Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s take on Hyrule improves on that of its predecessors by making it feel more full and alive than it has in quite some time.
The Legend of Zelda has featured many different iterations of Hyrule over the last almost four decades, ranging from smaller to larger and denser to emptier. Most recently, however, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has introduced a brand-new version of the iconic world, complete with plenty of sights to see, eccentric characters to meet, and classic Legend of Zelda side quests to complete.
Since The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a standalone adventure, its iteration of Hyrule is much different than the series’ last two installments, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. While Echoes of Wisdom doesn’t feature a massive open world like its predecessors and therefore applies a different approach, it might have been for the better, as its smaller scale has allowed it to succeed in an area where the last two Zelda games fell short. Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Feels More Densely Populated Than Its Predecessors’
The open world crafted for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom has been praised for its fresh approach to the tired open-world formula, as it rewards exploration by piquing the curiosity of players rather than handing them every objective and collectible on a silver platter.
