r/ZeldaLikes

80% off on steam right now. Such a sleeper hit and the end...damn. Please give it a try. Too bad no one played it because due to lack of sales the company folded.

According to the developers, it can take hundreds of hours to breed a perfect creature.

Do you think this survival crafting game can compete with Palworld or ARK?

So I really enjoyed this one. It has a lot of Zelda fun and action and a lot of twists on the formula that make it interesting and a welcome change of pace (one "dungeon" was actually a cooking competition and all the exploration and puzzle solving was to get the salt to impress your chef mentor). The graphics were nice and the music was good. The story was fine, pretty much exactly what I expected from this kind of thing, the only thing that stood out was the friendship/rivalry Nia had with another character. I do recommend it to people who love the genre, like the people in this sub.

But the thing that keeps me from recommending it higher is that the game world feels just a bit off from what I hope for in this genre. Like I found myself revisiting areas 2-3 times but still not finding everything.

It's hard to explain, maybe it's a bit more of a "vibe" thing, but there are a lot of mini dungeons with a lot of interactivity and things to explore, but no map, and I would never be sure I had completed them. They often looped around unexpectedly with branches that were easy to miss. Like I would go through the winding path, open a chest or two, then find the exit, which just took me back to where I started and opened a shortcut to the back of the dungeon. It left me going, "was that it?" Either that, or a mini dungeon would have too many little treasures and the best loot was a one-off I almost missed because it wasn't even in a chest. Meanwhile the big chest that had been staring at me in the face since hour 3 turned out to hold some pretty useless crafting loot.

There was almost never a feeling that I for sure had done everything in an area or fully finished off a quest.

There was so much about the side quests that just felt... incomplete. There's a boy you find sleeping in improbable places but it's not like you find him in town after finding all of his spots and you get a final reward or bit of the story. There is a pair of feuding brothers that you reunite shortly after completing the first dungeon, then they spend the rest of the game with the "thanks" dialog.

I managed to fully upgrade my weapons and was six pieces of heart short of maxing out my health. I enjoyed the final boss, beat him in two attempts, which seemed on par for how hard the game was.

But while I do recommend the game, it kinda bothers me how close it was to being amazing and how it was missing a critical skill in making maps and guiding the player. I was curious if anyone else felt the same way or if I'm just thinking too hard about it

There are a lot of top-down Link's Awakening or Link to the Past-inspired Zelda-likes already which is fine but I've been looking for a good 3d OoT-inspired one for a while and I've been eyeing Carter's Quest while deciding on what to get from the steam summer sale.

It's an Early Access game with not much content rn but did anyone here play it? Any feedback? Is it actually similar to OoT? How's the exploration and puzzles?

The combat seems way more elaborate than in Zelda and character action inspired which is interesting but it kind of feels like it's missing the point, like tbh Zelda never was that much about the combat anyway, the combat system is usually very simple and boss fights are more about finding weak points and the right moment to strike and stun the boss compared to a hack n' slash.

A thread to share your Zelda-like recommendations.

Here is a starting list (based on [this] one), that I will update based on your recommendations, comments and clarifications below.

>I did not play most of these, so details might be off. Especially at first. Also, not every suggestion is equally great, or even good, but all of them should scratch a particular Zelda-like itch to some extend.

WHAT IS A CLASSIC ZELDA-LIKE?

The term can mean different things to different people. I happened to pick the definition from the earlier link. NOT TO GATEKEEP (!) but to make things more objective, thereby make it easier to find games with specific focuses.

>Please do not derail this thread by arguing semantics on this. Just create a new thread for that if you feel you must. And there is nothing limiting you from recommending adjacent games below.

CLASSIC ZELDALIKE:

1. An Action-Adventure game with
2. Mandatory puzzle solving
3. Progression gating via new abilities (usually in the form of items)
4. Dungeons that are distinctly separate from the overworld

LOOSE ZELDALIKE:

1. Games with just 3 out of 4 aspects.

For example: "Golden Sun" has 2, 3 and 4, but combat is turn-base instead of real time.

Also note that ironically BotW/TotK, while Zelda games, lack 2 and 3. It's for sure a break from the past formula in several ways. But again: I'm not looking to gatekeep, so I'll still mention them somewhere on the list as they come up.

