In any way you see it, The Legend of Zelda franchise is one of the most legendary (no pun intended) games to ever grace the world, with the more recent Breath of the Wild title revolutionizing the open-world game formula and setting sky-high standards for future games to follow.
With the upcoming Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, releasing on May 12, diehard Zelda fans and Zelda noobs alike cannot wait to get their hands on this highly-anticipated title. If you belong to this group, then you might just want to have your thirst quenched for the time being.
The best Zelda-like games to play while waiting for Tears of the Kingdom
Hob
If you want hand-holding and beginner-friendly gameplay, then you might want to steer clear of Hob. The game thrusts you into a wide, vibrant open world that takes a while to get used to, but once you get the hang of things, the game certainly pays your efforts off.
Hob plays as a beautiful puzzler with a lot of focus on its combat, but the heart of the game definitely lies in its open-world exploration. Whether you want to stick to your main objective or take a detour and explore uncharted waters, Hob’s journey throughout its land filled with danger sprawling in every corner gives players the perfect blend between that classic indie game vibe and Zelda titles from the Game Boy Advance era.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
If you’ve been playing the Pokémon mainline series games—especially the latest Scarlet and Violet titles—and are bored of the repetitive mechanics and basic storyline, you should probably try out Pokémon Legends: Arceus for a change of pace. It’s got both, Pokémon and Zelda, with its heavy Breath of the Wild-inspired look, sound, and gameplay.
No, we’re serious, the similarities in Pokémon Legends: Arceus when compared to BotW are, well, visually quite apparent, but also in its audio, with the piano music in Legends being quite reminiscent of the music in the 2017-released Legend of Zelda title.
That being said, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is quite an amazing game in its own right, especially when compared to the mainline series Pokémon games. It is ambitious, revolutionary for its franchise, has a great story with fleshed-out characters, and proves to be an overall fresh spin on what many consider to be a stale franchise.
Death’s Door
Seeming like an amalgamation of Zelda, Dark Souls, Kingdom Hearts, and Metroidvania games, Death’s Door has a lot to offer players that love titles in the style of Zelda.
Death’s Door provides a top-down exploration experience similar to many Zelda titles. Players control an adorable crow simply trying to do its job: taking care of lingering souls in this odd but gorgeous world. The combat in this game is refreshingly less annoying than most Metroidvania titles while the visuals, music, and characters are all well-crafted.
Players need to collect upgrades and tools which solving puzzles in various dungeons, all the while coming across formidable bosses they have to defeat before they can progress any further; reminds us of Dark Souls a lot, albeit slightly kinder in terms of difficulty, so if the Soulsborne series was kicking your butt, you might just take a liking to Death’s Door.
Hyper Light Drifter
Hyper Light Drifter is one of those games that is very likely to make you fall in love at first sight, especially if you’re a fan of SNES-era video games and the general 8-bit aesthetic that goes along with them.
Hyper Light Drifter will make you smitten with its lo-fi visuals, and surreal soundtrack, along with a horde of mysteries and secrets to uncover as you make your way through the game’s narrative. Along with eye-and-ear-candy, Hyper Light Drifter also shows off challenging battles that are equal parts fast and aggressive, with enemies that boast clever AI to really keep you on your toes throughout the game experience.
While the game has its fair share of decent puzzles, they are definitely not the central focus. The game makes up for this by having constructed a world so rich and deep in its lore and mysteries which will keep you hooked till the last minute of gameplay.
Genshin Impact
While the game was initially clowned on for trying too hard to be Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact has now transformed into a title that gamers respect as its own entity. While Genshin Impact does share similarities with the popular Zelda title, the game has proven to be a completely different experience with an engaging story, deep lore, and enthralling combat mechanics.
Gacha games don’t have the best reputation, but Genshin Impact is definitely up there as arguably the best gacha game of all time. The game has a fresh and unique roster of characters that can explore the beautiful and expansive world of Tevyat where the player encounters dangerous enemies in labyrinthine dungeons, utilizing Genshin’s snappy battle systems as they progress through the game.
The best part is that Genshin Impact is free-to-play, which means you’re losing nothing to just try out the game to test the waters and see if it’s a good fit for you.
Okami HD
A game that deserves much more recognition than it currently has, Okami HD is a visually unique and gorgeous game that reminds the player a lot of what made Zelda so special.
Okami’s white wolf protagonist, Amaterasu, travels around the globe helping various NPCs and fighting tons of dark spirits as she makes her way head-first into dungeons in an attempt to bring back life to the cursed land. Like the Zelda games, Amaterasu can earn new powers as she meets mysterious individuals while making her way through the game’s journey.
Did we mention that Okami also sees the protagonist keep an irritating, loud-mouthed companion that travels with you while giving you hints and clues towards your next objectives? Yeah, the Legend of Zelda references are very apparent.
Related: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom early previews are in: ‘Might be bigger than Elden Ring’
Eastward
Unlike most of the entries on this list, Eastward sets itself apart by adopting a lo-fi style of exploration through a post-apocalyptic world as the player navigates through this setting through the eyes of a ragtag protagonist duo.
With beautiful landscapes and eye-candy pixel art as the base of the game, Eastward sees John’s incredible melee combat abilities with Sam’s telekinetic powers used to beat their foes on their journey to the east. While the combat is fun and easy to learn, the puzzles aren’t incredibly challenging either, making this title a perfect adventure to take on when you don’t necessarily want to turn on your hardcore gamer mode.
Tunic
Tunic sees the player controlling a little fox wearing a green tunic that wields a sword and shield, which already feels like a clear reference to Zelda’s protagonist, Link.
Tunic is a nostalgia-fest, especially for Zelda lovers, as it derives heavy inspiration from the legendary franchise. While the combat in the game is definitely noteworthy, the main attraction of Tunic is its abundance of puzzles. As you progress through the game, the puzzles only get tougher, but so does your ability to solve them as you navigate your way through the story, uncovering the revelatory mysteries and secrets embedded within the heart of the game’s narrative.
Elden Ring
There’s not a lot to say about the game that gamers don’t know already. Bagging 2022’s Game of the Year award, Elden Ring is all you can ask for in a game; a game that is very easily comparable to Zelda titles like Breath of the Wild, for that matter.
Elden Ring is not for the faint-hearted as the game does not hold your hand, pushing you forth into an eerie, foreboding, yet breathtaking world sprawling with dangerous enemies that include the painstakingly tough boss fights that the Soulsborne games are known for. Elden Ring does, however, tone down the difficulty slightly when compared to its predecessors, so you don’t need to be too afraid to jump into this game.
Undertale
While Undertale is an incredibly unique game in its own right, straying away from a lot of the staple Zelda series conventions, the game is quite heavily inspired by the early Zelda titles, with a lot of cheeky references to those games scattered throughout Undertale, which can be quite rewarding to spot.
Without spoiling anything about the game and its plot—because it’s so easy to do—Undertale sees the players playing a young kid who falls into the Underground, a place filled with monsters. The narrative sees the player navigate through the Underground in an attempt to reach back onto the surface while being thrust into the midst of crucial decisions that can change the path you take and the ending of the game drastically.
The fights in Undertale are in bullet-hell style, getting increasingly hard and creative as the story progresses. The characters in the game are layered and well-written, while the story is heart-wrenchingly beautiful, layered under oodles of clever humor. The brilliant music of Undertale is a medley of 8-bit chiptune and full-on orchestra-style ballads, creating a final game experience like never before.
