The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis among the most successful and beloved games of all time, so it’s no surprise that indie gameThe Knightlingis taking some heavy cues from it. Releasing on August 28,The Knightlinghas a similarly vibrant art style, a focus on freeform exploration, and a blend of puzzle-solving and combat—it even has aBOTW-style gliding mechanic, making it an easy sell for fans of Nintendo’s most recent 3DZeldaoutings.
And best of all,The Knightlingwon’t be limited to the Nintendo Switch: it’s coming to PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series platforms. This is perfect forBOTWandTOTKholdouts, or even those who have never felt particularly drawn to those seminal games. Indeed, likeImmortals Fenyx Risingbefore it,The Knightlingis promising a platform-agnostic experience akin toZelda’s open-air games, but with a few important tweaks here and there. Indeed, with any luck,The Knightlingwon’t just beBreath of the Wildwith a new coat of paint, but a meaningful evolution of Nintendo’s formula, offering a similar but distinct experience. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Switch 2 to get the same sort of game, but inverted.
Ironically,developer Twirlbound recently canceledThe Knightling’s Switch port: the game is currently only slated for a PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC release.
After The Knightling, Nintendo Should Get a ‘Sony-Like’ of Its Own
The Nintendo Switch 2 Could Soar with a Take on Sony’s Formula
Breath of the Wildand its successor have come to define the modern Nintendo era, becoming the quintessential, must-play Nintendo exclusives of their generation. As such, any game bearing a resemblance to them, such asThe Knightling, will inevitably be seen as taking direct inspiration fromNintendo’s style of game-making. Sony has a rather particular approach to its first-party games as well, and it would be cool to see a rendition of such a game on Nintendo’s new hybrid.
But what exactly is the “Sony formula”? Of course, there have been several PlayStation exclusives that don’t fit into the rest of Sony’s first-party lineup (Bloodborne,Returnal, etc.), but many of the company’s biggest titles hit similar beats. For example, Sony games have become renowned for their mature and naturalistic narrative presentation, withThe Last of Usleading intogames likeGod of War(2018) andGhost of Tsushima. These sorts of games are perhaps the most characteristic of Sony’s first-party output as, while something likeHorizon Zero Dawnis unique in some ways, it’s also rather derivative, copying a lot of homework from other AAA open-world titles.
What Could a Sony-Inspired Nintendo Game Look Like?
While Sony has a good handful of what are commonly considered “Sony-type games,” there are arguably even more third-party releases that take cues from the likes ofThe Last of Usand the recentGod of Warentries. Some of the most notable include:
These games focus on intimate, cinematic stories and third-person combat, often with a particular emphasis on melee. They’re also mature and nuanced, typically being more about the lives of the central characters than some grand, existential threat. Maybe the Switch 2 could see something likeA Plague Tale: Innocence: a game about family and political strife with a smattering of fantasy elements. Perhaps Nintendo itself could even push out aGOW-like game, blending third-person melee combat with interpersonal or familial dynamics, and wrapped in a cinematic package. Not only would this “return the favor” ofThe Knightlingon PS5, but it would also deepen the selection of single-player,story-driven games on the Switch 2, which can only be a good thing.
