Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is stuck in the void between new and old

There’s a lot to like about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. For a start, it’s the first Zelda game to star the titular Princess as its main protagonist, after decades in the support role; it introduces a bold new mechanic to its core gameplay; and the longtime remake studio Grezzo finally gets a well-deserved shot at an original game.

It also has a beautiful toybox art style – transitioned from 2019’s delightful Link’s Awakening remake – that makes its world a joy to look at; and introduces a generously-sized Hyrule map with plenty of fun characters and touching story moments to discover.

But despite great first impressions, Echoes of Wisdom eventually unravels into a surprisingly uneven Zelda adventure, which struggles to deliver on its initial promise. By the end, few of the game’s headline mechanics felt like they were utilised to their potential, and, combined with a mostly predictable story and dungeons, this means that it ultimately feels less essential than the series’ other modern 2D entries.

Echoes of Wisdom is a classic-style, top-down adventure that sees Princess Zelda forced into the lead, after a series of mysterious rifts appear around Hyrule, swallowing up people, objects, and even the King of Hyrule and Link. The Princess’s story starts with Tri, an ethereal creature who hands over a wand known as the Tri Rod, which Zelda can then use to create copies of objects and enemies in the world, known as ‘echoes’.

With no sword, shield or traditional items to speak of, echoes are supposed to be Zelda’s main means of solving puzzles and defeating enemies in the game. Once defeated and copied, you can summon any enemy in the game (though each takes up a finite number of points, depending on how powerful they are), and they will fight on your behalf. You can also summon select items, such as flaming torches or blocks of ice, to solve puzzles or traverse the environment.

It’s a bit like Zelda’s Pokémon adventure, with players quickly compelled to catch ‘em