Let's go sailing with Oceanhorn!

So, let us get the obvious and the same thing everyone says out of the way. Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is a Legend of Zelda rip off. I knew that going in, and Cornfox & Bros didn't shy away from it. You take your silent protagonist onto a world map and explore a number of dungeons to collect ancient relics. In those dungeons, you'll need small keys to open doors, a boss key to fight the boss, and you'll get a giant treasure at some point. That giant chest is usually something to help you the rest of the game. You collect heart pieces to increase your maximum life and swing a sword that eventually shoots lasers out of it. Bombs, arrows, and reflective shields are also common. But what does Oceanhorn do differently than Zelda? The story is slightly more expansive. "Slightly." Our MC has backstory, his parents have backstories, and he lives in a world with backstory. Hyrule has history, sure, but if you don't know all the games are connected, then it's harder to connect those dots. I'm sure most gamers know about the Zelda timeline, but there should still be more recent occurrences to set apart each Hyrule. And, admittedly, the lore in Oceanhorn isn't the deepest. But it's still nice to have. But that's the Zelda comparison. How does Oceanhorn stand on its own? What sucks about it?

It's shallow. Main characters don't have names, secondary characters aren't important past their one scene, and the gameplay is very basic. Along with that, there's not a lot to explore. There are only a few small islands, and the dungeons aren't exactly memorable. Replayability is lacking because the sword is the only way to do any damage consistently, and there's no way to skip around and do a dungeon out of order.

But that's pretty much it for the outright negatives. There are a few wishy-washy stuff, though.

Many of the dungeons feel too much alike. The emblem zones are clearly distinct, but everything else is in a generic cave. Sometimes there will be mine tracks, and there once was lava. But, usually, it's just rock.

I enjoyed sailing the seas, but it's slow and a bit boring after a while, though. They give you a gun early on to shoot debris in the sea, but that doesn't amount to much once you've crossed the ocean enough times. It starts to feel like a chore. Sailing is fast enough that I won't deduct points, but that part of the game didn't hold up.

When the characters did show up, I enjoyed them. Our dad seemed interesting, and I want to know more about the Hermit. I think he's voiced by the same guy who did the narration on the Stanely Parable. Neeti could have fit into the story more, as could have the other races we saved. What's Rigger and the princess doing?

Neither of those were game breaking, though. So let's end with the good bits of Oceanhorn.

It's all solid. The combat works, the music is entertaining, and I enjoyed the challenges that give you EXP. And that's what you want in an action-adventure game. I had fun exploring the open islands that aren't one square area next to another square area. Keep in mind that Oceanhorn was originally designed as a phone game in 2013. I've only recently gotten a phone, but I can't imagine such a game being on that platform at the time. 3D graphics in a (kinda) open world was a pretty big deal back then. I know Gensin Impact does it, and there's a number of battle royal stuff for mobile these days, but Oceanhorn led the way. As far as I know. Again, I didn't get a phone until 2020.

Oceanhorn is a fun game if you're looking for a classic Zelda experience. And since it's been ported to every console, it's more accessible than Zelda. Don't expect an epic story, and keep your mind on the 90s. Do that, and you'll get a kick out of it. Nothing it does is awful, and it's a solid experience that only last fifteen hours. I bought it for eight bucks in 2015. and I have no regrets. There's also a direct sequel, but I don't know much about it. But I'd like to play it one day!


Story: quick ad to the point. Oceanhorn is about the gameplay, and the story leans into that. It's not groundbreaking, epic, or substantial, but it's enough to keep the flow. 7/10

Gameplay: Solid. Everything just works. The exploration is fun, and there's a surprisingly lot to do. It's best in bite sized chunks on the go. 6/10

Art Direction: Fitting. Things stick out when they need to, and the monsters all look different from one another. There's not a lot of variety in the dungeons or monsters, mind you...8/10

Music: Fun! It's a small game, but there's only a handful of songs you'll hear multiple times. Every piece is built around a different melody, which can get repetitive if you're stuck in a cave too long, but I found them relaxing. Nobuo Uematsu even wrote a track! 10/10

Charm: Fits the bill. I enjoyed our dad's notebook filled with his thoughts on all the islands. There's also an assortment of collectibles and sidequests. I really liked this tiny archipelago and want to know more about Arcadia. 8/10

Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted sea doesn't do anything spectacular. But it doesn't do anything wrong, either. If you need a classic Zelda fix, this is the best alternative. Especially because it's in more than one place! It's a very deserving 29/50 - 778%!