Inspired by Zelda: Discover the Secrets of Evalon in Beyond the Mountains

Welcome to another installment of Inspired By Zelda, our editorial series that looks at games new and old that take inspiration from and create a foundation based on The Legend of Zelda. Our aim is to spotlight the games that Zelda fans might enjoy adding to their catalog. Up today is Beyond the Mountains from developer Eric and publisher VerdLife Games, available on Steam.

Beyond the Mountains is a top-down adventure RPG that is filled to the brim with charm reminiscent of the original Link’s Awakening. This sword-swinging, puzzle-solving adventure takes place on an island similar to the vibe of the 1993 classic, but it puts its own spin on that title’s quirks and gameplay.

Upon starting this game, I was unsure what kind of adventure I would be taking part in. After booting up the game and seeing just the title screen, I knew I was in for a treat. I could tell from the jump that this game had its roots in the Zelda franchise, taking specifically strong notes from Link’s Awakening and the Oracle games. With a Game Boy-inspired art style and a Zelda-like approach to gameplay, Beyond the Mountains proved to be a hidden indie gem.

An Ancient Evil Awaits…

In Beyond the Mountains, you play as the hero Peter, who wakes up on the coast of the mystical island known as Evalon, with no recollection of who he was or how he got there. You are taken to the town of Bryhana and awoken by a local named Tara, who seems to bounce back and forth between being interested and not interested in your quest. After walking around and talking to the locals, it’s revealed that, fifteen years ago, King Leo of Evalon fought the god known as Zanarik, Brother of Darkness, and never returned.

The King’s wife Lyra, Queen of Evalon, is stricken with grief even fifteen years after her husband’s disappearance. The desperate queen is willing to go to dark extremes to bring the king back, including reviving the Brother of Darkness himself with the slim chance that Leo might be in his lair. This event is the core of the plot for this game. The hero must go to the three places where the Island’s Druids hid the Scrolls with the instructions to revive Zanarik, and he must take those scrolls before the queen’s forces can get them! This end goal of only collecting three quest items makes for a shorter playthrough, but a worthy one all the same.

“Awaken” A Sense of Adventure

After just a summation of the plot of this game, you can see how it can be compared to Link’s Awakening. One of the things that makes that game so iconic is the fact that the player is left in the dark as to what the unfamiliar island of Koholint has in store. Link is no longer in Hyrule, and his reaction to the new adventure is similar to yours. This unfamiliarity that drives the sense of exploration is extremely present in Beyond the Mountains, and it helps drive the story forward.

The story isn’t the only thing borrowed from Link’s Awakening, however. Beyond the Mountains pays tribute to its predecessor with a pixelated and cartoonish art style. The sprites of this game, NPCs and enemies alike, are akin to the ones found in Link’s Awakening, while not feeling like direct rip-offs. Every character has their own personality, and every enemy has a unique method of being defeated.

As far as dungeons go, this game plays off of The Wind Waker‘s idea of not having every dungeon be somewhere sacred or royal. This part of the game’s design makes every dungeon feel unique, with locations lending to fun, new gameplay options. One of my favorite dungeons in the game features a minecart puzzle system similar to the one featured in The Minish Cap‘s Cave of Flames. This refreshing view of dungeons makes traversing the world more interesting and makes progressing towards the end goal more rewarding.

Humble Beginnings

One of the most impressive parts of Beyond the Mountains is its creation. As you may have noticed in reading this article so far, it was developed by one person, completely from scratch. Once you play through the game, the love, care, and imagination of this single individual becomes apparent. From the gameplay, to the music, to the art, it’s a bit baffling that this game could have been developed by a single person, especially completely from scratch — no reused or borrowed assets at all.

The impressive amount of effort it must have taken for developer Eric to create this game makes playing it that much more rewarding. The game’s design is incredibly charming, and it’s a pretty great debut for a creator with no previous content to date.

From Scratch — A Reflection

For what this game has to offer as far as quality goes, there are just a few things that interrupt the overall fun of the game. For starters, Peter’s hitbox seems to be a bit large, while the enemies you face in game seem to have the opposite issue. This juxtaposition makes combat difficult, as you have to get right up on an enemy to even damage them with your sword. This combat struggle carries over heavily into bosses, as most of the bosses do quite a bit of damage, usually making your first encounter with a boss a short one. Additionally, Peter’s hitbox being so large means that he often falls into bottomless pits at very inopportune times, making the game’s small amount of platforming a little more difficult than it has to be.

In addition to the hitbox trouble, Beyond the Mountains seems to favor backtracking quite a bit. This normally wouldn’t be a huge problem, but fast travel is an ability unlocked towards the end of the game, so every bit of travel between areas usually requires walking through the overworld and dealing with the enemies that come with it.

Those are the only big gripes I had with this game though. For a self-developed work, this game is teeming with charm and personality, and it lends itself well to being called a Zelda–like. The game borrows enough from its older cousin to feel great, while still putting in its own original ideas to fully flesh out the world. Any fan of the Game Boy era of Zelda would be a fan of Beyond the Mountains and its indie charm.

What’s Next for Evalon?

Beyond the Mountains has been a successful venture for Eric, as the game boasts a pretty large amount of players. The popularity of and feedback given to this first installment has led to a sequel being announced, planned for release in late 2024. The developer has stated that the second installment will be a hard sequel, meaning that you will have to have played Beyond the Mountains to understand its successor. Based on the fun I had playing this game, I will definitely be adding the sequel to my must-play list.

Beyond the Mountains is available on Steam for $5.99 USD. I recommend adding it to your RPG library today!

But what do you think of this Link’s Awakening tribute? Do you enjoy games that emulate this era of Zelda? Let us know in the comments below!

Disclosure: A copy of Beyond the Mountains was provided to Zelda Dungeon by the game’s developer.

Connor Butler

Connor is an avid Zelda fan and Musician currently obtaining his degree in percussion performance from Western Carolina University. His favorite game in the Zelda franchise is a toss up between Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time, but he has a soft spot for the Wind Waker.