Bonnie Brumbaugh

Tedious, sloppy and uninspired. As a LoZ superfan, I’m beyond disappointed that these are my feelings when playing Zelda’s debut as main protagonist. :( This game feels like a mishmash of old-school 2D Zelda dungeon crawling combined with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom mechanics—dungeons, magnesis, cooking, warping, collecting, and the new Echoes system. At first, the Echoes mechanic is intriguing. You’re introduced to your first Echo —a bed—that you use to clear an early puzzle. But the novelty wears off quickly once you realize there’s an echo for /everything/, and most of them feel redundant. Whether it’s for movement, combat, or elemental puzzles, they start to blend together, feeling like slightly different variations of the same idea. The real frustration sets in when you discover that Zelda doesn’t get a weapon for combat. Unless, of course, you use mana to transform into Link for a short period. Considering how combat-heavy the game is, this mechanic is infuriating. Clearing even small groups of weak monsters becomes tedious, with Zelda standing off to the side while robotic Echoes deal minimal damage. You’re forced to choose when to use your precious few seconds of directed damage (i.e. Link transformation), which makes battling feel disjointed and unbalanced, and stylistically manages to feel unfair to both Link and Zelda at the same time. The story and map, while attempting to “echo” classic Zelda themes, fail to introduce anything new or compelling. Most regions are just reskinned versions of the same terrain we’ve seen before, and they offer little in the way of exploration or surprise. Mechanically, EoW feels over-engineered for its underwhelming execution. The Echoes system is fun for puzzle-solving, but in combat, it slows everything down. Dungeon clearing offers no exciting unlocks—just more Link mana or echoes, which eventually feel like clutter. Even the cooking and “smoothie” feature, designed to restore hearts, adds unnecessary complexity to what should be a simple mechanic in a dungeon crawler. Worse yet, the game frequently interrupts your flow with cutscenes, breaking the immersion during regular gameplay. Side-scrolling dungeon levels could have been a fun addition, but they feel awkward and out of place alongside the rest of the game. And the UI for Echoes? Don’t get me started. The endless scroll wheel is a nightmare to navigate, with no option to hotkey your favorite Echoes. You’ll spend half your time stuck in a menu instead of playing. All in all, EoW left me feeling bitter. Zelda deserved a better, more dynamic representation, and the loving care put into releases like Wind Waker and BotW. Where’s the fierce and mysterious Sheik we met in OoT? Whatever this is, it’s not it.

Riot absolutely nailed bringing the LoL universe to life. An absolute visual delight complimented by thrilling storytelling that will appeal to both long time players and the esports uninitiated. So glad they kept this production in house — the production is astounding. Way to go, Riot!