(ThyBlackMan.com) So, you’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—or The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. Now, you want more. Just more adventure, more bosses, more danger, all of that good stuff. Many games deliver all of those but few deliver all of those and have a sense of exploration. You know, that you’re out on an actual journey. Let’s look at five games like The Legend of Zelda that will keep you busy and hit the spot!
Dragon’s Dogma (PS3/360/PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC)
If you want something that will give you a strong single-player experience, Dragon’s Dogma is it. What you get here is basically “What if Zelda had harder combat and a defined world?” Like the Zelda games, you play as a hero of fate who is branded by a dragon’s claw. Your heart is missing but you’re still alive making you an Arisen.
The Arisen are able to form a pact with Pawns, humanoids with no will of their own who only live to fight the dragon. They exist in a spirit realm-like place and can be summoned but they’re somewhat like humans. Anyway, you can form a pact with two of them to join you on your quests as you march towards fighting the dragon.
What I love about Dragon’s Dogma is how difficult and vast it is. There are few opportunities for fast travel. You’ll be doing a lot of walking throughout the land to carry out quests. The monsters and bandits you run into on your quest have some ridiculous AI because they can be hard to deal with.
Strategy is key in fighting them. You might need a specific kind of weapon, specific attacks, or pawns with certain skills to make fights manageable. Also, if there’s a surface that doesn’t result in a sheer drop to doom and death, you can scale it. There are even enemies that can be climbed on and will need to be climbed on to do damage.
Dragon’s Dogma is a game if you want a challenge and stuff to do. It’s not as hard as a Souls game but more involved and harder than Zelda. With Netflix announcing that it’s doing a Dragon’s Dogma anime last year, we could see a sequel and an attempt to push it in the west.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3/360/PC)
I’ve talked about Kingdoms of Amalur before but this is a game that should still be around. As the story goes, it ate up too much money and didn’t make it back. It was a bust pure and simple but it was also an excellent game. As a matter of fact, it’s rare that you get a well-received flop!
Once more, you’re a hero of fate who survives his death on the battlefield in a fantasy world. Like Dragon’s Dogma, it takes place in specific land with several regions. Unlike DD, the game is more fluid. You don’t feel a restriction of movement here and it plays more like Zelda. If I had to pick a game on this list that was extreme close to Zelda, Amalur is one of them hands down.
That said, it can be a little more involved than Zelda. The crafting is pretty deep, you’ll find yourself trying to make the perfect armor for your play style and what kind of damage you want to do. Then you’ll have to forge better weapons as you grow and enemies become more powerful.
Yes, this is a game you’re investing time into.
Darksiders II (PS3/360/PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC)
Do you want Zelda but in a darker setting? Darksiders II is basically that. You have the hack-n-slash action of Zelda’s combat paired with Zelda’s combat strategy. You’re also given all the dungeons, puzzles, and open world areas you can deal with in a Zelda fashion. The main difference is that Darksiders II is darker and has a different art style.
In the same sense that Zelda’s different art styles work for it depending on the game, Darksiders II get the job done in the art department and doesn’t take you away from the world you’re exploring and questing in.
Dust: An Elysian Tail (PS4/360/Switch/PC/iOS)
I’m someone who digs 2D action-slashers. Dust: An Elysian Tail hits the spot on that front. It gives you a bit of a challenge, has beautiful artwork, and a good story. The only thing it’s lacking are puzzles. I guess being open enough for you to play at your own pace and how you want to play makes up for this.
Personally, I’m not particularly annoyed by the lack of puzzles. Sometimes they can be a bit much and take you out of the game when you’d rather keep playing. You just don’t want to deal with a puzzle that ends up having a simple solution once you tackle it with fresh eyes. That’s just the worst, isn’t it?
Anyway, Dust is for those who just want a fun, dope game with strong gameplay. You’ll find yourself backtracking through areas for stuff you missed, materials, or money. Also, once you gain new equipment and skills, the game opens up when you can reach places you couldn’t before.
While Dust does give some Zelda vibes, it’s gives off stronger Castlevania and Metroid vibes. That makes sense as both games are the primary inspirations for Dust!
Hyper Light Drifter (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC/iOS)
It took me a while to get around to Hyper Light Drifter, folks. I’d heard great things about it such as it gave off Legend of Zelda vibes. There are three games that if it gives off those vibes, it’s going to be well received: Zelda, Castlevania, and Metroid. Gamers love these games like home cooked food and so do I.
So, when I finally gave it a play on PS4, I was pleasantly surprised that it lived up to the hype! Hyper Light Drifter struts in with 2D graphics and an 80s-90s Zelda approach. Story-wise, it draws on the personal experiences of the creator and him living with heart disease.
It’s not a doom and gloom game as personal experience/emotions games tend to float towards though. Hyper Light Drifter has plenty of gameplay and just enough style to keep you engaged.
Staff Writer; Corey Shaw
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