In the last several years, The Legend of Zelda has practically become an annualized franchise for Nintendo. Although the company hasn’t been releasing a new mainline Zelda game every year, it has often filled those gaps by releasing spin-offs in the series, developed either in-house or at third-party studios. This year, Nintendo is teaming up with Koei Tecmo and its new subsidiary, AAA Game Studio, to release Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, a new game in the Hyrule Warriors subseries that is set during the events of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While the game does look pretty great, it won’t exactly provide the traditional Zelda experience that some fans may be looking for, owing to its nature as a spin-off.
Although Nintendo hasn’t been hesitant to share information about Hyrule Warriors and even the upcoming live-action Zelda movie, it has been far more tight-lipped about the series’ next big entry. With Tears of the Kingdom being released only two years ago, the chances of getting a new mainline Zelda game in the next 3 or so years seem rather slim, considering how long it took for the company to get TotK out the door. Since Zelda fans are probably going to have to wait a while to get their hands on the successor to Tears of the Kingdom, they should look forward to some other games in the meantime, such as a new Zelda-inspired indie title that was just announced.
Zelda Fans Should Keep an Eye on Demi and the Fractured Dream
As part of Tokyo Game Show, Annapurna Interactive hosted a livestream where it unveiled three brand-new games, including one made by a new American studio by the name of Yarn Owl. The first project from Yarn Owl, titled Demi and the Fractured Dream, is a third-person action-adventure game that’s set to come out on most modern platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch, in 2026. Even though Annapurna only showed a minute of gameplay from the title, one can plainly see that it takes a lot of cues from the Zelda series, both in terms of game design and aesthetic.
The other two titles shown during the Annapurna Interactive livestream were People of Note, a musical turn-based RPG made by Iridium Studios, and D-Topia, a puzzle adventure game developed by Marumittu Games.
Demi and the Fractured Dream Has a Unique Dodging Mechanic
Demi and the Fractured Dream puts players in the shoes of, as its name suggests, a character named Demi. According to the game’s official description on Steam, Demi is something known as a Voidsent, a person who has the ability to control the powers of the Void. Whenever Demi successfully dodges an enemy’s attacks, they are able to activate their void powers, which temporarily increases the strength of their next set of attacks during combat. Players can make Demi more powerful by unlocking various abilities and ability-enhancing charms as they progress through the game.
The Gameplay in Demi and the Fractured Dream Takes a Lot of Inspiration from Classic Zelda Titles
Much like in some Zelda games, the plot in Demi and the Fractured Dream is pretty simple: Demi has to save the world of Somnus from an “awakening” by traveling through multiple kingdoms and slaying the three Accursed Beasts. The gameplay loop in this title is very reminiscent of a classic 3D Zelda game. Players have to explore various dungeons to progress through Demi and the Fractured Dream. These dungeons are filled not only with environmental puzzles, but with dangerous enemies and platforming sections, as well.
Rather than being a Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom clone, Demi and the Fractured Dream seems to be inspired primarily by older Zelda titles, like Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker. The Zelda series, for those who are unaware, has largely moved on from the traditional dungeon formula found in its earlier installments and has adopted more of an open-world design philosophy. Demi and the Fractured Dream may, as a result, scratch an itch for long-time Zelda fans who have lost interest in the formula of the newer games and are looking for something more conventional.