We know not everyone will be down with Tears of the Kingdom, and there are plenty of other Zelda-like titles out there from both third parties and indie developers. And I don’t mean to use “clone” as a pejorative here; some of these games supersede traditional Zelda in plenty of ways! I’ll rattle off five that I know are quality and let’s see if we can find some diamonds in the rough:
**1. [Okami HD](https://youtu.be/G6NPoX7_ehc):** This was arguably the better Zelda game to come out back in 2006. Here you play as the white wolf Amaterasu, a reincarnation of the sun god, and she must fend off the forces of evil threatening ancient Nippon by solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and engaging in side quests. The version available on Switch is the HD remaster, which now includes touchscreen controls in handheld mode.
**2. [Tunic](https://youtu.be/feIznPxDAPc):** At a glance it looks like top down Zelda, but if Link were actually a cute little fox. Also it’s apparently pretty hard. It did get nominated for several awards when it launched last year, and it only came to Switch back in September.
**3. [Blossom Tales](https://youtu.be/-W_JXUJ20og):** This 16-bit inspired adventure game launched back in 2017 and saw decent praise for its art, music, and handling of established Zelda mechanics. It takes most of its cues from A Link to the Past, but also has some elements from A Link Between Worlds such as having a stamina gauge instead of an item inventory. It also got a sequel last year!
**4. [Hyper Light Drifter](https://youtu.be/uYZ8mrnb_wg):** This is probably the loosest Zelda-like that I’m gonna mention here, but man is this one a ride. Another pixel art game that lets the gameplay do the talking, Hyper Light Drifter is gonna be a real treat for fans of Zelda combat systems and constant character upgrades. You have melee and ranged attacks, but when you run out of ammo for your gun you have to slash enemies to refill it. The Switch version even had an exclusive extra gauntlet mode!
**5. [Mina the Hollower](https://youtu.be/__X1NVJ2ON0):** This is an upcoming new IP from Yacht Club Games, the folks behind Shovel Knight and Cyber Shadow. And from the previews, it looks like if Link’s Awakening DX met Castlevania. I don’t need to see any more to know that this is gonna be good, just waiting on that release date.
by Asad_Farooqui
36 Comments
Immortals Fenyx Rising is the obvious BotW analogue, but I can’t imagine anyone is choosing it over TotK right now
Darksiders 1 is just edgy zelda, highly recommend
I’d like to add CrossCode to the list with a really, really big recommendation. It’s not purely Zelda, it’s Overworld exploration and sidequests were more inspired by MMO’s and Xenoblade, while it’s combat is more Action-RPG, but it has some absolutly excellent Zelda-like puzzle dungeons. It’s also one of the best games I’ve ever played
Oceanhorn 2
Immortals Fenyx Rising (in some ways)
> **Tunic:** At a glance it looks like top down Zelda, but if Link were actually a cute little fox. Also it’s apparently pretty hard. It did get nominated for several awards when it launched last year, and it only came to Switch back in September.
Only at glance, once you play it you’ll find a brutal game totally inspired by Dark Souls. So it’s more of a mix of 2D Zelda and Dark Souls, but with its own identity due to the use of the manual (Don’t look up anything about this, going unspoiled is vital to enjoy this game).
Darksiders 1 2 are both good 3d zelda clones, 2 has a heavy dose of diablo to it too but the dungeons and world of DS2 rival most Zelda games imo.
Darksiders Genesis is sort of top down Zelda but focused on the dungeons as its level by level. Most have environmental puzzles to solve as you go through, but theres no giant world to explore or sidequests.
Deaths Door is another a bit like Tunic, top down with hard as nails combat with large world to explore and several dungeons to complete. Runs better on switch than Tunic does, really wish Tunic looked and ran better.
Hob: Definitive edition looks a bit rough on switch, but its a fun top down zelda like with mostly wordless story, but contains all the exploration, upgrades and puzzles that you would expect.
Ittle Dew 2 + yet another top down zelda like from early in the switch life, feels a little bit like a parody of zelda, also has dungeons you can complete in any order.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a totally unique game thanks to the painting mechanic, but otherwise plays and feels a lot like a 2D Zelda. Awesome game
The recent Bayonetta Origins is a good old-school 3D Zelda game mixed with Okami.
Lil Gator Game
Darksiders 1 gameplay is totally just the classic Zelda formula.
Can’t really speak for 2 or 3 since I never touched them, but I’ve heard they both go in different directions. But the first one is straight up “what if Ocarina of Time looked like early World of Warcraft/Warhammer 40k, with vaguely Devil May Cryish combat”. Similar pacing, Dungeons break up world exploration in a similar way, new weapons that serve as keys to progression.
I was never sold on the aesthetic, but looking past it, it’s really more of the Zelda sequel I want than BotW/TotK is.
And Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is more in the A Link to the Past vibe, but with a roguelite flavor.
Death’s door for sure!
Also blossom tales
Tunic is basically what happens if you mix the original NES Zelda with Dark Souls. Also you accidentally got the Japanese version but try to play anyway based of the pictures in the manual.
It’s not a perfect match, but I’d suggest Blue Fire here too – a little more platforming than most Zeldas but fun sword combat, character growth and story with dungeons and bosses.
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Second Death’s Door as well, probably the closest thing here to a 3D Zelda.
Eastward !
Zelda meets earthbound
Great game
No mention of Oceanhorn? Guess you have something left to play.
Phenotopia: Best compared to Zelda 2. It features a well build world that’s fun to explore with good dungeons and puzzles. Used a notepad for some of them. Truly captures the excitement of discovery.
Unsighted: Best compared to Link to the past. Solid in every way with good controls, cool abilities and lots of options for exploration. Also features an interesting time mechanic with characters dying in real time that’s optional (but I would recommend to leave on).
Ittle Dew 1&2.
It’s not BOTW, but in line with 2d Zelda.
It’s a goofy game that surprised me with it’s goofy premise and characters. Pretty short though.
Immortals Fenyx Rising.
Pine.
Genshin Impact.
Windbound.
Tchia.
I’d like to recommend Oceanhorn 2, but unfortunately the switch port seems to be abandonware – it’s many updates behind the mobile version, and it’s missing a minigame, several sidequests, some achievements, and a ton of bug fixes and quality of life updates compared to the mobile version.
Oceanhorn 1 is a fun Phantom Hourglass clone, worth playing if you liked the DS-era Zelda games, but I can’t recommend 2 unless it eventually gets updated.
Fenyx rising was surprise tor me too
Crosscode
Tunic is a must play.
Deaths Door is brilliant.
3D Dot Game Heroes
You can even make your own Link
I know the Okami was actually better than TP argument has gotten super popular over the last decade but I just want to pop in and say I disagree. It’s a great game but TP is mad disrespected for no reason
**Okami yessssssss**
Blue fire
Oceanhorn 1 and 2 are great Wind Wakwr clones
Beyond Good & Evil
Starfox Adventures
I hope we get some sort of port/remaster or whatever of Alundra (just the first one) at some point. Its a great 2D Zelda clone
UNSIGHTED has the best dungeons in a non Zelda game I have ever played. It’s the only one with a proper non-linearity and great dungeon mechanics. The game as a whole has a really unique time currency concept and narrative that makes it stick out in a crowded sea of Zelda clones.
CrossCode is mostly an action RPG, but it has puzzle-focused dungeons and they are fantastic in their pacing, puzzles and bossfights. They are quite exhausting to get through though, where you can easily spend up to 3 hours in some of these. CrossCode is worth playing in general. It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever played for the amazing combat, story and everything.
Fenyx immortals rising was an excellent clone
The best Zelda clone I played was Landstalker on the mega drive back in the mid 90’s. I actually played this before any Zelda as I was a sega kid. Great memories!
> Tunic
While I highly recommend paying Tunic (it was my personal goty last year), it is very important to know a handful of things about that game.
1. The first 10 or so hours play like a 2D Zelda game (with some DS inspiration), but after that there is a distinct turning point where the game completely changes and is no longer like Zelda. This part of the game is optional, but IMO I think it is a deeply integral part of the experience.
2. Information in this game is everything. Using guides will ruin the experience, because the game is very careful about giving you specific pieces of information at specific times (through the manual mechanic mostly). Breaking outside of the predetermined learning order changes a lot, and that can be a bad thing if that happened because of a guide.
3. This game is hard, and I don’t just mean the combat. This game is intellectually challenging and you’ll need a lot of patience (and probably a physical notepad) to work out some of the larger puzzles.
I’m not quite fond of the term “Zelda Clone,” because usually people just use it to describe a good, solid game in the action-adventure category which has focused dungeon-style levels where you get abilities that allow you to access other areas. And that’s a super broad generalization. Calling a game a “clone” makes it sound derivative of another work. I love Okami, and I love Dark Souls, and both of those have Zelda-like elements, but they are *not* clones.
That being said, the best Zelda clone that’s ever been made is Alundra, a PS1 classic game that I think is still sold digitally today. It’s totally 100% obvious that it is derivative of Zelda but is such a fantastic game that I’m A-OK with it.
Sphinx and the cursed mummy
Tchia. It’s not exactly a “Zelda clone,” but it is very clearly inspired by BOTW, and it is wonderful. Beautiful. Joyous. Inspired. Heartwarming. Moving. Like, it made me cry many times. I can’t say that about many video games. It is currently available for PlayStation and PC.