The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Games review
As of Jun 23, 2026, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is rated 85/100 on OpenCritic (151 critic reviews), and 85/100 on Metacritic (129 critic reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
Is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom worth it in 2026?
An 85 from both OpenCritic and Metacritic, each drawing on over a hundred critic reviews, is a strong, stable signal, and the praise is consistent enough to explain why: expertly crafted dungeons, inventive puzzle mechanics, visuals that push the Switch hardware, and Zelda finally headlining her own adventure without asterisks. The central echo system is genuinely imaginative, offering real open-ended freedom in how you approach puzzles and traversal, but it also creates friction, some reviewers found the novel mechanics actively work against enjoyment rather than enhancing it, and the interface for managing your echo library adds its own layer of clunkiness to an already indirect experience.
Players who want a classic-feeling 2D Zelda with open-ended puzzle solving, strong dungeon design, and don't require satisfying direct combat.
The echo system can actively frustrate rather than delight, managing a library of echoes has real usability friction, and if you play Zelda games for direct, responsive combat, the near-total absence of basic combat moves outside one limited form will undermine the whole experience.
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes below. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Pros
- classic and modern blend6
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- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is far more than some second-tier spinoff, combining the expertly crafted dungeons and item progression you’d expect from a 2D Zelda with the...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a refreshing, albeit brief, series experimentation that blends modern and classic series elements. Using brand-new magic to battle and solv...
- Echoes of Wisdom mixes Tears of the Kingdom with the classic top-down Zelda formula to create a charming adventure that is both forward-thinking and nostalgic.
- creative puzzle mechanics6
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- Thanks to playful puzzles and an imaginative reinvention of Hyrule's historic iconography, Echoes of Wisdom emerges as a bold and creative new chapter in Zelda's legend.
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a surprisingly substantial top-down Zelda with the slap-things together puzzle-solving spirit of Tears of the Kingdom, though its new ideas...
- Echoes of Wisdom is a marvel both visually and gameplay-wise. It's riddled with clever puzzles and gives you total freedom to choose to save Hyrule in your own way. An outstanding...
- well-crafted dungeons5
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- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is far more than some second-tier spinoff, combining the expertly crafted dungeons and item progression you’d expect from a 2D Zelda with the...
- Despite how much joy I mined conquering its temples and delving into its many rifts, at times it doesn’t push its ambition far enough. That never stops Echoes from being a warm hug...
- Echoes of Wisdom brings the spark of the latest games, but also dives deeper into the ethos of the old games with its use of dungeons. While the regions are the same, there's a new...
- zelda as protagonist4
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- ... In the end, I finally got to experience a full, proper, no-asterisk Zelda adventure without having to explain, “Actually, you play as Link,” and I am grateful for the experienc...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has the potential to become a whole new series on its own thanks to the many possibilities that Zelda introduces as the main character, both n...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom wisely combines the format of the classic deliveries with the style of the modern ones; a link between the past and the future of the saga tha...
- visual and artistic quality4
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- It’s a colourful, accessible epic that pushes its console to the limit, with all of the mechanical depth and invention, artistic design, whimsy, and spirit of adventure that you ex...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a gorgeous, brilliantly clever game in a series that continues to be unique and innovative.
- Echoes of Wisdom is a marvel both visually and gameplay-wise. It's riddled with clever puzzles and gives you total freedom to choose to save Hyrule in your own way. An outstanding...
- innovative open-ended gameplay4
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- Echoes of Wisdom is a marvel both visually and gameplay-wise. It's riddled with clever puzzles and gives you total freedom to choose to save Hyrule in your own way. An outstanding...
- To get a game this innovative, charming and polished just over a year after the remarkable “Tears” is miraculous. I can’t wait to see what the next Zelda game learns from this one....
- At times inconsistent and unrefined but the echoes concept is excellent and allows for one of the most innovative and open-ended 2D Zeldas of the modern era.
Cons
- ambition not fully realized3
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- Despite how much joy I mined conquering its temples and delving into its many rifts, at times it doesn’t push its ambition far enough. That never stops Echoes from being a warm hug...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a refreshing, albeit brief, series experimentation that blends modern and classic series elements. Using brand-new magic to battle and solv...
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has the potential to become a whole new series on its own thanks to the many possibilities that Zelda introduces as the main character, both n...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 20 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 280 ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.