Introduction
Basic information
Developer Name: Nintendo
Full Name: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Release Date: 2024 (played on Nintendo Switch 2)
Released on: Nintendo Switch
Cross Play: Not applicable (single-player)
Initial thoughts
My wife was interested in playing this game, to play as Zelda. That simple shift changes the atmosphere; we started looking at rooms as problems to understand rather than arenas to conquer. Within an hour, the loop of observe → experiment → succeed, hooked us, and the novelty of Zelda’s toolset stayed fresh well beyond the early dungeons.
Story and setting
Plot overview
Hyrule fractures under a subtle, reality-bending threat. Zelda steps forward with a relic that records echoes of objects/phenomena and replays them to restore order. The beats are classic and mysterious with a quieter confidence befitting a scholar/queen.
World building and immersion
Zelda’s growth is about leadership: listening, delegating, and choosing which risks to take. The supporting cast (researchers, wardens, townsfolk) reflect her growing authority; small kindnesses ripple outward as sidequests resolve.
Character development
Successes feel earned because they come after genuine thought. The game ties climactic scenes to moments where your understanding, instead of your sword arm carrying the day. It’s uplifting in a grounded way.
Emotional impact
Regions teach their own puzzle grammar: wind hamlets, kinetics; crystal caverns prize refraction; clockwork temples worship timing. Towns interlock via errands that reveal civic life rather than checklist filler.
Rating for story and setting
I have visited multiple aspects of the story, and after some thought and objective thinking, I rated the story and setting with an 8.
Gameplay and mechanics
Core gameplay mechanics
Zelda captures echoes (bridges, fans, ramps, light beams, etc.) and deploys them, stacking, rotating, and chaining triggers to traverse spaces or neutralize threats. Encounters exist, but the emphasis is on clever construction and environmental manipulation.
Difficulty and balance
Early shrines teach cleanly; mid-game dungeons layer mechanics without gotchas. If a room spikes, alternate solutions (or an extra echo) usually exist, keeping frustration low while rewarding persistence. There are multiple ways to solve puzzles.
Pacing of the game
Exploration leads to a knot; you tinker; the room clicks; you ride that high into the next area. Town errands are palate cleansers that add resources or new echo types. Dungeon cadence is steady, rarely bloated.
Innovation and uniqueness
Echo recording turns Zelda into a maker game without losing adventure roots. It’s a different flavor of agency: build, don’t just brawl.
Controls and user interface
Radial selection is quick; snapping/rotation is precise; an instant undo invites experimentation. The UI highlights interactables clearly, and bookmarking favorite echoes saves time in complex builds. There are a lot of echoes to scroll though however.
Microtransactions
None, progress is earned, not bought.
Rating
After combing through many of the mechanics, the pacing, and other factors of this game, I rated the gameplay and mechanics with an 8.2.
Graphics and art style
Quality of graphics and art direction
Painterly surfaces, bold silhouettes, and expressive animation give Zelda warmth and presence. Puzzle elements read at a glance without sacrificing charm.
Technical performances
On Switch 2, travel and temple transitions are smooth, with short loads and stable performance even when multiple echoes and physics chains overlap.
Environment and design uniqueness
Biomes carry distinct visual motifs tied to their mechanics, windmills, prisms, pendulums, so aesthetics reinforce problem solving.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style an objective rating. There are many things to consider, but ultimately, I rated this section with a 8.5.
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the game
Themes begin sparse and blossom as your solutions do, slipping in counter-melodies when a sequence comes together. Dungeon tracks add soft metronomes and toybox percussion that subtly coach timing.
Sound effects quality
Clean construction cues, clicks for snaps, whirrs for kinetics, and crystalline pings for light make systems legible by ear. Small success stingers are satisfying without being intrusive.
Voice Acting
Kept light, staging and score carry the big beats effectively.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section with a 8.
Replayability
Game Length and content volume
A full campaign supported by optional shrines, side dungeons, town restorations, and secret challenge rooms that remix core rules.
Extra Content
Post-credits puzzles, tougher permutations, and optional time-trial variants encourage cleaner, faster solutions. Trinkets reward exploration.
Replay value
High if you enjoy self-imposed constraints (limited echo loadouts, no hints) or route optimizing puzzles for elegance/speed.
Rating
After thoughtful consideration, I decided to rate the replayability and game length of Legends of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom with a 8.
