The first real adventure many gamers ever experienced was in the world of Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda series was one of the earliest examples of Nintendo paving the way for the types of large-scale, and even non-linear, adventures that really made the player feel like they were venturing into an unknown world and discovering all of its secrets for the first time. Whether your first game was the original adventure on the NES, or Tears of the Kingdom on the Switch, it can be hard to imagine any other game satisfying that same sense of adventure, action, and freedom.
Just like Nintendo’s Mario series, The Legend of Zelda is another franchise that has managed to keep both its original 2D style of games running alongside the larger 3D offerings. While the two types of games share a lot of the same DNA, there is distinct differences in feeling and satisfaction that each one provides. Whichever style you prefer, many other games have been released that iterate and improve on those formulas. A new Zelda title is almost certain to be an upcoming Switch 2 game, but until that day, these are the games you can turn to for an epic adventure.
OK, we’ve all heard the jokes and comparisons even before the game came out, but Genshin Impact really is similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and that’s not at all a bad thing. It takes pretty much all the things people loved about the latest Zelda games (minus the building) and makes it into an evolving game that is continuously getting new content. At the same time, those additions may just be what put people off of trying this game. Since it is free to play, Genshin Impact does attempt to lure you into spending money with several gotcha mechanics, daily timers, and currencies to purchase. However, there’s a huge amount of content to enjoy without ever feeling pressured to interact with those systems at all. No part of the main story, as thin as it is, is gated off, and unless you become very invested, you probably won’t hit any progress walls you need to pay to overcome naturally. Besides the art style, what’s similar between Genshin Impact and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Well, a lot. The world is completely open; you can climb anything you want, provided you have enough stamina. There are secrets and trials all around the world, resource gathering and cooking for buffs, and you even have a glider. The biggest change is in your party. You only control one character at a time, but you have four characters you can swap between on the fly, each with their own elemental proficiency, weapon, and abilities.
Jesse Lennox covers all things gaming but has a specific interest in all things PlayStation, JRPGs, and experimental indies. Jesse has been writing about games for over 10 years, starting off as a volunteer and eventually finding his way into doing it full-time. He is constantly striving to push his boundaries in what he covers and finds thought-provoking and important angles to highlight within the games industry.
Originally double-majoring in English and Education, Jesse came into games media as a profession by accident. After an unfortunate layoff, he took his passion for writing about games seriously and was lucky enough to find Digital Trends and other outlets such as Pocket-Lint, Classic Nerd, and Gamepur to write for. He has held numerous writing positions, as well as several editing roles, and is always on the hunt for new opportunities to grow his skillset.
Based in Colorado, Jesse spends at least two hours every morning training in the gym to set his mind straight before a full day of writing and gaming.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.