===============

2D CLASSIC ZELDALIKES (+ isometric 3D):

RELEASED:

• 3D Dot Game Heroes [PS3]
• Adventure of Rikka - [PC]
• Airoheart - [PC][SWITCH][XBOX X][PS5] *Mixed rating
• Alundra - [PS1]
• Beyond the Mountains - [PC] *Mostly positive rating
• Blossom tales - [PC][SWITCH]
• Blossom tales 2 - [PC][SWITCH]
• Cast away - [PC] *Short
• Crosscode - [PC][PS4][XBOX ONE][SWITCH] *Also contains some RPG mechanics
• Crusader of Centy - [SEGA GENESIS][MEGA DRIVE]
• Echo Isle - [PC] *Short
• Elementallis - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][PS5][XBOX ONE/X]
• Frogboy - [itch.io / browser]
• Hob - [PC]
• Ittle dew - [PC][Wii U][Linux][MacOS]
• Ittle dew 2 - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE]
• Lenna's inception - [PC]
• Master Key - [PC]
• Saga of the Moon Princess - [PC]
• Shipwreck - [PC] *Short
• Shrine's legacy - [PC]
• Ocean's heart - [PC][SWITCH]
• Oceanhorn - [PC][PS4][XBOX ONE][IOS][ANDROID]
• Ogu and the Secret Forest - [PC][MacOS][Android]
• Phoenotopia: Awakening - [PC][SWITCH] *Zelda2-like
• Pipistrello and the cursed yoyo - [PC]
• Prodigal - [PC]
• Ratcheteer DX - [PC][SWITCH][MacOS]
• Spindle - [PC]
• The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales - [PC][SWITCH2][PS5][XBOX X/S]
• The Girl from Arkanya - [PC]
• Tombwater - [PC] *Blends Zeldalike and Bloodborn designs
• Turnip boy commits tax evasion - [PC][SWITCH][XBOX ONE][XBOX X/S][PS4][PS5]
• Under the Island - [PC]
• Veritus - [PC]
• Yono and the Celestial Elephants - [PC]

UPCOMING:

• Beyond the Mountains II - [PC]
• Dawnthorn - [PC] *Cancelled?
• Draco and the Seven Scales - [PC]
• Graytail - [PC]
• Havenlocked - [PC]
• Hazelnut Bastille - [PC] *News has slowed down
• Horn of Balance - [PC]
• Knight George - [PC]
• Maple Forest - [PC] *News has slowed down
• Mazestalker: The Veil of Silenos - [PC]
• Isles of Reveries - [PC]
• PROUDHEART - [PC] *Zelda2-like
• Sandcaster - [PC]
• Sun Saga: Legend of the Sun - [PC]
• The book of Buja - [PC]
• Unsung Warriors - [PC] *Sidescroller. To clarify: The storepage is outdated atm. This listing is based on an inside look offered by the devs. I'll leave it to them to explain/reveal further details.

2D LOOSE ZELDALIKES (+ isometric 3D):

RELEASED:

• Aggelos - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE] (1-34) *Sideview
• Ancient mind - [PC][Android] (123-) *Dungeons are levels on a node based worldmap.
• Anodyne - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE][IOS] (12-4) *Layered
• Azaran: The demon bottle - [PC] (12?-) *Great if you're looking for a short string of crafty Zelda1-esq dungeons.
• Death's door - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][PS5][XBOX ONE][XBOX X/S] (1-3?) *Expect more Soulslike combat.
• Eastward - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE] (12-4)
• Kharon's Crypt - Even Death May Die - [PC][SWITCH] (123-) *One continuous dungeon
• Landstalker - [GENESIS] (12-?)
• Mages of Mystralia - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE] (123-)
• Minishoot adventures - [PC] (1-34) *A bullet hell game, but more Zelda-like than you might expect
• Minit - [PC] (123-) *Short :)
• Tearscape - [PC] (1?3-) *Expect more of a 2D Bloodborn game
• Tunic - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][PS5][XBOX ONE][XBOX X/S] (1??-) *Expect more Soulslike combat and secrets over puzzles
• Unsighted - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE] (1?3-) *Expect parry based combat

UPCOMING:

• Aggelos 2 - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][PS5]XBOX ONE][XBOX S/X] (????) *Not sure if it shifted to a Metroidvania now.

3D ZELDALIKES:

RELEASED:

• Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi - [PC][PS3][PS4][XBOX ONE][XBOX X/S]
• Blue Fire - [PC][SWITCH][PS4][XBOX ONE] *Expect a 3D action platformer
• Darksiders - [PC][SWITCH][PS3][PS4][XBOX360][XBOX ONE]
• Darksiders 2 - [PC][Wii U][SWITCH][PS3][PS4][XBOX360][XBOX ONE] *Expect loot focus
• Dungeons of Hinterberg - [PC][XBOX X/S]
• Oceanhorn 2 - [PC][SWITCH][PS5][XBOX X/S][Apple Arcade]
• Okami - [PC][SWITCH][PS2][PS3][PS4][XBOX ONE]
• Okamiden - [DS]
• Sphynx and the cursed mummy - [PC][GAMECUBE][SWITCH][PS2][XBOX]
• StarFox Adventures - [GAMECUBE]

UPCOMING:

• Abyss X Zero - [PC]
• Azaran: Islands of the Jinn - [PC]
• Demi and the fractured dream - [PC]
• Legend 64 - ??
• No More Fathers [PC]
• REAL WEB LEGENDS: Carter's Quest - [PC] *Currently in Early Access
• Seed of Life - [PC]
• Trinity 64 - [PC]

3D LOOSE ZELDALIKES

RELEASED:

• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the lost Demon - [SWITCH] (1?3-)
• Beyond good & evil - [PC][GAMECUBE][PS2][XBOX] (12-?)
• The plucky squire - [PC][SWITCH][PS5][XBOX X/S] (12?-) *More of a hybrid adventure game

HONORABLE MENTIONS

RELEASED (2D + isometric 3D):

• Hyperlight drifter - [PC] (1--?) *More of a great action game with exploration.
• Mina the Hollower - [PC][SWITCH2][PS5][XBOX X/S] (?---) *More of a non-linear action game with tons of polish

RELEASED (3D):

• [?]

