Games like the legend of zelda

Low-poly visuals and endearing character interactions only sweeten the deal in this wonderful interactive metaphor about conquering your own personal mountain. Read our A Short Hike review. It may have cute and simple visuals, but beneath Anodyne's retro surface lies a game that shines a spotlight on the psychology of gamers and how video games can often disconnect us from the real world.

Anodyne packages up those heavy themes with clever puzzles, chunky combat, and challenging boss fights, all of which was designed by a two-person team to deliver an intriguing exploration of gaming through some meta-commentary. Read our Anodyne review. Another entry for the pile of retro Zelda-influenced games, Blossom Tales wouldn't look out of place in an NES library thanks to its pixelated visuals and familiar gameplay mechanics.

Clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Blossom Tales packs exploration, combat, and the quest to acquire better gear into a good-looking package.

It's the new takes on familiar puzzle sequences and boss fights that elevate Blossom Tales' appeal, and if you're looking to relive the past with this colorful homage to one of the best games of all time, then Blossom Tales is an absolute joy to dive into. Zelda-like games regularly inject a sense of pressure into their design, but Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an exception to that rule. A laidback journey across monochrome lands that can only be saved by the power of art, Chicory keeps the peril to a minimum and prefers to challenge your puzzle-solving abilities instead of your reflexes.

It's a forgiving game that comes with a few emotionally hard-hitting lessons about life and meeting your heroes, but the whimsical world, heartwarming story, and adorable characters makes Chicory an unforgettable adventure. Read our Chicory: A Colorful Tale review. Take beautifully designed post-apocalyptic landscapes and fantasy realms, throw in some of the coolest art direction in the industry, and mix it all up with fast-paced action, and you've got a thrilling formula that puts a stylish spin on The Legend of Zelda format.

The Darksiders trilogy is a glorious ode to classic Zelda games, but it's the more action-packed focus that set these games apart. Caught between the forces of Heaven and Hell, each game has a unique flavor of combat, puzzles, and mystery to delve into, with the core three games being a pulse-pounding blast of dungeon-crawling and monster-slaying.

Read our Darksiders , Darksiders 2 , and Darksiders 3 reviews. One of the best games of , Death's Door takes plenty of inspiration from The Legend of Zelda to craft wonderful dungeons that feel consistently rewarding as you explore them and dive deep into its tale of the ultimate end that awaits us all.

Life, death, and a little bit of Soulslike attitude only add to its appeal, and with its high-quality production making the game a visual and an audio treat, it's an essential purchase for any fan of the Zelda genre. What sets Eastward apart is a focus on providing a lo-fi exploration of the post-apocalypse through the eyes of a scruffy pair of characters. Between John's ability to throw fists and Sam's budding psychic powers, the duo are a force to be reckoned with on their journey to the east, all set against a backdrop of delightful pixel art and vibrant landscapes.

Combat is easy but satisfying and the puzzles aren't too much of a cerebral barrier in this charming hike at the end of the world. Genshin Impact may have been criticized for looking like a thinly disguised Breath of the Wild clone when it was first revealed, but more than a year after it first landed, the game has proven to be an entirely different experience altogether. That's not to say that you won't find some Zelda influences within its design, as it has snappy combat and labyrinthine dungeons to explore, but Genshin Impact adds enough originality to the mix with its gacha systems and a roster of unique characters to explore its world with.

All that, and there's no price of admission to give it a try. Read our Genshin Impact review. A gorgeous Zelda-like puzzler with a sharp edge in the combat department, the real joy of Hob is the world that you'll explore. Whether you want to stick to the golden path or meander off into unknown territory, Hob's satisfying trek across a land of hidden danger plays like Zelda's Game Boy Advance adventures crossed with indie sensation Journey.

It's also a brisk game that'll take around 10 hours to complete, meaning that it won't outstay its welcome, but you'll be tempted to revisit Hob again and again just to soak in that delightful atmosphere. An oddball among Zelda -inspired games to be sure, but make no mistake: Darksiders is more than worthy of mentioning.

Players must explore dungeons, find keys, disable traps, and defeat bosses with an array of weapons that are hidden in various points of interest. This game is one water temple away from being an Ocarina of Time clone. Though more violent than a jaunt through Hyrule, it's familiar enough to warrant a playthrough. If the swords-and-sorcery motifs of Link to the Past were exchanged for a '90s-inspired Adventure Time aesthetic, the result would be Swords of Ditto. This is a roguelike that utilizes the traditional formula seen in classic adventure games on the SNES, but adds in a time limit, a changing world, and a host of toy-based weapons and gizmos to take on an evil witch.

What separates this title from the others is the replay value. Each new game sees a new hero with their own advantages and disadvantages, allowing for multiple ways to take on the quest. Not all Zelda-likes have to take the fantasy route, sometimes a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk dystopia will do just fine.

Hyper Light Drifter is one of those rare modern titles that love the bit graphics of the '90s. What it lacks in narrative, it more than makes up for in action and intensity. The game feels like a Zelda -like but doesn't hold the player's hand by any means. It's challenging, enigmatic, and certainly one of the deepest experiences on the Switch. Players just have to pick this one up for themselves to truly understand it. Taking a more futuristic-anime approach, this adventure has players entering a fictional MMORPG and taking up the role of Lea, a mute protagonist exploring a beautiful bit world.

That certainly sounds familiar. While it features the overworld and style of a traditional NES Zelda title, its combat, puzzles, and action elements definitely feel more at home in something like Secret of Mana.

Fans of modern and retro adventures alike will easily find something to enjoy with this indie darling. Blossom Tales takes the traditional Zelda formula but changes the narrative to where the princess is the one saving the kingdom. While the game delves quite deeply into Greek mythology, Immortals Fenyx Rising is a game worth checking out for anyone who enjoys engaging combat in cool environments and it even features a challenging nightmare mode after beating the game.

Like previous entries in the Ratchet and Clank series , Rift Apart is a third-person shooter set in a fun futuristic setting that spans planets and dimensions. The gameplay also mixes in different gameplay elements including strafing and platforming for players who might not usually be interested in shooter games.

While not an open-world game in the traditional sense, the game introduces a lot of interesting environments to traverse as well as a new system that uses interdimensional portals to instantly travel between locations. The characters also remain very charming and, as with Zelda games, this is a title that makes a player want to spend as much time in its world as possible.

Developed by a pair of indie game studios, Cris Tales is a visually stunning turn-based RPG centered on the idea of manipulating time to create a brighter future for the protagonist, Crisbell. The game is incredibly stylish especially for an indie game and the music, environments, and character designs are all top-notch. For players who enjoyed using time travel to solve problems in previous Legend of Zelda titles, Cris Tales brings back that thrill.

Turn-based combat may be slightly less engaging for the player, but it is even possible to manipulate time within battles and gain an important edge, keeping things interesting. Released earlier this year as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Returnal is a rogue-like third-person shooter game set in a futuristic environment that might not seem very similar to Zelda games at all at first. However, where Returnal does resemble Zelda games and specifically Breath of the Wild , is in the importance of exploration in the game.

Returnal is a game that uses the idea of a player-controlled character stuck in a time loop and each time the player dies, the landscape changes to something completely different. The player is tasked with breaking the loop in an ever-shape-shifting world, traversing alien environments, and encountering hostile entities as they go. Ghost of Tsushima utilizes the historical setting of Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan to tell a rich story in a visually striking location.

The game features a large open world and allows the player to travel on horseback to various places on the island, which is full of interesting NPCs and a large number of side quests. While the open world and some of the side quests can leave a little to be desired, the combat is also fun and intuitive and it is impossible not to be drawn in by the story and art direction.