Players are still finding new secrets in Breath of the Wild today, so It is hard to believe that the game was released back with the Nintendo Switch release in March 2017. It remains a top seller and a truly unique game.
If you have played Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to death and are looking for something similar, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for our list of games that we think anyone who likes Breath of the Wild will be sure to dig.
1) Super Mario Odyssey
The other big game Nintendo launched in the Switch’s first year of 2017 was Super Mario Odyssey. While not a true open-world game, this game remains one of the most original and inventive Mario games in years.
If you are tired of the simple and often stale feeling New Super Mario Bros. series, this game might be the perfect tonic. Mario is left to explore massive levels, each containing multiple Moons to collect and power your further exploration with.
The groundbreaking cap throwing mechanic brings a fresh feeling to the typical platforming and allows Mario to take over almost anything he sees. This means players can inhibit anything from Goombas and humans to something crazy like this guy!
2) The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
If you are looking for a more old-school Zelda experience, you’re in luck. The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past was recently released on the Nintendo Switch by way of a remastered port of the Game Boy original. The game’s origins as a portable Zelda entry, stranded on a 1990s handheld, has meant that it has largely remained the most obscure entry in the series.
However, fans of 2D Zelda games will be right at home on the mysterious island home of the Wind Fish. Waking the Wind Fish from its slumber is Link’s main goal of the game, though it is uncertain if doing so would cause the entire island and its inhabitants to disappear.
This quest requires the player to spirit Link through 13 difficult dungeons, collecting instruments to wake the fish as you progress. It is truly an odd game, but for those willing to put in the time to learn its simple controls, it is a more than worthwhile Zelda entry.
3) Animal Crossing: New Horizons
If you always get excited to talk to new NPCs while roaming Hyrule’s expansive fields but hate when they turn out to be Yoga clan members you have to spar with. The gentle comforts of Animal Crossing: New Horizons might be perfect for you. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is similar to Breath of the Wild in that the player is given greater control than they’ve ever had before.
This is revolutionary for such open-ended games. But instead of being given the freedom to climb anything in Breath of the Wild, you can design and mod your tropical island.
While the game doesn’t feature any of the puzzles or combat that Zelda games are famous for, Animal Crossing does have scores of fossils, insects, and fish to collect. So, while your biggest enemy might be bees, the rest of your experience is as relaxing as a day at the beach.
4) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The second game in the Legend of Zelda series was originally released on the NES. The game is unique for the franchise in that it features heavy 2D platforming elements.
The Adventure of Link is slightly obtuse by today’s standards, but this more difficult entry in the series can be completed in as little as a day when playing with a guide.
The best part about this classic game is that if you subscribe to Nintendo’s online service, you already have access to this game for free as a part of the system’s collection of NES games. Even an S-mode version lets the player use a fully powered up Link from the beginning of the game, which takes the difficulty level down a peg or two.
5) Immortals Fenix Rising
Originally known as Gods and Monsters, this game is famously similar to Breath of the Wild. The two share an animated art-style, and players can climb everywhere in both games. Immortals even have their glider mechanics.
This game is more than a simple copy of Breath of the Wild with no spirit of its own; however, fans of Greek mythology will find a lot to love in the game’s mythology heavy story.
The writing can be surprisingly funny, and besides a somewhat forgettable protagonist, it is full of memorable characters. If you want a new world to explore with many of Breath of the Wild’s gameplay mechanics intact, this game is a great choice.
6) Genshin Impact
This free-to-play action role-playing game was released in September of 2020 and had a fantasy open-world that may appeal to fans of Zelda’s anime-like art style. Players will choose one out of four possible characters from their party to play as and together explore the world of Teyvat, which is broken up into seven distinct nations.
Unlike many games on this list, Genshin Impact has an online 4-player multiplayer mode integral to it. The game even supports full cross-platform play, which means that you can enjoy the game with friends without having to take turns passing a controller back and forth.
7) Beyond Good and Evil HD
Originally released way back in 2003, Beyond Good & Evil is a cult classic that fans of adventure games will love. In the game, you play Jade, an investigative reporter trying to defend your corner of the galaxy from an alien invasion.
You will explore the rustic European style setting in your spaceship, co-piloted by your boar companion Pey’j. Fans of the stealth elements from the Zelda series will find plenty of such gameplay here.
8) Undertale
If what you missed most in Breath of the Wild was the lack of true dungeons to explore and solve, look no further than the quirky, unique and dungeon-filled classic, Undertale. Impressively developed by a one-person team, its creator Toby Fox spent four years creating everything you see, hear and read in the game all by himself.
While RPG-like bullet hell battles replace sword combat, fans of the Zelda series’s morality will appreciate the impact their choices have on their adventure. For example, by choosing to subdue instead of defeat enemy monsters so that they may live, the player may change their entire playthrough. Choices can alter characters and dialogue, affecting plot points greatly.
9) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
If Breath of the Wild is too tame for you, consider giving The Witcher 3 a try. While the games are similar in their horse and sword-based sand-box exploration, Wild Hunt contains many more adult themes.
The game takes a mature theme from the start, and players will experience the world of Geralt, which includes copious blood, gore, and nudity that is not present in the Nintendo title. The game was recently ported to Nintendo Switch with all of its available DLC included.
10) Okami HD
Even though you spend the game as a white wolf-god, exploring beautiful watercolor environments, Okami is often considered one of the best Zelda-like games that aren’t a part of the franchise. This is because of how it captures the timeless series blend of action-adventure gameplay.
Playing as the Shinto sun-god Amaterasu in wolf spirit form, the player explores cell-shaded worlds designed to look like beautiful brushstroke paintings. The environment is put to good use for gameplay, as players will have to use brushstrokes to solve puzzles and defeat enemies.
11) Horizon Zero Dawn
If you have access to a Playstation 4 or Playstation 5, Horizon Zero Dawn is a game that will scratch the Zelda itch with a uniquely techno-infused style.
Released just weeks before Zelda: Breath of the Wild, these two games have been compared to one another ad nauseam. For a good reason, as Horizon Zero Dawn is a game that is almost equal to Breath of the Wild in terms of ambition and creativity.
While you can’t climb anything in this game like in Breath of the Wild, you can go almost anywhere and takedown robotic dinosaurs right from the get-go. Players use a barrage of weapons such as grenades and explosive arrows to hunt other robots as they explore a mysterious post-apocalyptic world.
12) Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
If you think this is just another game in the Legend of Zelda series, think again! Hyrule Warriors is a hack-and-slash adventure based on the style made popular by the Japanese video game series Dynasty Warriors. Fans of Breath of the Wild’s story will enjoy this prequel, even though it is in a vastly different genre.
The Dynasty Warriors series famed Musou Mode, which you play as a series of medieval Chinese generals, is replaced as you instead play as characters from Breath of the Wild. The game takes place before the events that lead to Link waking up alone in a cave at the start of Breath of the Wild, and fans of that game’s lore will be happy with the additional story this game contains.
