Despite being a decade and a half old, Terraria is thriving on Steam. Whether it’s a go-to game for players that’s always in their rotation or something they only loosely know of thanks to the reference to it in Minecraft’s main menu, developer Re-Logic deserves to be celebrated by everyone for keeping its sandbox survival game relevant for so long. Terraria’s recent boom is due to the Bigger and Boulder update, and it’s seen the indie game reach an active player count of over 200,000 players on Steam. While it’s awesome to see the game’s continued success, its age means that some players will have seen all there is to see in Terraria — meaning that once they play the update for a bit, they may be seeking a similar game. Fortunately, Echoes of the Hive has them covered.
There are plenty of integral aspects of Terraria that any game attempting to follow in its footsteps has to get right. Its “metroidvania meets Minecraft” approach means that combat and exploration are more rewarding than Mojang’s game, with Terraria allowing for some impressive creativity on top of its satisfying progression and loot. The lore is quite deep, its developer provides consistent support via updates and collabs with other indies, and there are hundreds of gear pieces to collect. Terraria’s 2D art style won’t be for everyone, and some may prefer Minecraft’s accessibility over its difficulty, but the game clearly has a ton of fans who love its look. So, naturally, Steam's Echoes of the Hive could have a huge audience since it successfully recaptures the vibes of Terraria across the board.
Per Echoes of the Hive’s Steam page, the game is set to release in Q1 2026.
Echoes of the Hive Features At a Glance
- EXPLORE a 2D sandbox with randomly generated worlds
- ENJOY co-op gameplay with a group of friends
- BATTLE numerous monsters and bosses
- GATHER resources and loot while avoiding traps
- BUILD bases and platforms for traversal
- CRAFT weapons, tools, and armor
Explore mysterious worlds, craft powerful gear, battle monsters, and delve deep underground to uncover secrets and challenge epic bosses.
Echoes of the Hive is as Terraria-Inspired as It Gets
One glance at Echoes of the Hive, and it should immediately become clear what title it took inspiration from. Its 2D pixel art, hearts in the top right corner of the screen, and general look of the world would be enough to evoke thoughts of Terraria, but its actual mechanics will only make the similarities clearer. Players being dropped into a randomly generated world is Terraria’s bread and butter, and it seems like Echoes of the Hive will be relying heavily upon this concept as well. Players will do battle with “epic bosses” on their journies, with the first creature shown being a large minotaur that towers over the player’s sprite. Supposedly, there will be plenty of strong loot to chase, with progression being integral to this indie title just like it is to Terraria.
The key art for Echoes of the Hive features a stone golem, which could serve as another boss encounter. It will be interesting to see if any of the enemies are as memorable as Terraria’s standout bosses.
The sandbox genre staple of gathering resources to craft items and build bases is present, and players will be able to make pathways out of blocks to cross gaps and ascend up to higher levels as well. Said bases look just like those from Terraria, adding to the list of similarities. Within these handcrafted homes, players will have chests to stash their hard-earned gear, but acquiring that gear will mean avoiding traps on top of battling creatures. All of this can be done in singleplayer or co-op, allowing players to bring their friends along for the adventure (again, a key aspect of Re-Logic’s indie darling). As for Echoes of the Hive’s main draw, it seems to be the massive cave system lurking below the overworld.
While there are “rich biomes” above ground to explore, the dark caverns seem to stretch on for ages, and they’ll likely include unique enemies, better loot, and some neat surprises for those who can brave them. Based on the trailer for the game, players will also have to keep an eye out for falling rocks when exploring the caves. While this Terraria-like seems to have all the basics down, there’s also a good chance for it to get even better with time, as it’s borrowing Terraria’s best trick of all: constant support.
Echoes of the Hive’s Free Updates Could Be a Game-Changer
Echoes of the Hive hasn’t provided details on what its “free updates” will be, but the mere promise that they exist should be a big motivator for Terraria fans. The game still thriving after 15 years is a testament to all the stellar free updates it’s received from Re-Logic. Without all the support, it still would have been popular, but it surely wouldn’t be topping newer games like Marvel Rivals on the Steam charts so long after its debut. If players give Echoes of the Hive their time and money, they can rest assured that they’ll be getting more content free of charge as time goes on, improving and adding depth to the game. That extra value is a plus for any title, especially indies where passionate developers have no barriers to going above and beyond with their additions.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Echoes of the Hive Forging Its Own Identity Will Be The Deciding Factor
Based on everything shown for Echoes of the Hive so far, it’s clearly got some potential, and it could be perfect for any Terraria players that have grown bored with the game since it’s so similar. That said, it can’t rely solely on being a Terraria clone. As shown by its recent Steam statistics, Terraria is as relevant as ever, and updates will bring players back whenever they release. If Terraria is still relevant and giving so many players what they want via new content additions, there’s much less need for a Terraria-like. Still, Echoes of the Hive seems like plenty of fun — its minotaur battle and winding cave system both look exciting to experience for oneself — so hopefully everything comes together to make for a rewarding (and distinct) experience.
