Summary
- Legend of Zelda games have shaped the gaming landscape with their unique ideas, mechanics, and art styles.
- Breath of the Wild brought a refreshing open-world experience to the franchise, but there are other great open-world games like Zelda available on PlayStation consoles.
2021 marked the 35th anniversary of Nintendo's hugely popular Legend of Zelda series. Over the years, Link's adventures have helped to shape the gaming landscape; from the terrific top-down 2D title A Link to the Past to Link's triumphant leap into the third dimension in the critically acclaimed masterpiece that is Ocarina of Time. His last few outings, however, brought with them something a little different: an open world.
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Open-world games were a thing long before Breath of the Wild entered the fray, but few had been able to fill those worlds anywhere near as spectacularly as Hidemaro Fujibayashi and his team. The title came as a real breath of fresh air, although remains one that only Switch and Wii U console owners are able to play. Thankfully though, there are plenty of other great open-world games like Zelda that can also be enjoyed by PS4 and PS5 players as well.
Updated January 27, 2024, by Tom Bowen: Trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes the Legend of Zelda series so fantastic is a surprisingly difficult task. There are, after all, some pretty sweeping differences between its many entries, with each one typically built around its own unique ideas, mechanics, and art style. As a result, different people tend to love the franchise for different reasons, although there's generally one thing that these people do all tend to have in common: a longing for adventure. It's a thirst that each of the Zelda games has been able to quench to perfection, much like these other great open-world games like Zelda that are available on Sony's PlayStation line of consoles.
1 Sable
Metacritic Rating: 75 (PS5)
Sable's art style can take a little bit of getting used to, but those who persevere will definitely be glad that they did. It's a stunning game in just about every sense and shares more than a few similarities with Link and Zelda's latest outing. This is particularly evident when traversing the game's massive open world, but can also be seen through some of its many puzzles.
Despite these similarities, however, Sable differs from Breath of the Wild in one key way: there's no combat in the game whatsoever. As a result, it offers a much more relaxed experience that centers around the joy and wonder of exploration rather than the monotonous task of killing generic creatures. It may not be for everybody, but those who enjoyed traveling around Hyrule in BotW will likely have a really good time with Sable.
Sable
- Released
- September 23, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Shedworks
- Publisher(s)
- Raw Fury
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
2 Windbound
Metacritic Rating: 64 (PS4)
Like Breath of the Wild, 5 Live Studios' Windbound is an incredibly ambitious game that blends together elements from multiple genres. The art styles are pretty similar as well, as too are some of the methods used to traverse each game's massive open world. Granted, the one found in Windbound is quite a bit smaller and broken up into smaller chunks, not to mention sparsely populated when compared to Hyrule, yet this actually plays into the game's survival theme pretty well.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, these survival elements bring with them cooking and crafting mechanics; both of which play an important role in keeping the playable character Kara alive. This is going to be vital while playing on the Survivalist difficulty, as dying will send players all the way back to the first chapter. Players can, of course, lower the difficulty setting to lessen the impact of death, which can in turn lead to a more laid-back experience.
Windbound
- Released
- August 28, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
3 Death's Door
Metacritic Rating: 89 (Switch)
Some consider Acid Nerve's Death's Door to be one of the best and most underrated games to come out of 2021, and it's easy to understand why. It's one of the best-written games in recent memory and is able to back this up with wonderful visuals and a fantastic musical score. Granted, at just eight and a half hours, it is a little on the short side, but this should take nothing away from the game's overall excellence.
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In many ways, Death's Door feels like a crossover between Dark Souls and Zelda, with the title borrowing the tight and rewarding combat of the former and the puzzle and dungeon-oriented progression system found in 2D Zelda titles like A Link to the Past. Thankfully, it's not quite as difficult as a typical souls-like game, yet should still provide a decent challenge for all but the most skilled of gamers.
Death's Door
- Released
- July 20, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Acid Nerve
- Publisher(s)
- Devolver Digital
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
4 Sonic Frontiers
Metacritic Rating: 75 (PS4)
At a glance, Sonic Frontiers may seem like a game that is about as un-Zelda-like as they come. However, the game's plethora of thought-provoking puzzles are actually quite reminiscent of the Shrines found throughout Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, as too is the sparseness of the game's open world.
Unlike the aforementioned Zelda games though, Sonic Frontiers opts for a more realistic art style, which, in hindsight, was probably a mistake on the developers' part. It's still a fun world to explore, even in spite of how jarring it can be at times, with plenty of secrets scattered throughout it for those who aren't afraid to venture from the beaten track; much like in Zelda games.
