Terraria's Journey Mode could be my new favorite way to play

Terraria's Journey's End update isn't just rekindling the tireless sandbox game with new items (loads and loads of new items), it's also adding Journey Mode – an alternate, player-choice-driven way to play.

When it launches for PC on May 16 as part of the free update, Journey Mode will let you research and then duplicate items on an individual basis, control weather and the passage of time, fine-tune difficulty settings including enemy spawn rates, enable "god mode," and increase the item placement range.

That summary is only scratching the surface. If you have enough time (and interest) to dig deeper, YouTuber ChippyGaming has an extended hands-on showcase of Journey Mode running in Terraria1.4.

My first impression was that Journey Mode would be the inverse of the brutal new Master Mode (also arriving with Journey's End), but it lets players "create both the easiest and the most difficult experiences that Terraria has to offer," according to developer Relogic. "This is not Creative Mode."

A few other things to note:

• You can't transfer characters in or out of Journey Mode.
• You'll begin with preset items like Starter Wings, 100 torches, 100 ropes, a Finch Staff, a Magic Mirror, and Iron tools.
• The R&D mode sounds like a ton of fun as someone who likes "making progress" in games. You can research items by clicking Benny the Construction Bunny in your inventory and placing enough of the item (the amount varies) into the R&D box. Once an item is sufficiently researched, you can duplicate it to your heart's content.
• "Clicking the icon for any item appearing in the Duplication Menu will instantly spawn a full stack of that item (materials, blocks, etc.) or a single duplicate of things like Weapons/Armor/Accessories." There's a search/filter tab to help you sort.
• Journey Mode's difficulty settings affect everyone in multiplayer, but the spawn rate option "will only impact the area around your character," so "everyone can have their own mini-challenge slider."

Relogic's overall goal for Journey Mode was to come up with "a way to bring in all players of various skill levels and to be able to customize your experience to optimize the fun you have in game."

Terraria PC players – and the console crowd, eventually – will have a lot to dig into.