There’s an ember of adventure igniting on PS5 as The Knightling nears its August 28, 2025, debut. This game, crafted by indie developer Twirlbound and published by Saber Interactive, is building hype for a good reason: it blends classic Zelda-style exploration with wardrobe-meets-platformer world-building. Players step into the boots of a shield‑wielding knight-in-training to solve puzzles and uncover the mystery of their mentor’s disappearance, all while carving out their place in Clesseia. It is just one more addition to PS5’s incredibly competitive year, joining big hitters like Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei.
The Knightling channels memories of Breath of the Wild without copying its DNA. It visually offers all the characteristics of a typical action-adventure game of this caliber: vast fields of green, bouncy exploration, and puzzle-solving with sleek, modern mechanics. In short, it’s a Zelda‑like built through a new lens. With a polished, open‑world fantasy game arriving in just a few weeks, the obvious question is where else the PS5 can take players who are looking for a bit of nostalgic fun on their system. If The Knightling checks the Zelda box, then it’s time to shake things up in yet another territory.
With PS5 Getting a Zelda: Breath of the Wild-Like, It's Only Fair For Nintendo to Return the Favor
Inspired by Breath of the Wild, The Knightling is coming to PS5, which should spark a similar "crossover" on the Nintendo Switch 2.
The Next Step Is Another PS5 Game Clearly Inspired by a Nintendo Franchise
There’s already a clear movement toward the PS5 taking cues from Nintendo's most beloved titles, despite Sony stating that Nintendo isn't a competitor. If The Knightling is PS5’s answer to Zelda, then it only makes sense to consider what other Nintendo formulas Sony might reimagine with a fresh spin and some modern horsepower.
The Case for a Big PS5 Animal Crossing-Like With a Big Budget Attached
There’s a cozy game renaissance happening right now, and a large-scale one. So a PS5 AAA life-sim would hit at exactly the right moment if it were to land soon. Animal Crossing: New Horizons dominated conversation and culture for a reason since it offered a sense of calm and control in a chaotic time. If not outsourced, Sony could translate that into a first-party experience, especially given its history of character-driven world-building, like in LittleBigPlanet.
Cozy doesn’t have to mean small, and if any studio could push the genre into something both heartwarming and technically impressive, it’s PlayStation. A PS5-exclusive slice-of-life game that leans into customization, community, and quiet progression could hit incredibly with the visual fidelity and support of Sony’s big studio ecosystem.
Adding A Cozy Game to the PS5’s Library
The market call is clear: a high‑budget Animal Crossing-style sim on PS5 with a full roster of creative tools, social systems, and seasonal content. And as Ubisoft’s rumored Alterra project is still under wraps, a first-party Sony vision could serve as its perfect competition.
A bustling PS5 sim where players can live in a sun-dappled village, build relationships with anthropomorphic neighbors, and craft their dream home is a formula that can rarely go wrong. The key would be to take inspiration from the skeleton of the modern life-sim while adding a unique value proposition.
PlayStation Has Burrowed Like This Before
The upcoming Knightling might be the most direct Zelda-like yet, but it fits into a larger trend of PlayStation titles echoing Nintendo’s greatest hits with their own twist. Players should consider Astro’s Playroom, for example. What began as a charming VR demo eventually evolved into Astro Bot, a Game of the Year-winning platformer drawing clear inspiration from Super Mario’s most iconic games. It’s whimsical, accessible, bursting with collectibles, and grounded in thoughtful level design that feels distinctly Mario-esque.
Then there’s the rumored 2.5D God of War game, which reportedly trades sprawling realms for side-scrolling exploration and backtracking. It’s hard not to see the Metroidvania fingerprints all over this rumor. Sony isn’t hiding it—they’re embracing these beloved blueprints and filtering them through their own narrative and aesthetic strengths.
So when a gamer zooms out to examine history, it becomes clear: the PS5 and Sony recognize that these formulas work. And they’ve proven they can reinterpret them in ways that still feel premium and purposeful. With so many other boxes checked, there’s one genre left begging for the same treatment: cozy life sims.
