Along with being one of most coveted Nintendo exclusives, The Legend of Zelda is a long running franchise spanning decades of releases.
Throughout history, the series has tackled diverse genres and gameplay elements while maintaining its core identity and grand fantasy aesthetic.
So for those looking forward to playing Tears of the Kingdom, we’ve compiled a list of the top games akin to The Legend of Zelda for PC and consoles.
This includes action-adventure, dungeon crawling, and expansive open-world games that draw inspiration from The Legend of Zelda’s design in some form.
For additional gaming recommendations, reach out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to let us know what games to cover in the future!
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Tunic
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Mac
Directly influenced by The Legend of Zelda, Tunic is an action-adventure game that casts you as a small sword-wielding fox on a magnificent journey.
Combining dungeon-crawling, puzzle-solving, and Soulslike combat, the game takes on a mysterious island teeming with secrets and challenging encounters.
While many of Tunic’s battles require finesse and a touch of patience, the developer includes the option to dial them down using optional modifiers.
Doing so will swing the odds back in your favor and let you get back to focusing on uncovering parts of the map and discovering other mysteries.
Prodigal
Platform: Windows
With a pixel art style reminiscent of the Game Boy Color, Prodigal is an alluring 2D adventure game that pays homage to handheld Zelda titles.
As a daring adventurer with a pickaxe, you leave to explore a lively land full of beasts, challenging mazes, and kind locals.
Prodigal offers an absorbing story that’s made even better due to its romance system in which players can win the hearts of various NPCs.
This adds an extra layer to the gameplay experience that results in an engrossing dungeon-crawling adventure that pixel art enthusiasts won’t want to miss.
Death’s Door
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
Death’s Door offers a unique blend of Soulslike combat and Zelda-inspired puzzles that make it challenging to put down.
In it, players are cast as a diminutive crow employed by an afterlife company in charge of gathering noncompliant souls by any means necessary.
Gameplay is similar to Zelda in that it encourages you to combine different weapons and tools to defeat enemies and navigate complex dungeons.
Lastly, while Death’s Door takes on more of an isometric perspective, much of its fundamental design feels reminiscent of top-down Zelda games.
Garden Story
Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Switch, Mac
Our next recommendation to Zelda fans is Garden Story, a cheerful and wholesome action adventure RPG about a valiant grape named Concord.
When an invasive rot begins to take over The Grove, Concord sets out to restore his community by slaying monsters and helping improve the town.
As players explore the world, they’ll unlock new memories that allow Concord to harness his ancestors’ capabilities and become mightier in battle.
Much of Garden Story’s design evokes memories of playing classic top-down Zelda titles like ALTTP and Link’s Awakening, making it excellent for nostalgia-hungry enthusiasts.
Kamiko
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Kamiko is another brief indie game that offers similar gameplay as top-down Zelda titles while centering on more hack-and-slash-style combat.
Heavily influenced by Japanese Shinto beliefs, it has you assuming control of a priestess forced to battle an army of demons.
Like Zelda, gameplay centers on blade-based combat and solving puzzles to unlock mystically sealed gates throughout the domain.
Breaking them all reveals various stage bosses that require players to use every strategy and tool at their disposal to beat.
Wally and the Fantastic Predators
Platform: Windows
Moving along, Wally and the Fantastic Predators is a hectic bullet hell rogue-lite with a hint of Zelda-inspired components.
In it, you play as a sword-wielding fox named Wally who sets out to explore randomly generated dungeons whose rules change from level to level.
For example, one dungeon may restrict Wally’s sight while another features lethal Indiana Jones-style boulders for him to avoid.
This goes for Wally’s assortment of weapons and upgrades, as novel game-changing skills are often added to assist in spicing up the fighting.
Sable
Platforms: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
If you’re on the hunt for more open-world experiences like Breath of the Wild to help escape real life for a few hours, Sable is a strong alternative with stunning visuals.
Billed as a puzzle adventure game, it tells the coming-of-age story of a young woman completing a rite of passage known as the “Gliding.”
This leads to an unforgettable journey spanning vast deserts and mesmerizing landscapes littered with the remains of mysterious spaceships and ancient technology.
As players explore the world and solve puzzles, they’ll unlock new rewards while advancing the narrative through branching dialogue.
Cat Quest II
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Combining ferocious felines and Zelda-inspired adventures, Cat Quest is an endearing indie RPG series that’s worth putting on your radar.
Consisting of two entries, the series casts you as a tiny orange cat tasked with saving the kingdom of Felingard from evildoers.
If you haven’t played the original, that’s the best place to start before moving on to the sequel, Cat Quest II.
Bear in mind, these games are relatively casual RPGs, allowing you to take things at your own pace while exploring dungeons, battling foes, and learning new skills.
Ghost of Tsushima
Platforms: PS5, PS4
Anyone who enjoyed Breath of the Wild and owns a PlayStation console is welcome to pick up Ghost of Tsushima too.
