Echoes of Wisdom Review: Is it Time to Play as Zelda and Create Some Echoes?
Console: Nintendo Switch
Time Played: 22 hours
I hadn’t really gotten into Zelda games when I was younger, and it wasn’t until 2023 that I played my first Zelda game to completion. That year, I played both Breath of the Wild (which I really enjoyed) and Tears of the Kingdom (which is a masterpiece). Echoes of Wisdom is a very different type of Zelda game than those two, and while I don’t think anyone would consider it a top tier Switch game, that doesn’t mean it's not an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
Echoes of the Wisdom is an action-adventure puzzle game, where you (finally) play as Zelda instead of typical protagonist Link. Zelda’s primary tool is a magical Tri Rod. With the Tri Rod, Zelda is able to create “echoes” of various items, as well as enemies that she defeats, which will then fight on her behalf. The game very much lets the player decide how to solve problems or puzzles and beat adversaries using whichever echoes he or she prefers.
For the most part, I enjoyed the echo mechanic. I think it usually works well, and I prefer it to just cycling through a variety of different weapons, which is what you could expect to find in most games. The sheer quantity of echoes that players are able to create does, however, become overwhelming at times. It can take too long to scroll through all of your echoes to find the precise one you’re looking for, and I do think that most players will end up using the same few echoes the majority of the time (as I did).
I enjoyed the puzzle and problem-solving aspects of Echoes of Wisdom. It’s less challenging than something like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, but sometimes you want a more relaxing experience. It’s on par with the difficulty of something like the Mario Rabbids games, which I also enjoy. The look of the game is in a cute, less realistic, style – it works for this type of not as serious Zelda title.
As far as the story goes, it’s a weak point, and there’s not really much here. I mentioned already that you play as Zelda and that you can create “echoes” of object and enemies, and that’s basically the pitch for the entire game. The antagonist of the game is Null, who’s trying to create rifts and basically end the world.
I know that a version of Ganon is the villain in the majority of Zelda games, and I just think he’s a better adversary than an enemy that doesn’t even really have a defined physical form. You’re probably not playing Echoes of Wisdom for its story, and aren’t expecting anything special in that regard, but the plot isn’t a pleasant surprise – it’s the minimum for what you’d sort of expect.
Taken in its entirety though, I enjoyed Echoes of Wisdom. I don’t think it’s a great game, but it’s definitely a good one. If you’re in the mood for a puzzle game that’s on the easier side, it’s worth exploring.
Grade: 7.5/10