Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Best Replacement Has 11,000+ ‘Very Positive’ Reviews on Steam

Death’s Door combines the best elements of Soulslikes and dungeon crawlers

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake was released last week, nearly three decades after the original came to Nintendo 64. Plenty of newcomers are discovering the greatest game ever for the first time (raises hand) on Nintendo Switch 2. However, as it’s a Switch 2 exclusive, plenty of gamers might be left feeling like Squidward watching everyone else have fun and frolic in Hyrule.

Like so many great pieces of art, the original Ocarina of Time and other Zelda games have inspired legions of developers to make their own dungeon-crawling Zelda-likes, like Tunic and Hyper Light Drifter. The best of the bunch might be Acid Nerve’s hit Death’s Door, and it’s available right now on all platforms. Originally released in 2021, it’s amassed a dedicated fan base, as indicated by its over 11,000 Very Positive player reviews on Steam.

Death’s Door is a lot like if Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda were mashed together — with some bureaucratic nightmares thrown into the mix. You play as a crow with a big sword who collects souls for the Reaping Commission. He travels through various dungeons on the way to collecting three Giant Souls needed to open the titular Death’s Door. You’ll gradually uncover a conspiracy about the afterlife while exploring a realm untouched by death.

That realm is both bleak and beautiful. One level will take you to a mansion and its grounds dotted with orange-leaved trees (perfect for autumnal vibes), while another will have you canvassing a lush forest on the way to battle the Frog King. The color of those levels contrasts with the dour bureau, which is mostly rendered in black and white and feels as stuffy and draining as any office job.

Your crow will acquire various magical abilities that open up opportunities for exploration in Metroidvania-like ways, like using a bomb spell to destroy breakable walls. Those abilities really come in handy during combat, which is the highlight of the game. Like a Soulslike, Death’s Door is difficult, and you’ll need to become a master of the dodge-roll to survive against its aggressive enemies. The crow acquires a handful of weapons with different abilities and combos, though none as trusty as his classic sword.

Thankfully, even if you perish, you retain your experience points (called “souls,” of course), so Death’s Door is a bit more forgiving than its Soulslike contemporaries. It’ll still kick your butt, however.

Death’s Door was beloved at launch and was nominated for several end-of-year awards. It won a handful, like Best Indie Game at the Golden Joysticks. It sold over 100,000 copies in its first week after launch, though Acid Nerve hasn’t released updated sales figures since.

In fact, Acid Nerve has been largely quiet since Death’s Door came out. The small studio hasn’t announced what game it’s working on next, or if it is developing a new game at all. As fans have pointed out, six years passed between the studio’s Titan Souls in 2015 and Death’s Door, so it wouldn’t be too shocking if the studio announced something for next year. Still, plenty of Death’s Door players count it among their favorite games, and are eagerly awaiting whatever Acid Nerve serves up next.

At least they’ll always have Death’s Door to play. It was released on Windows PC and Xbox consoles in July 2021 before expanding to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation consoles five years ago in November 2021. It remains one of the best Zeldalikes around, and is worth checking out if you can’t get your hands on Ocarina of Time, or for when you finish the new remake and are in the mood for more Zeldalike adventures.