Zelda: A Link to the Past shipped in 1991 and remains one of the most complete action-adventure games ever printed. The top-down world, the two-hemisphere map, the exact-right pace of dungeon items unlocking new corners, and the boss fights that never overstay their welcome all still work today. Nintendo has never brought it to Steam, which leaves a small shelf of desktop games that inherit its DNA and can be bought and played in the next five minutes.
We ran seven top-down action-adventure games on Windows to see which ones land the A Link to the Past feeling closest. Each is available on Steam, most on GOG, and the majority also run cleanly on Steam Deck. The list mixes homages, reinventions, and the one indie that quietly kept the formula alive for a decade.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunic | Cryptic manual and secrets | No | About $30 base | Foxlike explorer, in-game manual |
| Death’s Door | Tight combat, short length | No | About $20 base | Dodge-heavy sword play |
| Hyper Light Drifter | Atmosphere and speed | No | About $20 base | Wordless story |
| CrossCode | 40+ hour SNES-style RPG | No | About $20 base | Real-time top-down combat |
| Blossom Tales | Direct SNES homage | No | About $15 base | Grandpa storytelling framing |
| Ittle Dew 2 | Puzzle-first dungeons | No | About $15 base | Four items, no bloat |
| Anodyne | Surreal top-down | No | About $10 base | Dream world exploration |
Why people look for A Link to the Past alternatives
- Nintendo will not sell it on PC. The SNES original stays inside the Switch Online catalogue. Anyone on Windows, macOS, or Linux either emulates or looks for a spiritual successor.
- The formula is tight and short by modern standards. 15 to 20 hours of dense dungeon-and-overworld design is a shape almost no big-budget game ships anymore.
- Modern Zelda moved away from top-down puzzles. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are extraordinary but not what LttP fans replay. The 2D pull is different.
The alternatives
Tunic — Best for cryptic manual and secrets
Tunic by Andrew Shouldice puts a tiny fox in a green tunic in a large, mysterious world with an in-game instruction manual written in an untranslated language. Pages of the manual drop as you explore, each revealing a system you have been ignoring. The result is a game that respects your intelligence more than almost any modern release.
The combat is Souls-inspired: dodge, chip damage, learn patterns. The map, the two-tier world, and the boss beats all echo A Link to the Past directly.
Where it falls short: The isometric camera hides critical paths behind walls; that is the point, but some players bounce. The final third asks a lot from anyone who does not enjoy puzzle-hunting.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $30 base, frequently on sale
- vs A Link to the Past: Similar in spirit and depth, at a modern price point
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No save transfer possible. Muscle memory for the four-directional sword swing carries over directly. Prepare to fill a real notebook.
Bottom line: The obvious first pick for anyone who wants a modern LttP that trusts the player.
Death’s Door — Best for tight combat and short length
Death’s Door by Acid Nerve is a crow with a sword collecting souls in an afterlife bureaucracy. The top-down camera, the four dungeons with matching bosses, and the “get an item, unlock a new zone” progression map onto LttP almost one-to-one, with a much more aggressive combat loop.
At around 10 hours it is one of the shortest games on this list. The pacing is why it belongs.
Where it falls short: Movement feels heavier than Zelda’s floaty overworld. Boss difficulty spikes in the last third.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $20 base
- vs A Link to the Past: Half the length, similar structure, quicker combat
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No save data to move. Weapon-and-item pickups feel familiar. Dodge-roll timing takes an hour.
Bottom line: Play this on a weekend when you want a complete LttP-shaped experience in under 12 hours.
Hyper Light Drifter — Best for atmosphere and speed
Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine is a fast top-down action game with a wordless story, a synthwave soundtrack by Disasterpeace, and pixel art that reads as a love letter to the SNES era. The four regions and the central hub are structured exactly like A Link to the Past’s overworld, though the game is 10 hours rather than 20.
The dash-heavy combat rewards accuracy. Each boss is a set piece; each region has its own puzzle rhythm.
Where it falls short: The story is deliberately opaque, which frustrates players who want a clear thread. Some rooms are trial-and-error the first time through.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $20 base, About $25 Special Edition
- vs A Link to the Past: Shorter, faster, more atmospheric
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No mechanical transfer needed. The overworld-to-dungeon rhythm feels immediately familiar.
Bottom line: The right pick when the mood of A Link to the Past mattered more than the specific dungeons.
CrossCode — Best 40+ hour SNES-style RPG
CrossCode by Radical Fish Games is the longest game on this list and the one closest to what a SNES-era Zelda-plus-RPG hybrid would look like at scale. Set inside a fictional MMO, the game has real-time top-down combat, a genuine skill tree, sidequests that respect your time, and dungeons whose puzzles hold up next to any Zelda title.
