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Nintendo has been on a hot streak when it comes to exclusives this generation and their latest release, Zelda: Link’s Awakening is no exception. This stylish remaster of the 1993 Game Boy classic caught my eye when it was announced earlier this year and ever since I experienced my first Zelda game in Breath of The Wild, I have been itching for another Zelda experience and this appeared to fit the bill perfectly. Initial impressions were positive as we took our first look at the game last Friday so after spending a few more days with it, what am I thinking? You can read my initial thoughts here, check out some gameplay below and continue scrolling to read my full thoughts.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has a real charm to it which is instantly noticeable the second you boot up the game. Nearly every aspect of the game comes harmoniously comes together to create to create a really unique experience. One of the main components of this are those cute and interesting visuals. Now Nintendo have been doing some interesting things with their visual styles of late with a prime example being Yoshi’s Wolly World and they have innovated once again with the truly unique visuals within Link’s Awakening. The style could be described as a shiny clay/porcelain effect which both looks extremely vibrant and very welcoming. This style is truly unique and when combined with the heavy shaders and bright lighting, it really does look fantastic. These visuals are backed up by solid performance with only small occasional frame drops and some very solid design choices when it comes to characters, enemies and locations.

Gameplay wise, Link’s Awakening preserves the simplicity of the original and keeps things simple whilst still offering enough to keep action intense and strategic. Early game enemies can be dealt with very easily but they act as a method of introducing the player to the core shield and attacking mechanics. These mechanics are obviously pivotal to the game and thankfully, they feel fantastic and taking down an enemy without taking damage feels satisfying every single time. Of course, there is more to the game than just killing enemies, as you would expect from a Zelda title, there is a fair amount of exploration and puzzle solving too! These other elements offer a break from the fighting with puzzle solving particularly requiring the use of critical thinking and understanding of game mechanics. I often found myself experimenting with mechanics to try and solve puzzles which I found to be a really enjoyable element of my gameplay experience. I love the fact that we just have to solve the problem ourselves with little to no help, it makes the outcome even more rewarding!

The world of Link’s Awakening is full of mystery and features a lot of unexplained occurrences and interactions. A lot of the enemies you will encounter within the game are very weird and the characters you interact with are often the same. This is something that I adore within games and if you saw our first play video, you’ll see me wetting myself about something that probably isn’t even that funny to everyone else. The story then seems to be all about mystery as you progress around the world with the quest of finding out what is actually happening to this tiny island. It’s a real mysterious affair which features some awesome fantasy elements and some very memorable characters that you will meet along the way. It’s a real feel good, happy adventure which has me wanting to explore every inch of the world and uncover every little secret of this beautiful island.

The outcome of all these aspects is a really welcoming experience which looks less like a big intense hack and slash, and more like a family friendly introduction to a famous series. I strongly believe that the game will be great fun for everyone, it can be challenging whilst also fun for new gamers and established ones alike. This is something that is very hard to master, and Nintendo appear to have really hit the nail on the head with this one. The visuals make the entire experience feel completely unique and the overall style is something I haven’t experienced recently if at all. I guess sometimes, simplicity really is the answer.

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