The Legend of Zelda series has always stood at the forefront of its chosen genre, consistently maintaining its position ahead of the curve. Alongside Mario and Pokemon, it’s one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises, a cornerstone used to drive console sales and define gaming generations by its existence alone. But where Pokemon is more than happy to play it safe, The Legend of Zelda has never shied away from bold reinvention. And there’s no better way for Nintendo to showcase its creative daring once again than by throwing its hat into one of the most competitive rings in the gaming industry: Soulslikes.
A Zelda Soulslike game will, once again, rewrite the franchise’s playbook, invite a brand-new audience, and give old-time fans a real challenge. After two back-to-back entries built on the same open-world ARPG foundation, the series could benefit from a fresh direction.
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A Soulslike Zelda Would Work Better as a Spin-Off Than a Mainline Game
The Legend of Zelda Has Always Been Meant for Casual Gamers
If Nintendo does decide to make a Zelda game in the Soulslike format, it would have to be a spin-off game to test the waters and see what the reception is like. Longtime fans of the Zelda series are hardcoded to expect a fun, casual experience from The Legend of Zelda games, especially the main series. Charting too far off course with no forewarning would be a massive upset, one that these fans may not necessarily appreciate. Zelda spin-off titles, on the other hand, are expected to be experimental in nature. In fact, the more outlandish they are, the better, as that means the developers are actively trying out new ideas instead of regurgitating the same content over and over.
What Would a Soulslike Zelda Look Like?
A Soulslike The Legend of Zelda game would benefit immensely from leaning on Breath of the Wild as its basis. Like Tears of the Kingdom, it could easily reuse the same assets but drastically change the playstyle to make the experience feel fresh. The durability system will have to go, as it is antithetical to the Soulslike genre. The parry mechanic that’s already there in BotW and TotK would translate perfectly. Soulslike games are supposed to be slow-paced and contained; simply adding harder enemies to BotW‘s world wouldn’t make sense.
Traversing from one end of the map of Hyrule to the other at a walking pace would get very tedious very quickly. And if players die along the way and have to pick up whatever the Souls equivalent is, it could get downright rage-inducing to play. A better way would be to create a denser but smaller world space. Most importantly, menus would be unpaused outside of special circumstances to avoid giving the player a chance to cheese the game by eating a dozen berries mid-combat.
Hyrule Warriors Provides a Perfect Template for a Soulslike Zelda Game
Hyrule Warriors is Already a Combat-Focused Game, Why Not Go One Step Further?
The Hyrule Warriors spin-off games are proof that The Legend of Zelda series isn’t opposed to putting an emphasis on combat instead of exploration. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, in particular, is an excellent example of what a Zelda game set in the same world as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom would look like. There are only a few adjustments Nintendo needs to make to Hyrule Warriors to get a basic framework of a Soulslike game in place. First, reduce the number of enemies on the screen. Then, make them stronger, sturdier, and with more varied movesets. And finally, change Link’s over-the-top fighting style to something just a little more grounded.
What lends this world extremely well to the Soulslike genre is the varied monsters and enemy types that are already a part of the established lore and world setting of Zelda. These monsters could easily be repurposed as hard-hitting, slow-moving, Soulslike enemies with a little bit of tweaking. The Bokoblins, Chuchus, and Keese as starting monsters; Moblins, Talus, and Yiga as elites; Lizalfos and Wizzrobes as mages; and Hinox, Molduga, Guardians, Lynels, and Dragons as bosses. And that’s just the monsters that already have assets ready to go in Breath of the Wild. Tons more could be added as additions from previous games, different variants of existing enemies, as well as brand new additions.
A Soulslike Zelda Might Revolutionize the Genre
Players can switch between multiple characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, each with a different playstyle, weapon, and combos. In order to put its own twist on the Soulslike genre, Nintendo could also opt to reuse the same idea. Multiple characters are unlocked gradually during the course of the playthrough, each using a different weapon type. So if players find a really great scimitar lying around, they’ll need to bring Urbosa out on the field, but if a legendary spear is found instead, Mipha needs to be brought out. To tie it all together, a slow, deliberate pace for the game that rewards patience, stamina management, and careful positioning would allow it to still benefit from the Soulslike genre’s strengths while keeping the Zelda identity.