Suggestions and comparisons
Suggestions and feedback
A post-game Creative Island for freeform builds and shared layouts.
A few more late-game enemy archetypes that demand distinct contraption counters.
Expanded accessibility toggles (longer timing windows, color-assist for light puzzles).
Comparisons
Where BOTW/TOTK give you a vast physics sandbox, Echoes of Wisdom offers denser rooms with sharper logic. Think Link’s Awakening’s intimacy blended with a maker’s toolbox, less bombast, more craft.
Personal experiences and anecdotes
My wife liked exploring the most, finding secrets, finishing sidequests, and reaping the little rewards that make villages hum again. The dungeons were also fun. Our favorite moments were those shared aha moments when placing a final echo, hearing the mechanism engage, and watching a whole room reconfigure because we actually understood it.
Rating
Taking in all the personal experiences with Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, I give it a personal rating of 8.5.
Last words
Pros
- Zelda leads with brains, heart, and agency
- Echo/creation system encourages playful problem-solving
- Multiple solutions reduce frustration and reward curiosity
- Clean onboarding with steady mechanical escalation
- Dense, handcrafted spaces over empty breadth
- Snappy performance on Switch 2; short loads
- Precise controls, fast undo, and clear UI readability
- Music that subtly supports puzzle timing and mood
- Strong visual clarity, interactables are easy to parse
- Sidequests that feel civic, not filler
- Post-game permutations and optional trials
- No microtransactions, complete and focused package
Cons
- Occasional puzzle spikes if you skip optional content
- Combat-light approach may feel soft to action-first players
- Some echoes overlap in function, causing minor redundancy
- Limited voice acting; a few scenes rely heavily on text
Echoes of Wisdom is a thoughtful, confident entry that proves Hyrule shines just as brightly when Zelda sets the pace. It favors insight over impact, craft over spectacle, and in doing so, it finds a new kind of adventure worth savoring.
FINALÂ RATING
8.3
Please let me know what you think of Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom in the comments! I hope you enjoyed reading this review. I hope to see you in the next review! If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends.
Cat Zelda???
That just is the best costume in the entire game!
Good looking game but just wasn’t a winner for me.
I love the legend of zelda franchise, Zelda almost always plays a bigger role than just being a princess to save and its great, but her taking the main role as the playable character is really nice to see, and that opens up a lot of options for new stuff, even though action puzzle have always been high in zelda games, not just combat.
Good to know that it is a well-made game from a different perspective and unique gameplay.
Without ever playing it i guessed this game twice (first week was wrong :D) week after week in screenshoot quest, team can confirm 😉 Going back, great review congrats. I think it is really well done and a great game especially for a fans of puzze games.
sooo more puzzle with more use-of-brain?
I like that
Never know about this “chibi” zelda game
It’s refreshing to finally see Zelda take the lead, the smaller art style gives it a cozy yet clever puzzle vibe
I haven’t played a Zelda game like this in a long time, but it made me want to play this type of game again after so long.
You made some really good points in this review!
Looks fun, although it’s hard for me to get over the art style, I’m just having flashbacks to so many cheap mobile games
Cool to see they still make more old-schooly even though breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom were such hits 🙂
It’s great to see that the first game with Zelda as a playable character is pretty successful! 😄
Nice to see this positive review about Zelda’s first game as the main character 🙂
Is that a screenshot of the inventory or building block? Looks troublesome to navigate as the items add up.
Yeah I disagree, this looks like one of the worst Zelda games to me, no combat, no interesting puzzles really as there is like 5 ways to solve each puzzle making it far too easy. Gonna skip permanently
This game has some cool new features. It looks like it’s a success.
This game looks amazing! I love that we can play as Zelda in this one, *and* she’s the main character! The puzzles sound like they’re really thoughtful and special, and the storyline sounds lovely! I would love to play this someday!
As someone that doesn’t keep up with Nintendo games (since I don’t have a Switch), always cool just seeing reviews on games I didn’t know existed from Nintendo. Really does look like a great game!
The echo mechanic does sound genuinely clever once you get past all that menu scrolling
I like this game, more pros than cons. I like the main character. Cute and great princess.
While I like the artstyle in those images, I would probably say this is a Mario game (or a Peach game) before I’d link (pun intended) this with a Zelda game.
Also, the text-heavy parts of gameplay. :O