As if Breath of the Wild was not a revolutionary open world experience in itself, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm took things to a whole new level with increased verticality and expanded creation mechanics. While both entries have plenty of replay value, the six-year gap between them means it’ll likely be even longer for the franchise’s next major installment.
Although The Legend of Zelda has seen several remasters or smaller scale experiments like that of Zelda Echoes of Wisdomthey don’t scratch the same itch as the scale and sense of exploration that Botw or totkOpen worlds have them in spades. Luckily, there are plenty of great open-world games to help you pass the time while you wait for the next major tournament. Legend of Zelda game that can fill a similar niche.
The Witcher 3 offers a darker take on BOTW’s open world
Even with its more adult themes and linear quest design, The Witcher 3 is still an excellent open-world RPG that shares many similarities with The Legend of Zelda. With more depth of combat and storytelling that still encourages player exploration rather than being guided by hand, the world of The Witcher 3 it’s enjoyable to explore, even without Link’s movement abilities.
Having been ported to the Nintendo Switch and working surprisingly well considering the intensity of its visuals, The Witcher 3 has more than enough content to be worth checking out if you’re a fan of modern Zelda games, especially if you buy it with the critically acclaimed DLC expansions.
Few games have a sense of exploration like No Man’s Sky
If you want to fully concentrate on The Legend of Zeldathe player’s sense of exploration and freedom, there are a few options that can outright beat No Man’s Sky. By creating an entire game of journeying into the unknown without the crushing pressure of a major storyline, you are completely free to map an unlimited number of planets across an ever-expanding galaxy.
With lots to discover and a huge catalog of free updates to enjoy, No Man’s Sky alone can deliver hundreds of hours with its surprisingly addictive survival gameplay loop, which can even be enjoyed alongside a friend thanks to its post-launch multiplayer updates.
Outer Wilds thrives on player discovery
Far from a traditional open-world game in most respects aside from its environmental exploration, Outer Wildlands is an incredibly unique gaming experience that you need to try for yourself if you like the feeling of discovery that comes with The Legend of Zelda loved so much.
With its progression based entirely on your understanding and memory, as opposed to any in-game upgrades, all Outer WildlandsThe solar system is open to exploration from the start, providing an incredible sense of freedom to the player. Even though its sci-fi setting is far from the fantasy world of Hyrule, its environmental puzzles and visuals will be right at home for OTW fans.
As one of the most popular open-world RPGs of all time, with over a dozen re-releases, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim fully deserves its popularity. With both large-scale narratives, small character stories, and a glut of opportunities to aimlessly explore its vast, open environments, Skyrim is another great choice to pass the time.
Of all the modding communities dedicated to keeping games alive decades after release, Skyrim is easily at the top of the list with a virtually endless amount of fan-made content that can even bring resources and quests inspired by The Legend of Zelda in the mixture. With a plethora of snow-capped peaks, deep dungeons and forests just waiting to be discovered, SkyrimThe availability of also allows you to play on any system, wherever you want.
Shadow Of The Colossus feels like a spiritual predecessor to BOTW
While the relatively empty open world of Shadow of the Colossus doesn’t exactly capture the feeling of discovery, its vast expanses are still satisfying to wander through as you search for the next beast you need to take down. With a limited amount of UI elements and hints, you’re free to explore on your trusty steed with a familiar sword and bow at your disposal.
With each fight feeling more like a puzzle than a traditional boss fight, Shadow of the Colossus also has an equally strong focus on parkour as Breath of the Wildmaking it a fairly familiar, if still fresh, gaming experience for one of PlayStation’s most iconic exclusives.
Horizon Zero Dawn has all the DNA of a Zelda game
Released the same year as OTW itself, the foundations of Horizon Zero Dawn‘s open-world gameplay loop is built around exploration and traversal, rewarding planning for encounters rather than simply rushing. Even with much more emphasis on storytelling than on OTW Or TOTOK, Horizon worth a try if you’re a fan of either game, as each boss fight is just as much of a puzzle as many others in The Legend of Zelda.
As if Horizon Zero DawnThe gameplay offerings were not enough, its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West took things to a whole new level with its freeform climbing and paragliding, which align even more with the freedom of movement that makes exploring Hyrule so enjoyable.
Ghost of Tsushima is even more beautiful than Hyrule from BOTW
Offering an incredibly immersive experience that forgoes traditional navigation guidance, The Ghost of Tsushima is a little further from a traditional Legend of Zelda game with its in-depth combat, but it still has a vast and beautiful open world just waiting to be explored.
Even with its stunning environments and combat aside, there are plenty of secrets and little moments to uncover in its historical Japan setting that fit seamlessly into its game world in a way that’s more than a little reminiscent of that of OTW.
Elden Ring is a masterclass in the open world genre
Although this is one of the greatest advances since The Legend of Zelda in terms of tone and traditional gameplay, the winning game of the year Ancient Ring is still one of the best open world games you can find. Even with its darker visual style, Ancient RingThe core gameplay loop strongly encourages you to explore at your own pace, allowing you to travel virtually anywhere on the map without stopping.
With fewer narrative cutscenes that allow its environments and combat to tell the story, much like OTW And TOTK, Ancient Ring has a lot of appeal for fans of The Legend of Zelda series that go well beyond simple exploration.
Genshin Impact’s world eclipses the size of its release map
Having initially faced a wave of criticism regarding the number of similarities to Nintendo’s game, OTWit’s hard to find many games that can scratch the same itch left by its absence, like GenshinImpact. Featuring a vast open world that has only grown exponentially since its release, with a virtually endless stream of content and new areas to discover, thanks to its nature as a live gacha game.
Although there is unfortunately still no Switch version for GenshinImpact years after its initial announcement, if you have a system capable of running it, GenshinImpact is a great choice for everything Zelda fan who wants to explore a new world with familiar traversal mechanics and beautiful environments.
Immortals Fenyx Rising pays direct homage to BOTW mechanics
Among the countless open world games, one of the closest you will find OTW era of The Legend of Zelda is easily that of Ubisoft Immortals Fenyx Rising. Pay direct homage to OTW With familiar traversal systems that include horseback riding, paragliding, and climbing everything you can see, it’s easy to go from Nintendo classic to ImmortalThe unique open world of.
Immortals Fenyx Rising also lets you collect certain items to use in puzzles or traversals, similar to TOTK.
Although some aspects of the gameplay Immortals can get a little repetitive over time, combat has a lot more depth that can help break up the pacing, with a plethora of puzzles that you can seek out or find naturally while exploring, just like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- Released
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May 12, 2023
- ESRB
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Rated E for Everyone 10+ for fantasy violence and mildly suggestive themes
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Editor(s)
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Nintendo
- Engine
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Havok
- Cross-platform play
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N / A
- Cross save
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N / A
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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n / A
