Attack of the Zelda Clones

There has never been a better time to be a Legend of Zelda fan.  More specifically, fans of the top-down entries in the series have a lot to look forward to.  Currently, several indie studios are hard at work making games that look and feel a lot like the Zelda titles of old.  Here are three in particular that caught my eye.

Radio the Universe has an weird sounding name, but very relatable gameplay.  It's basically what would happen if the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past were moved forward in time from a mythical past to dystopian future.  Don't worry though, it's still quite fantastical with quasi-medieval architecture and monsters being replaced by harsh industrial spaces and killer robots.  If you've ever played Hyperlight Drifter then just tone down the color palette and you'll know what this game is like.

Garden Story has players take the roll of an oversized sentient grape.  The gameplay appears to be pretty similar to 2D Zelda games, with some crafting/building mechanics sprinkled in to help differentiate gameplay from the iconic Nintendo franchise it draws inspiration from.  Aside from exploring the island world and dungeons found underneath, the player can befriend NPCs who are also pieces of fruit.  Incidentally, the opposition in this game is referred to as the "rot," which I suppose makes sense given the circumstances.

Tunic (originally known as the Secret Legend) has been on my Steam list for a long time.  So long, in fact, I'm not sure it will ever come out.  Like the two previously mentioned games it is a Zelda clone albeit from a more isometric perspective that tilts to a more overhead view in combat.  This 2.5D approach makes the game feel a bit like the Nintendo Switch remake of Link's Awakening.  The protagonist is a an anthropomorphic fox and a mysterious one at that.  In fact, all characters in this game communicate via a mostly indecipherable language.  "Mostly" being used here because a few worlds will be written in plain English for the purposes of providing hints to the player.

Anyway...there's a trio of games that will hopefully come out in 2021.  No guarantees though, but considering these three projects are being made independent of each other chances are at least one will be available this year.  That is unless the Epic Game Store decides to snatch them up at the last minute...