I remember spending countless hours on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on my Nintendo 64, so when a developer promises a Zelda-inspired title, I sit up and listen. While most developer attempts at capturing Zelda’s magic end up in disappointment or in games that maybe try too hard to copy Zelda (Oceanhorn could be such an example), I’m always optimistic. Oraia Rift: Oracle of Oraia, an upcoming iOS game by COMPASSGAMES, is definitely going for a Zelda vibe, and I’m hopeful that if nothing else, this game will be a fun Zelda-like game to play. The game was originally supposed to come out in Q2 2014, but the developer admits being too optimistic and now believes the game will be out in 2015.
The game will be an exploration-adventure game with lots of puzzles and dungeons and ten unique large environments to explore. Its art sure looks lovely, retro without being chunky. There’s a gameplay video to give you a taste of how Oraia Rift will play, and, as you can see, you control your character’s movements by tapping on the screen. This control scheme was not very well received by many in the forums, who are instead asking for the option of virtual sticks. The developer has told me that he’s currently working on the game’s melee system by adding swords and the likes. I have no further info on the game, such as a possible release day, but I think I’ll keep a close eye on it.
