Key conclusions
- CliffyB is disappointed with Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which lacks an emphasis on action and adventure.
- Echoes of Wisdom switches focus to Zelda and focuses more on puzzle solving.
- Some fans are divided about the new Zelda game.
Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski, better known to his fans as CliffyB, expressed his disappointment with his experience with the game The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomthe latest game in Nintendo's adventure series. While he's been a longtime fan of Link's Hyrule adventures, Bleszynski feels that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom it lacks what he believes made the series great.
Echo of Wisdom was released in late September 2024 and received positive reviews from both fans and professional critics, currently holding an OpenCritic score of 85. In a departure from the norm, the main focus was switched from Link to the titular princess and Link's swordsmanship and gadget collection were replaced on Zelda's Tri Rod, which creates echoes of previously encountered enemies or objects.

Relatives
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Easter eggs you might have missed
Echoes of Wisdom is filled with references to past Legend of Zelda games, some of which are hard to spot.
Bliazinski's complaints about the last Hyrule game centered on his perception of a shift in focus away from action and adventure, instead of the game relying on puzzle-solving mechanics such as “stacking benches on top of crates and pushing trees.” While Zelda's abilities Echo of Wisdom variety, allowing her to summon 127 different echoes for both combat and movement, the game's departure from longstanding traditions and reliance on cute, less realistic graphics have turned some fans away from it. Bleszynski has long been a fan The Legend of Zelda franchises and has continued this trend in recent years by praising Breath of the wild in the thread, despite the disdain for his weapon breaking mechanic.
The creator of Gears of War wanted a more action-oriented Zelda game
For now Echo of Wisdom plays much differently than most previous ones The Legend of Zelda game, the puzzle elements have been present since the series' earliest days on the NES, and they haven't stopped there. More recently, players have been able to come up with inventive ways to defeat enemies and bypass obstacles thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomUltrahand mechanics that provide almost countless methods of solving problems, including the creation of player-created vehicles and other gadgets. The Tri Rod's features have been compared to the Ultrahand, as both encourage players to think creatively to get around enemies and obstacles.
Although Bleszynski is not the only one who does not like the latest Zelda games, comments on the post seem to be pretty evenly split between fans and detractors. Some oppose Gears of War the creators noted that the action intensifies as players progress through the game, and mechanisms such as drowning enemies in Echo of Wisdom provide a fun way to dispatch enemies.