UPCOMING (2D + isometric 3D):

• ZWAARD - [PC] (????) *Adding it here for the seemingly heavy Hyperlight Drifter similarities

You might also like Metroidvanias (?-3-) and MetroidBrainias (??3-)

ZELDA MAKERS

RELEASED:

• 2D - Quest Master - [PC]
• 2D - Super Dungeon Maker - [PC]

UPCOMING:

• 3D - Temple Maker 64 - [PC]

Is something missing or incorrect about the list? (There probably is). Post about it and I'll update the list periodically.

---
STILL NEED TO LOOK UP:
Wonderboy series
Alwa's Awakening
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth
Batman Arkham series
Star Wars Jedi (Fallen order & survivor)
Supraland series
Dinosaur Planet
Essence of the Tjikko
Star Fable
Nulphia
Night Stones
Wonder wand
DX Legends
Chico and the Magic Orchards DX
Mansion of a Million Monsters!
Rogue heroes
(Man there are a lot of Zeldalike (adjacent) games out there)

Hi all. I'm making Sandcaster which is like Link's Awakening mixed with Windwaker. I hope you guys dig it! Just to set expectations, this is an impromptu work session and not the full on release trailer. And though the Steam page is up, the demo isn't quite ready for open play tests. Soon though, I promise!

Thank you for allowing my to promote my game in our subreddit, and I promise to keep it tasteful!

-Dave

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4541450/Sandcaster/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cavedarr
Art: www.cavedarr.com

Asking after already having played Hyper Light Drifter, Anodyne 1+2, Hob and now Mina the Hollower.

I got it on Switch on recommendation in a Mark Brown video that its an incredibly polished reinvention of Zelda a while ago.

Intro seems fine, Fox is cute, running through geometric grass is fun. But it feels incredibly familiar to those experiences I've had before (Especially HLD/Hob with in its mute characters, ultra vibrant and geometric visual aesthetics, dreamy electric music and combat that seems to be aiming for something souls-like with it's dodge stab-stab-stab rythmn). Had a fine time up to beating the elite guard, but aside from what seem like some teases that something meta is going on with the instruction booklet scraps, it feels a little too familiar with not a lot unique going on and isn't really holding my attention.

Spoilers are fair game, will I miss anything special if I loan this one out to a friend instead?

There are many many "zelda-likes" out there but if you are like me you will notice that the genre tag is artificially suppressed because its a copyright term. Adventure is a term common in the industry and its also was the name of a game for the Atari 2600 that was the template for the genre.

The definition can be something like "realtime games prioritising object based progression and exploration with a focus on lateral movement" (as opposed to numbers like RPGs or vertical movement like metroidvanias).

I think most people who are fans of the genre when they see "Adventure-like" they can put two and two together. Also because Zelda has been moving away from being a Zelda-like in the past decade it would be good to lock the genre in.

If enough people start tagging "Adventure-like" on your favorite distribution platform then we can create a category and culture for this very historically important style of game. lest the day when you google "games like zelda" and get elden ring.

It will also help to find games that suggest some form of open overworld rather than the infinite-castle situation that you find in metroidvanias.

For a small list:
"Mina the hollower", "Hyper Light Drifter", "Okami", "Death's Door", "Oceanhorn", "Tunic".

I'm sure theres some good 3d ones, if I could actually find them on steam.

Edit: People would be able to tell what "Adventure-like" means if you have any sort of understanding of games genres beyond "Shooter" you'll know its a game like zelda. Its THE "action-adventure" and its the missing "___-like". and the moment someone clicks on the category they will understand. You don't even need to know about the Atari 2600 game it just provides a framework.

Edit 2: an alternative is "Overworld-like". if there can be some sort of consensus prompted by this thread then if enough people create a tag then that'll help steam.

The images speak for themselves, living such an experience with your favourite and impersonal game really your hero was a beautiful experience!

https://www.youtube.com/live/ui\_Lh-7k7yM?is=8H4tVOrL8DWMp6Jr

So I learned that the moderators could use a hand and offered to help out. (Given how I like this place and lurk here daily anyway).

And while I do not intend to shake things up much, I did want to suggest two things: An added rule to limit self-promotion posts to once every two week. And a pinned recommendation post. Let me know what you think.

Also, I enabled to use of a few optional flairs as a proof of concept. Thoughts on that are also welcome.