If you grew up in the 80’s or 90’s you might remember the popular game called Zelda. In this game, you had to explore vast regions to eventually save the princess. The first Zelda game was released by Nintendo in 1986 and it’s had numerous spinoffs since then. The most recent release was in 2017 with the title of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This high action fantasy adventure game franchise incorporates action, adventure and puzzle solving.
Zelda was one of the best adventure platform games ever created because it combined a lot of things and it had a lot of heart, this game is a true masterpiece and that includes all the versions that have been released. Zelda is sadly only available to play on Nintendo consoles like Xbox, Wii, and Windows computers. This game centers on a man named Link who must save the princess and the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil Ganon. These 3 characters have appeared in many of the Zelda games.
Since Zelda was such a hit, others have tried to replicate it with a twist, some have come close but no one has succeeded in creating a better game than this franchise. We’ve searched the web to find the best platformers that resembles Zelda and that will give you a similar experience without feeling like a copy. Check out our list of games like Zelda below to find a new favorite fantasy action adventure game to play once you’ve saved the princess in all the Zelda games.
Hyper Light Drifter
Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D style game that can be played on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. This game is a nod to the earlier Zelda games. Hyper Light Drifter is published by Playism and it launched in 2016. This is one of the new platform games like Zelda on our list. Hyper Light Drifter is a lot more intense than it looks. In this game, you will find references to genocide, symbolism, time travel and extinction. Hyper Light Drifter is a blend of old school gaming and modern sci-fi. This game is about a sword wielding hero and his arsenal of blasters. Hyper Light Drifter is a ton of fun to play, very easy to play, and each level is filled with discovery and excitement. We must also mention that this game has great visuals for a 2D world and psychedelic sounds that will keep on playing in your head long after the game is over.
Dark Souls
Dark Souls is a beautiful addition to our list of alternatives to Zelda. This game can be played on PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows. Like Zelda, Dark Souls has many games of the same name to play. This Namco Bandai game is a thrilling blend of action, adventure, and role playing. If you love to play platform games, you’ll love Dark Souls. This game features a never-ending battle between good and evil. In Dark Souls, you can also shop for items, trade them in, and like Zelda, you can break a lot of things to find loot. The cool thing about Dark Souls is that most of the shops are run by your enemies which makes this game unique. You don’t see that in many adventure games. This third person action game is a lot of fun to play even though everyone around you is trying to kill you.
3D Dot Game Heroes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuS7QpdPh3w
One of the fun platform games found among games like Zelda is 3D Dot Game Heroes. This game was realized a few years ago in 2009 exclusively for PlayStation 3. If you can get your hands on an old console, you should really give this one a try. 3D Dot Game Heroes is the perfect portrayal of the gameplay found in the original Zelda game. This game tasks you with an epic job, you have to stop the evil bishop from making the world a miserable monster filled world. The characters and landscapes in this game are pixilated, hence the name 3D Dot game. Grab your sword, a shield, and a few other gadgets to try to make the world a better place, one dead monster at a time.
Psychonauts
Another older game found on our list of game recommendations similar to Zelda is Psychonauts. This Double Find Productions game launched in 2005 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox, and PlayStation. Psychonauts is one of the freakiest adventure platform games on our list. This game follows your player called Raz. Raz is a boy with psychic powers who is on the run from the circus. The first thing that you want to do after your escape is to sneak into a camp that caters to people with special abilities. The people at this camp are called psychonauts. Unfortunately, this camp soon turns into a nightmare when you start to find clues that lead to a sinister secret. That’s all that we’re going to say about this game not to give it all away but we do strongly urge you to play this game if you like action platform games with great storylines and thrilling moments.
Beyond: Good and Evil
Beyond: Good and Evil is a 3D game created by Ubisoft. This action adventure game can be played on PlayStation, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows. The story of this action adventure game follows a woman named Jade. Jade is an investigative reporter and a specialist in martial arts. This game is about Jade’s adventures as she works with a resistance trying to prove a worldwide conspiracy. This is one of the best puzzle games on our list, on top of that, in this game you will find fighting, allies, and will get to take a lot of photographic evidence. Beyond: Good and Evil is a critically acclaimed game that has a huge cult following. Because of its success a digital remake was made in 2011 from its original 2003 version and a sequel was just announced in 2017 called Beyond: Good and Evil 2.
Okami
The last addition to our list of exciting platform games like Zelda is Okami. Okami is a game that launched in 2006 by Capcom and Sony Entertainment. This game can be played on various PlayStation consoles, Xbox One, Wii, and Windows. Okami is a single player action adventure game that is set in classical Japanese history. This game is a combination of Japanese myths, folklore and legends. All these put together tell the story of the sun goddess called Amaterasu who turned into a white wolf and save the land from darkness. This game is impressive, beautiful, engaging, and it’s guaranteed to be one of the most original games you’ve ever played. Okami is a masterpiece that should definitely be added to your game collection.
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With all metrics calculated, we then rank each game accordingly. When writing a list of games like another game, we pull the leading alternatives from that category and add them to that list.
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