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The 9 best PC games like ZeldaThere shall be no Tears in this Kingdom
There shall be no Tears in this Kingdom
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / THQ Nordic, Finji, Capcom
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / THQ Nordic, Finji, Capcom
The Legend Of Zelda has always been one of my personal favourite series over the years, but being a Nintendo game, it’s obviously never graced the PC in any kind of official capacity. But while we may never get to play a mainline Zelda game on PC, there’s no denying it’s inspired countless other developers to have a stab at it themselves, hence why we’ve put together this list of the best PC games like Zelda you can play right now. Whether you’re looking to scratch that Tears Of The Kingdom itch or get stuck into something more retro-facing like A Link To The Past, we’ve got you covered. These are the best Zelda-likes on PC we’d recommend playing today.
Best PC games like Zelda
Before Breath Of The Wild came out, it would have been quite easy to distil what makes a game ‘like Zelda’. You’d haveaction-packed dungeons, exploration,puzzlesbased around a variety of different items and secrets aplenty. But now that Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom have ditched the classic dungeon formula and gone more open world and immersive sim-like in their design, what we’d now class as a ‘Zelda-like’ is a little harder to pin down.
7 Reasons Why You’ll Fall In Love With TunicWatch on YouTube
7 Reasons Why You’ll Fall In Love With Tunic
Tunic
Image credit:Finji
You can’t talk about Zelda-likes without talking aboutTunic. This deep homage to classic Zelda games has a very small touch ofDark Soulsabout its combat, but its approach to puzzle design, secrets and the way its world unfolds is Zelda through and through. Developer Andrew Shouldice has spoken at great length about his love of NES-era Zelda games (and Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link in particular), and it all shines through in this charming, isometric hack and slash adventure that casts you as a strange fox creature who washes up on the shore of a mysterious island.
Okami HD
Image credit:Capcom
Before Breath Of The Wild came along and ruined action adventure games forever,Okamiwas the closest thing we ever had to a true 3D Zelda successor.Steeped in Japanese mythologyand portrayed in a timeless woodblock painting art style, this tale of a wolf goddess rescuing the land of Nippon from a bevy of evil demons takes you on a wild and wonderful journey that stretches from picturesque mountain villages and bustling cities to dungeons set beneath the ocean waves and inside an emperor’s belly. It’s positively stuffed full of brilliantly written characters, engrossing sidequests and charming environmental details, and it remains a deep, enthralling adventure almost two decades on from its original release.
This HD version is still locked to 30fps, admittedly, but don’t let this minor detail stop you from enjoying one of the best Zelda-like games of the last 20 years. Its 4K resolution support now meansOkamihas never looked better, and its mouse and keyboard controls are absolutely perfect for its brushstroke-based puzzle solving, easily making this the definitive version of Clover Studio’s stonking Zelda-like.
Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / THQ Nordic
When you actually sit down and think about it, there are surprisingly few games out there that have taken the ideas laid down in Zelda’s N64 masterpiece Ocarina Of Time and tried to make them their own. Ocarina has always been a tough act to follow, of course, but Vigil’s first pair ofDarksidersgames were the rare exceptions, transposing Zelda’s spoke-like hub worlds and intricate dungeon design to an altogether more fantastical setting of angels versus demons where you’re cast as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
I’ve chosenDarksiders IIhere, as it hews slightly closer to that Ocarina Of Time experience of big, meaty dungeons to puzzle your way through, (not to mention its obsession with upgradeable loot now feels very in keeping with Breath Of The Wild), but the first game is worth playing as well, especially if you’re a fan of the older God Of War andDevil May Crygames. The two games take place in parallel, too, so you don’t need to worry about missing out on the first game’s back story if you decide to jump straight in with II. Personally, I also think Death is a more jovial presence than his dour brother War, and his journey through the dwarven Maker’s Lands and Realm of the Dead feel like a better parallel for Hyrule compared to his brother’s trudge through a demon-morphed New York stand-in. Both games have aged remarkably well, too, thanks to their recent remasters. They’re well worth tracking down if you’re hungry for a more traditional Zelda-like adventure.
