The beautiful thing about using the gaming service Steam is how often you can find incredible games at very low prices, sometimes even free. Whatever type of game you might be in the mood for, it’s pretty good odds that you’ll be able to find something on the gaming platform that can scratch the itch. Unfortunately, you often have to wade through quite a few not-so-great titles in order to find the hidden gems, particularly when looking at the free offerings.
With this being the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, it’s only fitting to take a look at some of the free games that are available on Steam that draw inspiration from, or at least have many similarities to, the classic adventure franchise. There are many free Zelda-like titles on Steam, but many are only free as a demo or for a limited time. So, here is our roundup of a few of the full games worth taking a look at while you can.
Grizelda: Lynx And The Nine Lives
With generally positive reviews on Steam, Grizelda: Lynx and the Nine Lives is a retro-style Action RPG full of puzzles and dungeons. The adventure is inspired by classic pixel games from the 1980s and 90s, like Zelda, Kings Quest, Final Fantasy, and more.
In a magical land where dogs have taken over, you play the feline protagonist Lynx on an adventure to rescue Princess Grizelda. Along the way, you must defeat soul guardians to rescue friends like Ricky Mouse, Whinnie, and more.
Despite its inspiration and familiar-sounding names, the game is a fun and unique adventure full of quirky NPCs with side quests and clever puzzles. If you like games like the classic Legend of Zelda, it’s a pretty good bet you’ll enjoy this. And at this price, you can’t go wrong. Plus, it has 30 Steam achievements for all of us achievement hunters.
Although Grizelda: Lynx and the Nine Lives is available for free, the developers urge anyone who enjoys the game to donate to your local ASPCA what they would have paid for the game. This way, you can not only have fun with a nostalgic RPG experience, but you can help kitties in real life at the same time.
Spiral Knights
The MMORPG Spiral Knights is free to play on Steam, or you can decide to pay for special costume armor and “several other valuable items suitable for any player” if you’re enjoying it enough. There’s no subscription, and being a multiplayer experience means you can probably talk some friends into playing with you, since you can have up to four players in a team.
While exploring the strange alien landscape of ever-changing Clockworks in hopes of reaching the mysterious Core, you are faced with monsters to fight and numerous puzzles to solve. Clockworks are a game mechanic that cycles the levels in real time, meaning that those levels you are exploring are changing as you play.
It’s an older game, releasing in 2011, with Very Positive reviews on Steam and a colorful and eye-catching art style. The game is still going strong, with the most recent in-game event having just ended on July 13, 2026. So, if you want a free experience you can play with friends that has some similarities to games like Zelda, this game has proven itself to be a lasting adventure.
Floodcore
In Floodcore we find an ancient civilization in the middle of a flooded world. Playing as a pilot of a seaplane who has landed at the pier of a long-forgotten temple, you get to walk around and enjoy the beauty of an enchanting space that has fallen to ruin.
This free adventure game offers puzzles to face that are very reminiscent of those of The Legend of Zelda games, and offers just the right level of challenge to still be meditative and peaceful while requiring some thought.
Floodcore was made by five French students as a graduation project and is a very quick game, generally able to be completed in about 15 to 30 minutes. But while it may not be an experience that will last you a long time, it is free, and the calming atmosphere and enjoyable puzzles will make you wish it were fleshed out to be a bigger game.
Beyond The Mountains
Beyond the Mountains is a free top-down ARPG where you are stranded in a foreign land and have to collect items, unlock secrets, and fight monsters. This land of Evalon is full of colorful and quirky characters with their own motivations and quests for you while you journey through beaches, towns, deserts, mountains, swamps, and even a city of the dead.
The handcrafted world provides you with multiple enemies and bosses to fight, and a vast mystery to solve in order to save the world of Evalon from utter destruction. Plus, there are even fishing and minigolf minigames if you need a little break from the action.
A direct sequel to Beyond the Mountains is currently in development and expected to be released later this year.
La Rana
Who doesn’t enjoy getting to experience life as a small spirit frog? In La Rana, we play as the last remaining spirit frog caretaker of the Rain Temple of Rana. While exploring the lost ruins and avoiding dangerous poisons, we can work to restore the temple back to its former glory, and even revive some fellow frog spirits along the way.
The game’s puzzles use simple mechanics but stretch your mind as you must take creative approaches to the secrets presented. There’s no pressure or urgency, so the game can be completed at a relaxed pace, allowing you to explore the beautiful temple and its collectibles as fast or slow as you wish.
La Rana is a pretty short game, created by a student team at SMU Guildhall over 15 weeks, which is why it is free despite being such an incredible experience.
Eternal Senia
This 2015 game, Eternal Senia, has received Overwhelmingly Positive reviews from Steam players, and is completely free to play. While it does show its age, the experience it provides at zero cost is still one worth checking out.
Eternal Senia puts us as the sword-wielding Senia on a search for her adoptive sister Magaleta who mysteriously vanished inside a tower. Entering this Tower of Eternity, players fight their way through monsters and solve puzzles while telling a touching story about the sisters. It can generally be completed in about five or six hours.
Sky: Children Of The Light
Set in a world that feels much like Zelda, the popular title Sky: Children of the Light is a free-to-play open world social adventure game. Exploring a kingdom of seven realms, players control a “Sky Kid” looking to restore light to a world that has fallen into darkness. As you fly across these beautiful landscapes, you discover hidden secrets and curious puzzles to solve while freeing trapped ancestor spirits.
Sky: Children of the Light is an online game, designed for millions of players to enjoy connecting and journeying together. There are regular events in the game to enjoy, often blending real world causes and events into the fantastical world of the game.
Kujira No Hara
Perhaps the most Zelda-like of all the entries, is the humorous tale of Kujira No Hara. The free game just released at the end of July 2026 and was a passion project inspired by The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap as well as Link’s Awakening. It focuses heavily on puzzles across seven dungeons, and offers around 50 hours of gameplay to adventurous players.
This Viking tale follows a child who has been swallowed by a giant whale, only to realize that there is a whole world of wacky characters inside. Hordes of monsters and weapons can be found, along with over 60 quirky NPCs that are also trapped. While tackling the puzzle-filled dungeons, there are over 100 optional side quests to keep you entertained, all for free on Steam right now.
- Brand
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Valve
- Original Release Date
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September 12, 2003