darn... according to wikipedia it was removed bc the devs license to AT expired and they removed from all online store fronts... so probably can't even find any legal copies elsewhere (maybe ebay). times like these i really wish copyright law made some allowances for obtaining unpurchaseable things from the shadier side of the net (not promoting that, just lamenting)
Also for Songbringer that one reminds me of Superbrothers - Sword Sworcery at least in terms of art style. For SSS, I did play that one awhile back.. I guess that one could probably also be considered a zelda-like game but I wouldn't personally recommend it to folks based on that.
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Here's one that keeps flying under the radar. It strongly reminds me of Zelda, but I haven't actually tried it so I don't know if it feels like Zelda.
Immortal Darkness: Curse of The Pale King
https://store.steampowered.com/app/868060/Immortal_Darkness_Curse_of_The_Pale_King/
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The Swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse
https://store.steampowered.com/app/619780/The_Swords_of_Ditto_Mormos_Curse/
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Why are so many people suggesting so many games that have very little in common with Zelda?
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I think maybe everyone is focusing on different aspects. Even within official zelda there is a lot of variation. While all of them share common elements, there are also differences: for example, Zelda 2 plays a lot more like a platformer in some spots, Link to the Past is more top-down exploration, etc.
For me, the really defining thing that all Zelda games share are puzzles, free roam/exploration, and (since I have never played BotW) non-random dungeons/items. And I guess not losing all your shit when you die (personally I'm not a fan of the roguelike genre mostly bc of this.. and will go out of my way to avoid roguelikes. But a lot of others seem to either like that aspect/not care).
And to be fair, probably my fault... I said to go ahead and post whatever felt like zelda to them (although I did ask folks to call out any aspects that weren't very zelda-ish like roguelike part... not many seem to be doing that either lol) ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Edit: Not committing to this, but maybe if I get time/bored I can go back and compile the list of recommendations from this thread and the previously linked one into a table, noting which Zelda game they are closest to and main similiarities/differences... if anybody else has the time and energy and wants to do this, be my guest; would be happy to add it to OP.
e.g.
| Game Title | Closest To | Similarities | Differences |
| ================ | ============ | ========================= | ======== |
| Oceanhorn | Wind Waker | World exploration, puzzles | ?? |
| Okami | ?? | World exploration, puzzles ? | You are a wolf instead of link? |
| Hack n Slash | Link to the Past? | World exploration, puzzles | "Hacking", Late-game difficult for non-programmers |
| Binding of Isaac | ?? | ?? | Roguelite: items lost on death |
To me, BoI doesn't seem like it would be very zelda like but I haven't played it and don't want to discount what others have said... it's just the obvious differences make it much lower priority to me personally than many of the other suggestions.
Edit #2: apparently I don't know how to do markdown tables on SG lol. will look into that later too
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Somewhat similar to retro Zelda:
CrossCode
Ys game series
World to the West
Mages of Mystralia
Ittle Dew (and its sequel)
Secrets of Grindea
Zwei: The Arges Adventure
Xanadu Next
Lenna's Inception
KAMIKO
Arietta of Spirits
Hazelnut Bastille
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos (has some rogue-lite elements)
TUNIC
More like modern Zelda:
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
Darksiders
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
Chantelise - A Tale of Two Sisters
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Incredible Mandy
Skellboy
Ary and the Secret of Seasons
Windbound
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Haven't played any Zelda games to say for sure, but I've seen quite a handful of people compare CrossCode to them. Don't know if the comparison holds true but I can't miss an opportunity to recommend CrossCode. ;P
Recettear's dungeon bits might also be similar but... yeah, I can't really say for sure. ^_^'
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bit Dungeon games
https://store.steampowered.com/app/331440/bit_Dungeon_II/
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cat quest and cat quest 2
by the way, google legend of princess. It's a sidescroller parody of zelda.
Ary and the Secret of Seasons looks interesting
after reading your answer to TurtleHermit0, I think you should check metroidvania games.
