Okay, stick with me. I promise I’m not making an attempt to get an increase out of anybody. Like many individuals, I beloved The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I just about lived in that sport for weeks, and stored coming again to it every time I simply need to fiddle. When Tears of the Kingdom launched, the identical factor occurred. But after I consider the long run for the collection, I really feel like these video games most likely shouldn’t be the guiding gentle. No, I believe the way forward for The Legend of Zelda is the newest Change launch Echoes of Knowledge.
In plenty of methods, Echoes of Knowledge comes off like a top-down Legend of Zelda sport that has been absolutely knowledgeable by the success of Breath of the Wild. Hyrule has all the time been an open world, however solely often a correctly non-linear one. Echoes of Knowledge doesn’t provide you with full freedom, however with the facility of the Tri Rod and your creativeness you’ve gotten plenty of selection in the right way to deal with the sport’s challenges. That could be a huge a part of what has made fashionable Zelda video games really feel so recent and thrilling, and it’s one ingredient that should keep.
Echoes of Knowledge exhibits how effectively that system might be utilized to a top-down format, much more than the wonderful Hyperlink Between Worlds did. One factor struck me as I used to be enjoying by means of Echoes of Knowledge, nevertheless. First, I’ve missed the normal dungeons which have been largely absent from the 3D video games of late. Whereas Breath of the Wild reclaimed the sensation of exploration and discovery of the unique Legend of Zelda, it misplaced the opposite vital a part of the equation by slicing the standard dungeon designs. Echoes of Knowledge exhibits that the dungeons might be integrated in a freeform design.
One of many huge options of Breath of the Wild was the dimensions of the world. That feeling of leaving the Nice Plateau and realizing it was only a fraction of the total world was unforgettable. Tears of the Kingdom offered a fair bigger map, however the impression was smaller. Upping the ante additional within the subsequent sport probably wouldn’t even make gamers blink. I do know I definitely don’t need a larger world than what we noticed in Tears of the Kingdom.
I believe that Nintendo and the Zelda group did an amazing job of constructing positive the worlds in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom didn’t really feel too empty or devoid of goal. With that mentioned, Echoes of Knowledge has me questioning if a extra compact world is perhaps greatest. We don’t should go all the way in which again to the way in which issues have been. Echoes of Knowledge manages to make a world that feels huge and fulfilling to discover, but additionally extra guided. And not using a have to seed a big sprawling map with secrets and techniques, each additionally feels extra significant.
The Change period of The Legend of Zelda has been unimaginable, however the brand new formulation is as liable to stagnation because the outdated one. The collection ought to all the time be transferring ahead, and there are classes to be discovered from Echoes of Knowledge. Rein within the measurement of the open world with out sacrificing its natural, non-linear really feel. Convey again these great puzzle-packed dungeons, and allow us to proceed to interrupt them. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge threads that needle, and its concepts can do the identical for future video games.
