Why we built Tidewild: an adventure inspired by Zelda, made for your phone

Here is the honest reason Tidewild exists: we wanted an adventure inspired by the classic Zelda games on our phones, and we couldn’t find one.

Phones have great puzzle games, idle games and auto-battlers. What they rarely have is the thing the classic top-down Zelda games do so well: a world you explore on foot, a hero who starts with almost nothing, bosses that guard something you need, and a map that slowly fills in as you get braver. That feeling of “what’s past that bridge?” is what we were missing. So we built it.

What we took from the games we love

We didn’t copy anything: no characters, no art, no music, no story. We asked what makes those adventures work, and built our own answer to each part, with our own world and our own heroes.

• One island, opened up piece by piece. Tidewild is a single, hand-built island. Bridges and stairs to new regions stay sealed until you’ve earned them, so the world grows with you instead of dumping everything on you at once.
• You start with a sword and a shield. Every hero begins with a Starter Sword and a Starter Shield. Bows and wands come later, and each one changes how you fight.
• Bosses guard what you need. Monsters stole the six elements that kept the island in balance. Each region ends in a boss holding one element stone, and every stone you win back makes your weapon stronger.
• A map that’s dark until you’ve been there. Tap the minimap and the whole island opens up, black everywhere you haven’t walked yet. What you uncover stays uncovered. Of everything in the game, this is the most openly Zelda-inspired.
• Secrets worth chasing. Portals to fast-travel once you’ve found them, and a treasure monster that runs away from you and drops a gem if you can catch it.
• A guide who’s on your side. Hero Joe meets you on the beach, the Sorceress keeps the Gem Altar, and the Stone runs the forge. All three are fully voiced.

What we did differently, because it’s a phone

A console adventure assumes you sit down for an evening. A phone game gets played in a queue, on a bus, in a lunch break. So:

• It saves as you go. Stop any time and the next run picks up where you left off.
• Your gear is your class. There’s no class to pick at the start. The weapon in your hand decides how you fight, and swapping it changes your role.
• Every fight counts. Each camp monster you beat leaves you a little stronger, so even a five-minute session moves you forward.
• There’s somewhere to test yourself. When you’re ready, the Arena is a free-for-all against other players, with a weekly race.

That’s what quick to start, hard to put down means to us.

If you just finished a Zelda game

If you’ve rolled the credits and you’re looking for that feeling again on your phone, you have to try Tidewild. It’s made for you. It’s a top-down 3D action-adventure on a wild island, with element chapters, giant bosses and a world that opens up as you grow. It’s free on Google Play right now, and the iPhone version is on its way to the App Store. See the game →

— The Ghostbyte team

Tidewild is an independent game by Ghostbyte Games. It isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda is a trademark of Nintendo.