The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos & Features

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is one of the best games this year and one of the best games in the Zelda franchise.

Nintendo's unique creativity and charm is on full display with this masterful release. Echoes of Wisdom features a stunning and timeless art style that is more polished than Link's Awakening from 2019. Even more impressively, Nintendo manages to take elements of the incredible freedom and creativity from Tears of the Kingdom to create the same sense of wonder and awe in this top-down, expansive gameplay.

Most importantly, Echoes of Wisdom finally puts Princess Zelda at the forefront of the game as a playable character. Zelda, now filling in for Link's usal role to save Hyrule, is a fantastic character that deserves even more of the spotlight moving forward in the series. With innovative gameplay and one of the better stories in the franchise, fans will surely be insisting for a sequel to Echoes of Wisdom.

Gameplay Impressions

Nintendo expertly blends the familiar tropes of The Legend of Zelda series into the narrative, world building and compelling gameplay systems of Echoes of Wisdom. Nintendo also brilliantly incorporates elements of the gameplay loop from Tears of the Kingdom into this more condensed open world setting. Very quickly, the game pulls players into the story of Zelda needing to save Link after he was engulfed by a mysterious rift that has taken over Hyrule. What unfolds is one of the better stories in the Zelda universe and a memorable one for the first with Zelda as the playable character.

Zelda's companion, Tri, allows Zelda to wield the Tri Rod, which is used to create echos of various objects to navigate the world with the simple press of the 'Y' button. Tri can also interact with specific objects to maneuver, which will remind Tears of the Kingdom players of Ultrahand. It's a fun play on the Triforce trope. However, players can't replicate everything they see, such as a massive stone statue. Instead, this only applies to specific objects that 'shine' in the world. Since there is a limit to the Tri's power, players can also quickly erase echos they created to replace them or try different solutions to puzzles and combat. Gamers can even use different objects to create distractions for enemies in stealth sections. For example, creating a pot and then throwing it away from the direction of the exit to distract a guard.

In addition to learning echoes of objects, Zelda can also defeat enemies to learn their echoes. Then, the player can create echoes of those enemies to fight for Zelda, reminiscent of deploying minions in other franchises like Diablo. It's a fun aspect of the engaging gameplay for when Zelda is unable to wield a weapon or to distract enemies while the gamer plans their next move. Overall, combat feels great during battle sequences and it plays very well like an action game with simple inputs to attack and lock on. There's two difficulty settings (normal and hard) that players can toggle if needed. However, a great deal of fun is not even relying on the limited access to swordfighter mode and instead using different echoes to fight battles for Zelda.

Perhaps the aspect of gameplay that takes the most time to get comfortable with is simply switching between echoes. To initiate, gamers press right on the D-pad and the action will pause so players can navigate using the right joystick. It's a bit awkward to press right on the D-pad and then have to use the right joystick as opposed to just using the D-pad. It's a minor complaint but one that some gamers may take some time adjusting to when they begin playing the game. While there is no feature to remap controls, the game does have some quality-of-life features like fast traveling to specific waypoints.

Exploration is phenomenal despite a smaller map. There's always somewhere to go and explore thanks to the unique echo system. It's fun to see where Zelda can reach by using different echos. The open world pulls the player into all directions to find the many unique echoes. It's one of the most rewarding gameplay systems and an excellent approach to the general gameplay of the Zelda series. It's reminiscent of Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom and Elden Ring as one of the most engaging open world games. Even if the player feels 'stuck' in one area, they can still go explore other areas to try to increase Tri's power, unlock more story beats and discover more echoes. The pin system also returns to keep track of items to unlock later in the game.

Since certain locations are essentially puzzles of sorts to navigate, a simple press of the right joystick will let players see an overhead view. It's reminiscent of popular stealth games like Metal Gear Solid, so it's an intuitive way to plot the path to victory. As anticipated from a Zelda game, it's important to explore all areas, including homes of NPCs, to avoid missable echoes. Players can also scan an amiibo during their playthrough for different effects. While not mandatory, it's awesome to see Nintendo still support amiibo features in 2024.

Beyond exploring the world of Hyrule, Zelda and Tri will transport to the Still World in order to eliminate the rift that has plagued Hyrule. The Still World serves as isolated dungeons with unique enemies, puzzles and mechanics. Completing these rift sections will allow Tri to level up and unlock new powers, so it's essential to do as many as possible when available.

It wouldn't be an open world game without side quests to explore. These can be found throughout the world, which typically involve aiding other characters who are being overwhelmed by enemies or having trouble traversing the world. Another important aspect of the gameplay is collecting ingredients to make smoothies that provide boosts to Zelda in combat and exploration, such as climbing faster or replenishing health. Smoothies are not nearly as extensive as the cooking mechanic from Tears of the Kingdom, but the simplicity is welcomed and arguably more enjoyable.

As gamers have become accustomed to over the 30-plus years of the Zelda franchise, Echoes of Wisdom features excellent music and iconic sound effects. Most importantly, the game runs flawlessly whether Switch is in docked or handheld mode. Nintendo's polish is on full display more than seven years into the Switch's life as the game never experienced any crashes or glitches despite tens of hours of gameplay.

Conclusion

Echoes of Wisdom is a magnificent entry into one of gaming's greatest franchises ever. In a year where Princess Peach starred in her own game, Nintendo rightfully put Princess Zelda at the forefront of her own game to incredible success.

The highlight of the game is by far the unique gameplay that allows players to navigate Hyrule, solve puzzles and fight battles in a mindblowing number of ways. It's impressive how well Nintendo managed to take gameplay elements from Tears of the Kingdom and implement it into a more vintage Zelda package.

Featuring imaginative gameplay and movie-like art style, Echoes of Wisdom is easily a Game of the Year contender and one of the best games available on Nintendo Switch.