The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an adventure puzzle game in the Zelda series. A remake of the 1993 Game Boy game of the same name, it's set on Koholint Island and follows Link after he is stranded and must find a way back to the land of Hyrule. Its unique combination of puzzles, combat and exploration, together with a surprisingly deep story make it an intriguing game to explore.

CONTENT RATING

Violence

PLATFORMS

Nintendo Switch

POSITIVE GAMEPLAY

Comprehension

Empathy

Exploration

Identity

Imaginative

Problem Solving

Puzzle Solving

Resilience

PLAY STYLE

Player vs Enemies

You traverse through the open world and battle enemies using your sword, shield and other items you collect along the way. This is punctuated by descending into a series of puzzle-based dungeons that must be completed to gain new weapons and open new areas of the map.

As you progress you learn to throw heavy objects to clear your path, grapple across gorges and dash into enemies to defeat them. In this way, you explore the island on a quest to collect eight instruments and awaken the island's legendary Wind Fish in order to escape.

The result is a miniature Zelda adventure that unfolds into a considerable challenge. Capturing the innocent joy of the Gameboy adventure, but ensuring there is enough challenge here for even the most experienced of players.

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Good to know

Insights to ensure your child's gaming experience remains safe and enjoyable

Consider time investment

Adventure games often take a long time to finish. Encourage regular breaks to get moving, rest their eyes and balance their time with other activities.

Nurture key skills

Many adventure games incorporate problem solving and critical thinking, important skills for school, work and more offline. Talk to them about their game to see how it supports them and their goals.

Build resilience

Encourage children to take risks with their characters in-game to safely learn potential consequences. Talk about what might happen outside of the game and why it's important to keep those risks in-game only. While playing, encourage them to think about innovative risks their character can take.

Skill level age

Suggested by Family Gaming Database

9+

The linear nature of the game and sequential requirement for some puzzles and fetch quests means younger players require resilience and perseverance. Playing the game together in the family is both rewarding and enjoyable.

Content rating

Rated PEGI 7 for Violence. This game features combat between a human protagonist and fantasy monsters, but the visual style of this game makes the violence found in combat less disturbing. The violence and reactions to it are unrealistic and comical.

PEGI rating explained?