Lenna’s Inception
It’s got bigPony Islandvibes - and bigDaniel Mullinsvibes in general - with its eye for meta commentary, but it’s also a fun, strange and slightly creepypasta hack and slash in its own right. I mean, you can have a flaming chicken as a companion, or a flock of blood-sucking bats. What’s not to like? Plus, if you have played Cassette Beasts, you’ll also appreciate its similar sense of humour, and the same distaste it has for bankers and capitalist scumbags.
Nobody Saves The World
Image credit:Drinkbox Studios
InNobody Saves The World, Drinkbox Studios have supercharged Zelda’s dungeon structure with intense, procedural monster fights, and hitched it to a top down overworld stuffed with smart, body-swapping puzzles. You begin as a weird, naked grub man, but after finding a wizard’s magic wand stuffed in a drawer, you gain the ability to transform yourself into multiple different forms, from a teeth-gnashing mouse to an archer, snail, bodybuilder, mermaid and even an egg. It’s a madder, more unhinged version of the transformations you get in Majora’s Mask, essentially, and it’s all wrapped up in the stylish presentation you’d expect from the makers of Guacamelee.
These forms aren’t just for show, though. Each one has their own unique abilities to muck around with out in the world, and figuring out the right tool for the job engages all the same brain cells as solving a traditional Zelda puzzle. They all handle differently when it comes to combat, too, giving you loads of daft, fun options in how you approach different enemies. Sure, its dungeons are a lot simpler in design compared to Zelda’s - indeed, the game as a whole may well be too roguelite-y for some - but I’d argue that chasing each form’s respective micro quests to level them up and make them more powerful is a decent substitute for its lack of dungeon-based switch-flipping and block-pushing. It’s probably also the only game on this list to truly capture the same sinister energy as Majora’s Mask, because honestly, just look at the hollowed-out stare of your starting Nobody body. That’s got big Elegy Of Emptiness Link written all over it.
Ittle Dew
Image credit:Ludosity
An irreverent homage to top down Zelda games such as Link’s Awakening and A Link To The Past,Ittle Dewimagines what a Zelda game might be like if its hero was a money-grubbing dirtbag with no greater destiny in store than simply having a good time and amassing a small fortune in treasure and trinkets. The eponymous Ittle and her flying rat fox companion Tippsie have zero regard for their reputation on this backwater island, and they’ll smack, set fire and blow up anything that happens to be standing in their way, especially if they’re guarding a special treasure that will help them get off this god forsaken rock and find a better adventure somewhere else.
But while top down Zeldas are very much the inspiration for a lot of Ittle Dew’s puzzles, it also borrows a lot from Phantom Hourglass - and not just because Ittle looks like a knock-off version of Toon Link. Rather, its central castle is a place you’ll return to multiple times during your adventure, digging a little deeper inside it on each visit as you work to discover the location of an ancient artefact. The combat isn’t brilliant, admittedly, and certainly not on par with any of its Zelda source material. This arguably makes Ittle Dew the weakest link (sorry) on this list, but its puzzles do make up for its lacklustre swordplay.
Minit
Image credit:Devolver Digital
Minitis not a Zelda-like in the truest sense of the word, but it does do a lot of clever things that are ‘like Zelda’. Namely, it’s essentially a Game Boy Zelda trading quest in miniature, boiling down that classic sidequest of swapping one item for another with its multitude of NPCs to its truest and purest (and most frantic) form.
Tchia
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Awaceb, Kepler Interactive
Elden Ring
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / FromSoftware Inc, Bandai Namco Entertainment
What do you call a Zelda-like that you definitely don’t want to play with the kids?Elden Ring! In truth, Elden Ring also isn’t really a Zelda-like compared to some of the other games on this list. What it is, though, is a high fantasy adventure in a large, sprawling land with big nasty monsters, cavernous environments and spectacular boss battles that will make you gasp and cry in equal measure. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve ever craved a bit more from Zelda’s comparatively simplistic combat, Elden Ring and FromSoft’s generalSoulslikeoeuvre should be right up your street.
