I grew up on two of the most classic games in the Legend of Zelda series: A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening. And while there have been a handful of Zelda games with the classic overhead view, those have been mostly relegated to systems like the Game Boy Advance and the 3DS. Mainline Zelda games that are a big event in the gaming world are in the 3D style so successfully introduced to the series way back in 1998 with Ocarina of Time. All this is to say that it's been years since I've played an entirely new Legend of Zelda game in the style of those classics I love so much. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (out tomorrow) has brought me right back.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom feels like a kindred spirit to the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening, both in challenge and in vibes. It's a far cry from the incredibly intricate and complex worlds in Tears of the Kingdom, and while I only played for about 90 minutes (spread over two different parts of the game),I came away from the demo charmed by the gorgeous, tilt-shift art style. Not to mention being quite pleased to finally be playing as Zelda for the first time in the series that bears her damn name. And while plenty of adults will surely enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it also feels tailor-made as an entry point for younger players. We already knew about the art style and playing as Zelda -- what was most important about this preview was that I got a chance to see just how Zelda's "echoes" worked in the game itself.

Superteams that bring together fan favorites have redefined everything from comic books to Olympic basketball. But the new Tetris DLC for Minecraft is something special--and not just for the names involved, but for how it offers fresh new challenges based on your Tetris skills. The DLC is available for 1,510 Minecoins and doesn't seem to be restricted to any particular version of Minecraft. The "story" behind the DLC is somewhat of a throwaway: the shapes within Tetris (known as Tetrominos) have been stolen, and it's up to you to find them using the world of Minecraft as a guide. Sure, you can play Tetris using the classic Marathon, Sprint, and Ultra modes.

Dungeon slaying video games have severely lacked one essential element, until now: toasting an epic monster battle with a well-deserved schnitzel. At least, that's what the team at Vienna-based Microbird Games has decided, prompting the creation of forthcoming action role-playing game, Dungeons of Hinterberg. Looking like a Saturday morning cartoon come to life, with a visual style inspired by the clear lines and vivid colours of European comic artists, the indie adventure promises a mix of hack'n' slash action RPG and social sim, against the backdrop of the Austrian Alps – which as video games go, is a setting as fresh as recently fallen snow. Players can explore dungeons, solve puzzles, slay huge bosses … and then enjoy a schnitzel with the local people and other visiting slayers. Fighting monsters has never sounded so delicious.

Let's talk about mounts in video games, because Diablo IV's horses bum me out. From horses to dragons to oversized beds that move around as if on wheels, mounts can be just about anything in MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. Not only are they something of a status symbol, as they're usually hard-earned during challenging boss battles and unforgiving grinds, but they're also necessary tools to get from place to place. I like a fashionable mount that lessens my travel time and helps me get to far-away lands. That said, if the mount seriously stinks, it can really impact my gameplay.

The release of a new Zelda game is always a major event worldwide. Ever since 1986, when famed Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto first attempted to capture in code some of the wonder he experienced exploring the Kyoto countryside as a child, Zelda games have been pushing the boundaries of what's possible in virtual worlds. Look at any best-games-of-all-time list and you'll see Zelda in the Top 10, often more than once. But 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was particularly special. Launching alongside the Nintendo Switch console, which has since sold more than 125m units, it was perhaps the best realisation yet of the promise of boundless freedom and adventure that video games have been dangling in front of players' noses for decades.

Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild don't come along often. The 2017 title came 31 years into the franchise's history and somehow felt familiar while simultaneously remixing or entirely removing core tenets of the series. To put it mildly, the changes worked. Breath of the Wild is the biggest-selling Zelda game of all time and was an unqualified success with critics and players alike. What in the world do you do for an encore?

There's not much to say about the open world gameplay that hasn't been said with every other game of this type. The map is large and cavernous, and beautifully designed, but it's just scattered with waypoints for activities. Don't get too excited about the "dungeon" areas: They're all cut and paste hallways and combat rooms with treasure chests, never deviating from a very bland format. I wouldn't have bothered if these dungeons hadn't promised more capes for Frey to wear, so at least they offer worthy rewards. Other areas have ruins to "explore," which only means looking around to fight more monsters, while statues just need a bit of magic shoot bang to unlock statistic points.