Now, onto the round-up. Starting with the highest of high marks, Dexerto awarded Echoes of Wisdom a 5/5 in its review, praising the game’s innovation and calling it “a masterclass in creativity”.
The game is a punchy cocktail of old school Zelda, expertly blended with modern mechanics from the series’ two open-world giants. As a result, Nintendo has created something that feels both nostalgic and uniquely fresh.
GAMINGbible kept the high scores coming in its 9/10 review, where it praised the game’s presentation and rewarding side quest content.
This is a magnificent adventure that whizzes and pops with imagination, and proudly stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best of Link’s tales.
IGN was on the same page, awarding the game a 9/10 thanks to its classic dungeons and innovative Echo-summoning mechanic.
Echoes of Wisdom is also a glowing proof of concept for how a modern 3D Zelda could recapture some of what fans like me miss about the series before Breath of the Wild without sacrificing the intoxicating creativity it introduced.
Things were ever-so-slightly lower for Inverse in its 8/10 review. While the outlet seemed positive about the new mechanics and joyful world, it wanted a little more confidence in Zelda’s position as the protagonist.
I went back and forth on how I felt about the story’s handling of Zelda and Link’s relative prominence but in the end came away feeling like it’s an admirable but sometimes shaky first attempt to bring the series’ namesake out from under Link’s shadow.
Eurogamer was along similar lines in its 4/5 review, feeling somewhat let down by the game’s dungeons but overall enjoying the Echo implementation into combat and puzzles.
It forges its own path at almost every turn, challenging our understanding and expectations of how Hyrule’s flora and fauna can behave, while also unearthing new wrinkles that make its well-worn highways feel fresh and exciting again.
VGC was slightly colder, giving Echoes of Wisdom a 3/5 as it wished for the mechanics to be turned up a notch.
The potential for a special Zelda adventure is present in Echoes of Wisdom’s ideas, but uneven execution means it’s neither as mechanically refreshing and satisfying as A Link Between Worlds, or memorable and well-crafted as Link’s Awakening.
Finally, The Guardian awarded the game a 3/5, praising its presentation but similarly wishing things had been pushed further.
It’s a good game, and its mishmash of intersecting ideas does bring something new to Zelda. But I hope that the next time we play as Zelda, it feels more empowering.
