The closest games to Wind Waker on PC are Sail Forth for open-sea sailing, Tchia for a sunny island world, Summer in Mara for sailing plus a farm, and Oceanhorn for a Zelda-style quest. For no combat at all, try Submerged: Hidden Depths. Below are 10 games, checked on 8 October 2026.
At a glance
| Game | Best for | Length | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sail Forth | Players who want sailing to be the whole game | About 16 hours (main story, few reports) | PC, Mac, Linux |
| Tchia | Explorers who want a big, sunny island world | About 7.5 hours (main story), 14 hours with sides | PC |
| Summer in Mara | Farming fans who want a boat and a sunny sea | About 20 hours (main story) | PC |
| Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas | Players who want a classic Zelda-style adventure with a boat | About 9.5 hours | PC, Mac |
| Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm | Players who want the same quest in a 3D world | About 11.5 hours (main story, few reports) | PC |
| Windbound | Survival fans who want to build and sail their own boat | About 14 hours | PC |
| Wavetale | Players who want a short, bright adventure at sea level | About 4 hours | PC |
| Submerged: Hidden Depths | Players who want a calm boat game with no fighting | About 4.5 hours | PC |
| Len's Island | Friends who want a survival and building game with a Wind Waker flavor | About 15 hours (main story), 23 hours with extras | PC, Mac |
| Sailwind | Players who want slow, real sailing at their own pace | Open-ended | PC |
What “like Wind Waker” means here
The Wind Waker is a Nintendo game and it has no official PC version. People who ask for games like it usually want one or more of these things: a boat, a wide sea with islands to find, a wind that matters, a bright cartoon look and a small adventure on each island. No PC game has all of them. So this guide sorts the picks by which part of the feeling they keep. We checked platforms on Steam on 8 October 2026. Lengths come from HowLongToBeat unless we say otherwise.
Quick picks
- Best for the sailing itself: Sail Forth
- Best sunny island world: Tchia
- Best sailing plus a home to tend: Summer in Mara
- Best Zelda-style quest: Oceanhorn
- Best with no combat: Submerged: Hidden Depths
- Best to build your own boat: Windbound
- Best short game: Wavetale
- Our own game: A Short Sail (in development)
How to choose
- If you want wind and open sea: Sail Forth, or Sailwind for a realistic, slow sim.
- If you want a Zelda-style adventure: Oceanhorn, then Oceanhorn 2.
- If you want no combat: Submerged: Hidden Depths.
- If you want a cozy farm and a boat: Summer in Mara.
- If you want something short: Wavetale or Submerged: Hidden Depths, both about 4 to 5 hours.
- If you want to play with friends: Len’s Island has co-op for 2 to 8 players.
- If you use a Mac: Sail Forth, Oceanhorn or Len’s Island list Mac on Steam.
Sailing first
Sail Forth
Who it is for: players who want sailing to be the whole game.
You command a small fleet across a big, colorful ocean of island regions, meet fish-folk crews and look for the secret under the sea. The wind and sail system is detailed enough to feel real but stays easy to learn, and a free-sail mode lets you just cruise. Nintendo Life called it Wind Waker-style sailing. It is not combat-free: you fight pirate ships with cannons. Some players find the story and side quests thin.
Developer: Festive Vector | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux | Length: about 16 hours (main story, few reports) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Sailwind
Who it is for: players who want slow, real sailing at their own pace.
Sailwind is a sailing sim with realistic physics in a large open world. You take cargo jobs, upgrade your boat, fish and cook. But it is slow, and you must learn to trim sails and navigate, which takes patience. A trip between islands can take a long time in real minutes. It is still in Early Access, and players report bugs.
Developer: Raw Lion Workshop | Year: 2021 (Early Access) | Platforms: PC | Length: open-ended | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Island worlds to explore
Tchia
Who it is for: explorers who want a big, sunny island world.
You sail, glide, climb and swim across an archipelago inspired by New Caledonia. You can also jump into animals and objects, and play a real ukulele. Sailing your little boat between islands is a highlight. The game came out on consoles in 2023, and its PC release on Steam was on 21 March 2024. There are light combat sections, and sailing is only one part of a bigger game.
Developer: Awaceb | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 7.5 hours (main story), 14 hours with sides | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Summer in Mara
Who it is for: farming fans who want a boat and a sunny sea.
You are Koa. You care for your own island, grow crops and craft tools, then sail to other islands to meet people and find sunken treasure. The store page describes it as a mix of Wind Waker and Stardew Valley. The mix of farming and sailing is rare. Reviews are more mixed than for others here, and many quests are simple fetch tasks.
Developer: Chibig | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 20 hours (main story) | Steam: Mostly Positive | Steam page
Len’s Island
Who it is for: friends who want a survival and building game with a Wind Waker flavor.
You live on a generated archipelago. You build a home, farm, craft a ship and sail to other islands with ruins and dungeons. PC Gamer wrote that its sailing update scratched a Wind Waker itch. It is not a gentle game: there is skill-based combat, dungeons and bosses, and you can play co-op with up to 8 players. Cozy farming sits next to fights.
Developer: Flow Studio | Year: 2025 (1.0; Early Access in 2021) | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 15 hours (main story), 23 hours with extras | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Zelda-style quests
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Who it is for: players who want a classic Zelda-style adventure with a boat.
You wake to a letter from your father and set out to learn what happened to him. You explore islands, solve puzzles, fight monsters and sail between them. It is a love letter to the older Zelda games. The view is isometric, not a free 3D world, and combat is a big part of it.
