24
Apr

Home » Features » Best Indie Games like Zelda in 2023

Best Indie Games like Zelda in 2023

Best Indie Games of 2023

Best Indie Games on Nintendo Switch in 2023

What are the best indie games like Zelda in 2023? Find out here and get in a Zelda mood before Tears of the Kingdom comes out!

The Legend of Zelda titles have always been a classic inspiration for indie games, and with good reason: it’s a formula that’s endeared itself to players for decades now. Our list of the best indie games like Zelda covers a variety of takes on the series.

Our picks spread across all major platforms, so you can get your Zelda-like fix regardless of whether you’re playing on PC, Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox. Perfect for when you want something for your other consoles while your Switch becomes a Tears of the Kingdom machine in May.

Death’s Door

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: Souls-like combat

Death’s Door puts you in charge of a crow with the very monotonous office job of reaping souls of the dead. Thankfully, you get some action(-adventure) in your life as you’re dispatched to track down a thief who’s escaped into a realm where creatures defy death and grow in power.

Death’s Door packs tight combat inspired by the Dark Souls games, making this a good pick if you want something like Zelda, but a little tougher and sharper in the battle department.

Tunic

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: To figure things out on your own

Tunic wears its inspiration on its (tunic) sleeve and has you playing as a curious fox on a grand, enigmatic adventure in a ruined land. Apart from battling powerful enemies and felling giant bosses, you will also solve puzzles and reconstruct the game’s “Instruction Manual”, which will reveal tips and secrets one page at a time.

Tunic has been praised for its many mysteries and how it requires players to connect the dots by themselves. It’s the perfect game for the Zelda fan who loves figuring things out without looking them up.

A Short Hike

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: Something peaceful and non-violent

A Short Hike puts you in the wings of a young bird exploring a mountainous provincial park, and takes away any and all combat to make for a peaceful exploration experience. As you try to get to the top of Hawk Peak, you’ll meet lots of colorful characters while also hiking, flying, climbing, swimming, gliding, and even fishing your way up.

A Short Hike is a great pick if you want something Zelda-flavoured but without all the sword-swinging. Here, you explore the charming environs of Hawk Peak at your own pace, with no pressure of an evil presence or threatening foes.

Eastward

Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: Something of a story-rich RPG

Eastward takes you to a near-future world on the brink of collapse, where human population has reached an all-time low and a subterranean society proves to be too limiting for a miner and a young girl.

Eastward takes the exploration, puzzles, and action of a Zelda game and fuses it with the depth and narrative of a role-playing game. Your adventure will take you to meeting new characters in bizarre settlements and even cooking food from dubiously fresh ingredients.

Anodyne

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: Something surreal and dreamy

Anodyne has become an indie classic in its own right, and it very closely resembles the Gameboy-era Zelda games in full 16-bit glory. You will explore surreal, dreamy, and abstract environments both wild and urban, and your weapon of choice will be… a broom? Anything goes in dream worlds, right?

If you’d like something lo-fi in your Zelda-like adventures, and particularly something that might remind you of Link’s Awakening, Anodyne’s sure to scratch that itch. Be aware of the mature themes in its narrative, though.

Hyper Light Drifter

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: Something stylish and challenging

Hyper Light Drifter has you playing as the titular drifter, who is struggling against a vicious disease and exploring a ruined, yet beautiful world in the hopes of getting rid of the illness.

Although you can upgrade your weapons, discover new equipment, learn new skills, and meet the occasional friendly face, the combat will test your abilities and reflexes. In true Zelda-like fashion, you will also have a vast world to uncover secrets in, all underpinned by hand-animated visuals.

Minit

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: An experimental twist on Zelda

Minit is an interesting take on the traditional Zelda formula, in that your main character is cursed to die every sixty seconds. You’ll wake up back in bed after that time expires, making it critical for you to figure out how to use your time wisely.

Exploring the black-and-white environs of the game, you will have to discover secrets, find new save points, battle enemies, and find new items and characters – all sixty seconds at a time. Certainly fits the bill if you’d like to try a Zelda-like with an additional twist.

Moonlighter

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: To manage a shop on the side

In Moonlighter, you play as the shopkeeper in a Zelda-like game, managing a shop near an excavation site where adventurers can buy and sell the goods they need to do their adventuring business. But no, wait, there’s more!

As the title suggests, you moonlight as an adventurer yourself, so you’ll have to venture into the depths and battle challenging enemies with a variety of means and strategies. You can also craft and enchant your own gear, apart from finding loot in dungeons – and of course, you get to manage your own adventure shop.

Ittle Dew and Ittle Dew 2+

Platforms: PC, Switch
Perfect if you want: Something plain out cute

Ittle Dew and Ittle Dew 2+ very closely mimic Zelda’s style while adding a major dose of adorable visuals and charming humor. In both games, you play as Ittle and Tippsie as they crash onto an island full of adventure, loot, enemies, and dungeons.

Ittle Dew is 2D, while Ittle Dew 2+ switches it up with 3D graphics. Pure adventure is what these games offer, and if you like Zelda games, you will very much be at home with these.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Perfect if you want: To commit tax evasion

In Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Turnip Boy has it out for the corrupt vegetable government, and he’s going to commit numerous petty crimes that include, yes, tax evasion. Apart from wholesome activities like growing plants and solving dungeon puzzles, you can battle beasts, rip up tax documents, and uncover the secret behind what’ spoiling the garden community.

A sequel to Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is under development with an expected release window of this very year. What’s it called? Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. Yes.

Thanks for reading our article on the best indie games like Zelda in 2023! For other interesting articles about indie games, check out the links below!