triggers all need learning.
People who need 3D. Some players simply do not enjoy 2D worlds, and no amount of depth changes that. Watch two minutes of footage before buying for a group.
Anyone wanting a defined evening. Like Minecraft, it is a project rather than a night out. For a fixed session with an ending, see the party hub.
vs Minecraft. Minecraft is 3D, gentler, and has the widest crossplay in gaming. Terraria is cheaper, denser, more combat-focused, and gives a group a clear progression to chase. Read the Minecraft review for the other side of it.
vs Stardew Valley. Stardew is the calm one - farming, seasons, no real danger - and it is same-platform only, which rules it out for a lot of groups. Terraria is the one with bosses. See our Stardew Valley review.
vs Deep Rock Galactic. Both are cheap co-op with a mining flavor. Deep Rock is a session-based shooter you can play cold; Terraria is a persistent world you build up over weeks. A group that wants forty-minute missions should take Deep Rock; a group that wants a world should take Terraria.
The simple approach is that one person hosts and everybody joins when they are online - free, and limited by that person's availability. Dedicated hosting keeps the world up all the time, which matters for a group spread across schedules.
Whichever route you take, agree early on whether solo progress in the shared world is allowed. The most common source of friction in group Terraria is one player racing ahead through bosses and flattening the difficulty curve for everybody else. It is worth two minutes of conversation before you start.
A group working through the boss ladder is looking at a substantial number of hours, and the late game keeps escalating well past the point most groups expect. There is also a deep modding scene on PC for anyone who exhausts it.
The realistic outcome for most groups is several weeks of regular sessions - which, at this price, is the best value-per-hour on the site by a wide margin. Our cheap games guide makes the same case for the rest of the budget shelf.
Terraria is the shared-world game we recommend when a group wants direction and does not want to spend much. Eight players, crossplay on matching versions, bosses to beat, and a price that makes it an easy group purchase. The only real requirement is that somebody is willing to learn how it works - do that, and it will outlast almost anything else your group buys this year.
Two sandboxes, two very different first evenings.
The one game your whole group already owns something that runs it.
One long campaign your group can keep coming back to.
Small budget, full game night.
One of you has a laptop that struggles. Everyone still plays.
Yes - up to eight players share one world, and the boss progression gives a group clear goals to work towards. It is one of the best-value co-op purchases available.
It supports cross-platform play across most platforms, but everyone must be on the same version. Updates land at different times on different systems, so check before a session.
Up to eight players in online co-op, with local play also supported on some platforms. That is double the four-player cap most co-op games use.
It is dense rather than difficult. Crafting recipes and progression order are largely implicit, so a group with nobody who has played before should expect to keep a wiki open for the first few hours.
Terraria if you want direction, bosses, and a lower price. Minecraft if you want a 3D sandbox, the widest crossplay in gaming, and a gentler start for newcomers.
No. One player can host and others join when that person is online. Dedicated hosting is only worth it if your group plays at very different times and wants the world always available.