I could suggest checking aquaria and owlboy
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Fairune
https://store.steampowered.com/app/783180/Fairune_Collection/
Combat is just walking into enemies and if you're a high enough level, you kill them immediately. So it's more puzzle and exploration based.
Maybe Bastion, if you haven't played it yet.
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any ones in particular that you disagree with? I am happy to hear everyone's take but it would also be interested to see counter stances to some opinions, long as it is civil and informative.
Most of these I haven't played and some are more obviously zelda-like than others but especially for people unfamiliar with whatever game(s) gets mentioned, seeing something like "I don't think XYZ is very Zelda-like bc it doesn't have ABC / is a DEF" would be very helpful to be aware of.
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Evoland 1 and 2 were nice escapades into gaming history for me.
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My thoughts of Zelda, Evoland, Oceanhorn, and Hack & Slash are practically identical. That being said, we probably have very similar taste for games.
Okami - first 1/3 is great, but then it begins to drag on and on and on
Darksiders - very Zelda like except for the combat uses combos. I personally didn't mind this.
Mages of Mystralia - absolutely loved it (more than Evoland 2)
RiME - hated it
Hob - hated it
World to the West - very zelda like, but you have to transverse the world 4 times with the 4 different characters. That's the only downside, but it can be a big downside.
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EIGHT YEARS in the making!
The developer made this game to entertain himself & built it from the ground up, from the engine, to the sound design, graphics, etc. Definitely worth a second look.
Our review
From their store page:
*The Elementalist is a retro-styled 2D action RPG featuring environmental puzzles and a sprawling world with numerous dungeons.
Step in to the pointy boots of a wizard who has awoken after a long sleep to find that evil is again afoot. Wander a vast world in search of ancient temples, hidden passageways, and lost treasures. Overcome enemies, traps, and puzzles that will test your skills and wits. Embark on an epic journey to reclaim your elemental powers. Seek out the hidden menace and restore peace to the land!
Inspired by the great games of the 80's and crafted by hand The Elementalist offers a fresh take on a classic genre!
Enjoy the Elementatlist today in glorious ULTRA-SD!*
Featuring:
The Elementalist has lots of snarky dialog to resonate with the aging gamer (cough, cough) but is appropriate for all audiences.
Expected time for a play-through is 10+ hours.
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Curious what PC games out there are both worth playing and feel like an early zelda game... while I can (and have) looked up Zelda games on google that doesn't always give you a feel for whether it's good or not.
We all probably have our own favorite zelda games. I've never owned a handheld system in my life so my personal favorites are all on consoles: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on NES, A Link to the Past on SNES, Ocarina of Time on N64, and Wind Waker on Gamecube. Skyword Sword was fun, but I got annoyed with being forced to use a wiimote (I understand that there are ways to avoid this now but at the time 100% controller wasn't an option). And I got away from consoles entirely before the switch so no BotW for me and I understand it is very different from older zelda games anyway.
So what PC games have you played that remind you of Zelda (you know... besides loading the real deal up in an emu)? I kick things off with the ones I've played:
Evoland 1 and 2 - I remember not liking the first game very much but absolutely loving the second game. The second game reminded me of OOT meets ALTTP.
Oceanhorn - somewhat like Wind Waker. It's probably the most obvious 3D Zelda clone that I am aware of. I only played the first island and need to go back and finish it but from what I remember it was pretty solid.
Hack n Slash - I wouldn't recommend this for non-programmers. Even among programmers, I'd probably limit that recommendation to memory hacking enthusiasts. The early game has a very fun zelda-like roaming the world and solving puzzles feel that you don't need to be a programmer to appreciate. But the late game stuff will honestly probably remind you more of memory hacking / trying to browse some undocumented spaghetti code than anything to do with a zelda game.
Recommend whatever you think fits and why but please call-out any non-zelda aspects (I'm looking at you, rogue-likes/permadeath games).
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