I realized the other day that it had been a while since I’d covered a fan game, and having browsed Pure ZC recently, I stumbled across a new fan game that was released in late November and updated on December 3, 2015.

The Legend of Zelda: Summoning War is an odd duck in some ways. Firstly, I really like the fact that the designer went for a non-linear approach a la Zelda: A Link Between Worlds that champions exploration and gives you the ability to explore dungeons and the overworld at your own pace in largely any order you wish. The overworld itself is very well-designed, with a lot tossed into an 8×16 grid of screens. The dungeons, too, are thought out and complex, with a decent level of challenge that makes them hard but still quite fair.

Yet, working against these things is the fact that the game’s grammar leaves a lot to be desired and its story is a bit unclear to me. It’s possible that the weakened story is simply the product of the bad grammar, though I think part of that was simply a failure to deliver the story properly.

In any event, the game is fun and it’s totally free, so I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Enjoy this video of the first hour or so of gameplay, and don’t forget to subscribe!