The dialogue and character writing sit somewhere between Chrono Trigger and modern JRPGs. The DLC adds another 15 hours.
Where it falls short: Length can be intimidating. The first two hours are slower than the rest and lose players who expect immediate action.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $20 base, About $30 with A New Home DLC
- vs A Link to the Past: Twice the length, richer RPG layer, similar dungeon philosophy
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No save transfer needed. Puzzle vocabulary maps directly.
Bottom line: Pick this when you want the LttP feeling stretched into a full JRPG-length campaign.
Blossom Tales — Best direct SNES homage
Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King by Castle Pixel is the most straight-faced tribute on this list. Sword, boomerang, bow, bombs, top-down world, dungeons with keys and compasses, and a story framed as a grandfather telling his grandkids a bedtime adventure.
Its sequel, Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince, refines everything the first did. Either works as an LttP substitute; the sequel is the polished pick.
Where it falls short: Combat is simple by design. Anyone who wants the depth of Tunic or Death’s Door will bounce.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $15 base, About $20 for the sequel
- vs A Link to the Past: Directly modeled on it, at a fraction of the price
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No save transfer, but the item set is nearly identical. Muscle memory carries over immediately.
Download: Steam, Steam sequel
Bottom line: The purest homage on this list, and the friendliest to newcomers.
Ittle Dew 2 — Best for puzzle-first dungeons
Ittle Dew 2 by Ludosity is a top-down action-adventure that leans harder on puzzles than combat. Ittle carries exactly four items across the entire game, and each of the seven dungeons can be tackled in any order. Solutions require creative use of the small toolkit rather than a growing inventory.
The “any-order” structure is the reason the game has a small speedrun community. It stays fresh across replays.
Where it falls short: The tone is light and quippy; players who want atmosphere land somewhere else. Combat difficulty ramps unevenly.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $15 base
- vs A Link to the Past: Similar length, more puzzles, less combat
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No transfer needed. The dungeon-plus-overworld shape is familiar.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The right pick when the LttP dungeons were the thing you replayed for.
Anodyne — Best for surreal top-down exploration
Anodyne by Analgesic Productions is a top-down action-adventure that starts LttP-ish and wanders into surreal dream worlds. The broom-as-sword conceit, the pastel palette, and the fragmented narrative make it the odd pick on this list.
The sequel (Anodyne 2: Return to Dust) blends 2D exploration with tiny 3D worlds. Either works; Anodyne is closer to LttP in structure.
Where it falls short: The story is more oblique than most players expect. Combat is minimal.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Paid: About $10 base
- vs A Link to the Past: Cheaper, weirder, shorter
Migrating from A Link to the Past: No save transfer needed. The controls are lighter and more forgiving.
Bottom line: Play this after Tunic when you want the same skeleton on a lower budget with a stranger heart.
How to choose
- Pick Tunic if you want the closest modern equivalent with the same “hidden meaning, real notebook, tight world” reward loop.
- Pick Death’s Door if you want a complete LttP-shaped run in a weekend rather than a week.
- Pick Hyper Light Drifter if the atmosphere mattered most.
- Pick CrossCode if you want the LttP feeling stretched into a 40-hour RPG.
- Pick Blossom Tales if you want the most direct homage at a low price.
- Pick Ittle Dew 2 if the dungeons were your favorite part.
- Pick Anodyne if you finished the list above and want a stranger take.
Stay with the original A Link to the Past on Switch Online if the specific 1991 game is what you want; nothing here replaces it exactly.
FAQ
Is A Link to the Past on Steam?
No. Nintendo has never released A Link to the Past on Steam or any PC storefront. The game is available on Nintendo Switch Online’s SNES app for current Switch owners.
Which of these plays the most like A Link to the Past?
Blossom Tales is the most direct tribute mechanically. Tunic is closest in spirit and depth.
Which A Link to the Past alternative is the shortest?
Death’s Door and Anodyne are both around 8 to 10 hours. Tunic and Hyper Light Drifter are around 10 to 12. CrossCode is the longest at 40 or more.
Which of these runs best on Steam Deck?
Tunic, Death’s Door, Hyper Light Drifter, CrossCode, Blossom Tales, Ittle Dew 2, and Anodyne are all Steam Deck Verified. All were designed with controller-first inputs.
Are any of these free?
None of them are free base games. All appear regularly on Steam sales, sometimes at 50% or more off. Anodyne and Ittle Dew 2 hit the lowest sale prices most often.
What is the closest thing to Zelda on Steam?
Tunic and CrossCode are the two answers most often shared when this question comes up. Death’s Door is the third.