The similarities between the two are pretty obvious: flexible sword-based combat, environmentally diverse open worlds and tons of secrets to track down.
Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is admittingly a lot more complex and places a bigger emphasis on stealth-based encounters.
However, fans of BOTW will still find plenty to admire as Tsushima’s open world is just as vibrant and fun to explore.
Horizon Forbidden West
Platforms: PS5, PS4
Horizon Forbidden West is another outstanding PlayStation exclusive that will appeal to fans of Breath of the Wild.
In it, we follow protagonist Aloy as she sets out to explore a novel new region that will put her face to face with even more demanding enemies and bosses.
The most noteworthy features for Zelda fans are a variety of bows and arrows, distinctive armor sets, and effective systems for organizing gear.
On the gameplay side of things, Forbidden West throws underwater exploration into the mix, allowing you to bypass certain enemies and reveal hidden areas.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Kirby is another long-lasting Nintendo franchise mascot that received a new updated adventure for the Nintendo Switch.
In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the mighty pink hero is transported to a mysterious realm where he’ll have to rescue Waddle Dees from the evil Beast Pack.
Aiding him in his quest is a set of new copy abilities that allow Kirby to steal his enemies’ abilities and make them his own.
In addition, the novel Mouthful Mode lets Kirby absorb and possess enormous objects ranging from automobiles to vending machines and more.
Hob
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Switch
Carrying on, Hob is an indie action-adventure puzzler that comes from developer Runic Games, best known for the Torchlight series of RPGs.
Sporting a comparable art style as Breath of the Wild, the game has you exploring a world both breathtaking and harsh in nature.
Along the way, you’ll encounter various peculiar lifeforms that with the power to help you or make things more difficult.
Much like Zelda, many of Hob’s puzzles and story-telling rely on examining the environment and picking out subtle hints.
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince
Platforms: Windows, Switch, Linux
Both Blossom Tales games do an excellent job of paying tribute to The Legend of Zelda’s retro gameplay and art style.
This includes A Link To The Past-inspired overhead visuals and combat that has you wielding a sword, shield, and boomerang in battle.
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince is the most recent entry between the two and sees players embarking on a new 2D adventure to save their kingdom.
Like Zelda, gameplay centers on conventional dungeon crawling and puzzle solving with a wide array of weapons, abilities, and tools.
Ittle Dew 2+
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Mac, Linux
The original Ittle Dew is a charming, top-down Zelda-like that was ultimately held back by a few shortcomings.
Thankfully, most of these were addressed by a follow-up, Ittle Dew 2, which received a significant free “+” update with additional dungeons and secrets to uncover.
In it, players follow the titular protagonist Ittle and her enchanted fox companion as the two find themselves shipwrecked on a mysterious island.
This premise is deeply evocative of Link’s Awakening and plays out similarly, with Ittle having to clear dungeons to recover 8 pieces of her raft and leave the island.
Supraland Six Inches Under
Platform: Windows
Suparland Six Inches Under is the follow-up to Supra Games’ successful Portal-meets-Zelda Metroidvania and offers an enjoyable mix of platforming and puzzle-solving.
In it, you reprise your role as a cerulean hero tasked with gathering weapons and abilities to reveal new parts of a mysterious backyard realm.
Gameplay consists of open-world exploration, puzzle-solving, and some minor combat segments that will take you upwards of 20 hours to complete.
The best part is you don’t have to have played the original Supraland in order to comprehend and enjoy Six Inches Under.
RiME
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Next up is RiME, a beautifully crafted adventure puzzle game that casts you as a young boy who wakes up on a mysterious island after enduring a powerful storm.
Guided by an alluring fox, players set out to explore the island’s long-forgotten ruins and search for answers while stalked by a winged creature.
At the edge of the island lies a colossal tower housing a deep secret that can only be unlocked by solving archaic puzzles.
Much like Zelda, the game incorporates shadows, viewpoint, and time manipulation as part of its intricate puzzle mechanics.
Minit
Platforms: Windows PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android
Minit is an affordable 2D Zelda-like with minimalist black-and-white pixel art and a unique time-based system reminiscent of Majora’s Mask.
The entire game can be completed in under 60 seconds, however, this requires numerous attempts as players must trigger various events to advance the story.
This includes obtaining essential items, such as a sword, by completing tasks for NPCs and defeating enemies in the world.
Doing so unlocks new areas and brings you one step closer to lifting the curse that’s trapped your character in the endless 1-minute cycle.
Moonlighter
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Mac, Linux
Last up is Moonlighter, another Zelda-like with beautiful pixel art that manages to tell its story primarily through visual cues and the occasional dialogue.
In it, you take on the role of Will, a shopkeeper with lofty dreams of becoming an adventurer whose name will be remembered throughout history.
His passion leads him to explore nearby dungeons at night, where he encounters ferocious enemies and valuable treasures to sell in his shop.
The mix of Zelda-inspired dungeon crawling and shopkeeping gameplay is executed masterfully with a tinge of satisfying risk-versus-reward progression.