The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomDeveloper: GrezzoPublisher: NintendoPlatform: Played on SwitchAvailability: Out 26th September on Nintendo Switch
For a series approaching its 40th birthday, Princess Zelda’s moment to take centre stage in her own legend has been a long time coming. She came close in 2009’s Spirit Tracks, even if it was as a ghost locked inside a suit of armour, and we felt her presence at almost every turn in 2023’s Tears of the Kingdom – an impressive feat considering the time and distance separating her from your over and underground ramblings. But even in her brightest moments, Zelda has always played second fiddle to her sword-wielding hero Link. Until now, where it’s Link who gets spirited away by the latest evil being of the day, and it’s Zelda who must finally restore the world of Hyrule to rights.
It’s a shake-up that feels long overdue, but simply being able to play as Zelda is arguably the least interesting thing about Echoes of Wisdom overall. This is a game of quiet defiance almost everywhere you look. From its citizens reckoning with how the old way of doing things just doesn’t cut it anymore, right down to the choice of tools Zelda has to navigate the world the around her, you can sense Echoes of Wisdom wrestling with the expectations of what a Zelda game even is anymore now we’re in its post-Breath of the Wild era. Happily, it does so to often joyful and playful effect, showing how its smaller and more traditional outings can continue to exist alongside its sprawling open world epics.
There are moments where it’s not wholly successful, but let’s be honest, any game stepping out of the shadow of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom can’t help but come away feeling a little diminished by comparison. It’s a daunting prospect, but it’s a path that Echoes of Wisdom treads boldly over the course of 30 or so hours, showing just what a Zelda game can be when you take TOTK’s freeform, build-your-own adventure blocks and apply them to the familiar bones of a Hyrule that’s been with us since the days of A Link to the Past (now with an added ring of new terrain round its well-worn edges). It’s a potent and dizzying mix, and one that makes Princess Zelda’s first outing as its series lead feel wholly and distinctly hers.