The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Reviews
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a fantastic Zelda adventure that's aged like wine, even if Wii-era motion controls still aren't great.
A fascinating second look at one of the oddest Zeldas out there.
The linear structure of the game and relative empty space of the sky will still frustrate some, but the core sword-fighting gameplay and straightforward Zelda structure is better here than it is in many other games. If you want a traditional 3D Zelda experience, then Skyward Sword HD is an easy choice.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is an adventure worth taking, a chance to reevaluate one of the largest and most experimental games in the series' history.
Skyward Sword has some of the best dungeon design in the series, but the sections between each dungeon are a slog
Skyward Sword wanted to keep Zelda fresh and exciting, but it did this by making the things you already did as part of its formula feel good instead of finding new ways to do them. But for a series about exploring at your own pace, simplifying dungeons to make them more fun to complete wasn't going to cut it for much longer. The focus on action, on pulling off simple-but-cool things, only works on a platform built around how fun its controller is to use, and it only works once. After this game, Nintendo had to do something different.
Link's divisive Wii adventure returns on Switch with some welcome quality-of-life improvements.
Skyward Sword was already a fun title for those that were able to play it, and now it's become even more accessible with the movement away from the forced motion controls.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD makes a few smart improvements to an excellent game. A cumbersome control scheme still holds it back, however.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD introduces a raft of technical improvements and quality of life updates that reinvigorate and revitalise this ten-year-old game. With motion controls more precise than ever before, an alternate button control scheme that totally works, crisp HD graphics, smooth 60fps gameplay and a bothersome sidekick who's been streamlined into something altogether more useful, this really does feel like Skyward Sword as it was meant to experienced. Yes, the locking off of instant travel behind the official amiibo is a misstep, but beyond this one issue what's here is a sublime experience, a technical triumph and an absolute must-play for Switch owners and Zelda fans.
Skyward Sword HD has made a fool of me, and really, I am just so happy I gave it another chance. This is the best version of a truly landmark game.
It’s not quite that I had forgotten how good it was—more that I needed the intervening years to realise it.
Overall, Skyward Sword HD is a wonderful remaster and is a joy to play. However, it requires more effort than your typical Zelda game, not least due to the new control options available, but with diligent practice the game opens up into something genuinely beautiful.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is the return of a title that celebrates a decade but that is an example of the good work that occurs in the most careful Nintendo. A review of the classic formula of the saga read and executed through the prism of motion control, and a lesson in design that offers good palaces, a succession of puzzles very well measured that ends at the top, one of the most worked stories of the series, a spectacular soundtrack and a unique combat system. A revision to the height that updates with success what is already a classic of the franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Those that played the game when it was first released on Wii aren’t missing a ton if they skip this one. There’s no new content, just tweaks here and there. However, those who loved it will find this is the best way to play it now.
Just over a half-decade later, I played “Breath of the Wild,” which, for me and many others, became the gold standard Zelda game. It is hard — even a bit unfair — to compare the two titles. Their design intentions are different. The mechanics and technological specifications both were built around are incomparable. Even still, it cannot be denied that “Skyward Sword HD” exists in “Breath of the Wild’s” shadow, in the lull before the arrival of the latter game’s sequel. The freedom of style, movement and choice that defines the newer game cannot be forgotten or wished away. It dates “Skyward Sword HD” more than the motion controls — a throwback to the Wii — ever could.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a good re-release of a game that renews, evolves or even upsets many of the distinctive elements of the series, but suffering from substantial rhythm problems in its second half.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Zelda: Skyward Sword was a weird game to assess in 2011, much less today. It had a lot of great ideas undercut by some questionable design choices, but to some, it was the best Zelda ever made. I understand that $60 for a remaster of a 2011 game is a big ask, but this is the definitive version of a flawed yet fun adventure that should be part of any Zelda rotation.
This is what people truly want from a Switch port. A gentle, well thought out, genuine upgrade that captures the heart of the original game and allows it to flourish at a higher standard. Although it is still perhaps a little simplistic, the game has redeemed itself through the quality-of-life updates that were sorely needed the first time around. Skyward Sword is finally a winner, and will undoubtedly delight newcomers and old fans alike.
Ten years after its original release, we meet again with a magical adventure. The last classic Zelda, before Breath of the Wild, is still an adventure that will leave us marked for life, and is much better enjoyed with the new control scheme. The changes ensure that it continues to be very current.
Review in Spanish | Read full review