Sonic Frontiers
- Released
- November 8, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Sonic Team
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
5 One Piece Odyssey
Metacritic Rating: 75 (PS4)
One Piece Odyssey feels a little like a cross between Windwaker and more modern Zelda titles like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Like the latter games, it boasts a sprawling open world full of wonder and puzzles, while it can be likened to the former due to its visuals and nautical themes.
Granted, One Piece Odyssey will appeal more to fans of the popular anime series than it will to those with no interest in the medium, but the gameplay itself is a lot of fun nonetheless. There are certainly better games like Zelda out there, particularly when it comes to open-world aspects, but there's still a lot of fun to be had here.
One Piece Odyssey
- Released
- January 13, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- ILCA
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
6 Effie
Metacritic Rating: 68 (PS4)
Much of the inspiration behind Inverge Studios' charming action-adventure game, Effie, can be traced back to some of the wonderful adventure games of yesteryear. It features great platforming, solid combat, and a wonderfully told story that's played out by a cast of memorable and well-written characters.
Those expecting a groundbreaking title of the same ilk as Breath of the Wild will likely come away from the experience a little disappointed. Assuming expectations can be kept in check, however, there's definitely a lot of fun to be had. In many ways, it's a game that's cast from a similar mold as Link's latest outing - albeit, at a smaller scale - and will likely appeal to fans of the Switch title as a result.
Effie
- Released
- June 4, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
7 Darksiders 2
Metacritic Rating: 84 (PS3)
The Darksiders series has gone through many changes since first making its debut back in 2010. There are some pretty big differences between its four entries, but many consider the second of these, Darksiders 2, to be the franchise at its absolute best. The Deathinitive Edition of the game, which was released in 2015 is hands down the best way to experience it.
At its heart, the game is an action RPG with hack-and-slash elements and some wonderfully thought-out puzzles. In this regard, it's easy to draw similarities between Darksiders 2 and Breath of the Wild, though the tone and color palette of Gunfire Games' title is often a lot darker. There's not quite as much to see and do either, although it will still provide completionists with more than 40 hours of entertainment.
Darksiders 2
- Released
- August 14, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
8 Skyrim
Metacritic Rating: 92 (PS3)
Hard though it may be to believe, there are still plenty of people out there who have never played Skyrim. Those people are really missing out, particularly the ones who love a good adventure game. There's an endless amount of things to see and do in the title, and it's here, as well as through the heavy emphasis that it places on exploration, that the latest entry in the Elder Scrolls series can be compared to a game like Breath of the Wild.
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Granted, there are some pretty big differences when it comes to the games' respective art styles and their narratives veer off in dramatically different directions too. Even so, the similarities should be both numerous and obvious enough to appeal to fans of the Legend of Zelda series, especially those who also happen to have an interest in Norse mythology.
Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
9 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Metacritic Rating: 84 (PS5)
While on the subject of Norse mythology, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is another great open-world game that's likely to appeal to Zelda fans. Like Breath of the Wild, its world is beautifully rendered and an absolute joy to explore, and although its gameplay can be both generic and repetitive at times, its excellent storytelling more than makes up for this.
Many people were driven away from the Assassin's Creed franchise after years of substandard and samey releases, but Valhalla does at least try to reinvent itself a little. Granted, not all of the new ideas land quite as well as Ubisoft would have wanted, but the experience is different enough to provide disenfranchised fans with a reason to return to the series; if only to check out what's new.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Released
- November 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Platform(s)
- Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
10 Death Stranding
Metacritic Rating: 85 (PS5)
There are times in Breath of the Wild when players can become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the game's massive open world. This, in turn, can lead to feelings of isolation, as if Link is entirely alone amidst an endless sea of Bokoblins and Lizalfos. Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding, though certainly a lot less colorful, can often evoke these very same feelings.
In terms of actual gameplay, there are very few similarities to be drawn between the two titles, but for those looking to lose themselves on a journey of self-discovery, they're both able to scratch the same itch. The online social interactions in Kojima's epic walking simulator serve in much the same way as those in Breath of the Wild when players do encounter an NPC: a reminder that neither Sam, nor Link, are truly alone, despite what their barren and desolate surroundings might otherwise suggest.
Death Stranding
- Released
- November 8, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Platform(s)
- iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action