Developer: Cornfox & Brothers | Year: 2015 | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 9.5 hours | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm
Who it is for: players who want the same quest in a 3D world.
This prequel moves to a third-person 3D view, with allies who help in fights and puzzles. Reviewers compare its structure to the 3D Zelda games. It has a boat for the sea, but several reviewers say you use it little, and one called the sailing a chore. Steam reviews are Mostly Positive, and reviewers call it janky in places. Steam lists the PC release on 2 August 2023; it first came out in 2019 on Apple Arcade.
Developer: Cornfox & Brothers | Year: 2023 (PC) | Platforms: PC | Length: about 11.5 hours (main story, few reports) | Steam: Mostly Positive | Steam page
Boats with a different twist
Windbound
Who it is for: survival fans who want to build and sail their own boat.
You are Kara, shipwrecked on the Forbidden Islands. You gather resources, craft tools and build a boat, then sail from island to island. The look is cel-shaded and the boat building is the best part. But it is a survival game, with crafting and resources to manage. Steam reviews are Mixed, and some players dislike the survival systems.
Developer: 5 Lives Studios | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 14 hours | Steam: Mixed | Steam page
Wavetale
Who it is for: players who want a short, bright adventure at sea level.
You are Sigrid, and a shadow friend gives you the power to run across water. You surf the waves of a drowned city, swing from rooftops with a net and fight sea monsters. It does not have a boat, so it is not a sailing game. It does have an open sea, island hopping and a warm story about loss. It is short, and it is not a boat game.
Developer: Thunderful Development | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 4 hours | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Submerged: Hidden Depths
Who it is for: players who want a calm boat game with no fighting.
The developer calls it a non-combat “relaxploration” adventure. You boat, climb and explore the ruins of a sunken world as the siblings Miku and Taku. There is no combat. But it is short, and it is built around a story more than free sailing.
Developer: Uppercut Games | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 4.5 hours | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
FAQ
What is the closest game to Wind Waker on PC? Sail Forth. You sail a fleet across a wide ocean of islands with a wind system, and Nintendo Life called it Wind Waker-style sailing. It has cannon fights with pirates, so it is not combat-free. For a Zelda-style quest, Oceanhorn is the next best fit.
Can you play Wind Waker on PC? Not officially. The Wind Waker is a Nintendo game and there is no PC version. The games in this guide are other games that share its feel of sailing between islands.
Are there games like Wind Waker with no combat? Submerged: Hidden Depths has no combat. You sail a small boat through a drowned city and climb its ruins. Most others here have at least light combat. Sailwind is a calm sailing sim, but check its Steam page for current survival features.
Is there a cel-shaded sailing game on Steam? Windbound uses a cel-shaded look, according to ScreenRant, and you build your own boat and sail between islands. It is a survival game, and its Steam reviews are Mixed. Wavetale and Summer in Mara also have a bright, hand-painted style.
Which of these games are short? Wavetale takes about 4 hours and Submerged: Hidden Depths about 4.5 hours, according to HowLongToBeat. Tchia is about 7.5 hours for the main story.
Which games here run on Mac? On Steam, Sail Forth, Oceanhorn and Len’s Island list Mac. The others list Windows only. Checked on 8 October 2026.
Our own game: A Short Sail
The author of this site makes A Short Sail, so weigh our words as you see fit. It is a cozy 3D sailing game where you are a tabby cat with a little boat. You deliver mail between little islands, fish by day and night, and make friends with the islanders. It fits the island-to-island part of the Wind Waker feeling, with no combat and no timers. It is much smaller than the games above. A free demo plays in your browser at itch.io, and the full game is coming soon to Steam and itch.io.
Related guides
- Cozy sailing games: calmer games on the water.
- Best sailing games: sims, pirates and strategy.
- Cozy island games: more islands to explore.
- Cozy games with no combat on PC: if you want no fighting at all.
- Games like A Short Hike: small, gentle exploration.
- What is a cozy game?: the short definition and six traits.
- Cozy delivery games: sailing and flying with a job to do.
Questions
What is the closest game to Wind Waker on PC?
Sail Forth. You sail a fleet across a wide ocean of islands with a wind system, and Nintendo Life called it Wind Waker-style sailing. It has cannon fights with pirates, so it is not combat-free. For a Zelda-style quest, Oceanhorn is the next best fit.
Can you play Wind Waker on PC?
Not officially. The Wind Waker is a Nintendo game and there is no PC version. The games in this guide are other games that share its feel of sailing between islands.
Are there games like Wind Waker with no combat?
Submerged: Hidden Depths has no combat. You sail a small boat through a drowned city and climb its ruins. Most others here have at least light combat. Sailwind is a calm sailing sim, but check its Steam page for current survival features.
Is there a cel-shaded sailing game on Steam?
Windbound uses a cel-shaded look, according to ScreenRant, and you build your own boat and sail between islands. It is a survival game, and its Steam reviews are Mixed. Wavetale and Summer in Mara also have a bright, hand-painted style.
Which of these games are short?
Wavetale takes about 4 hours and Submerged: Hidden Depths about 4.5 hours, according to HowLongToBeat. Tchia is about 7.5 hours for the main story.
Which games here run on Mac?
On Steam, Sail Forth, Oceanhorn and Len's Island list Mac. The others list Windows only. Checked on 8 October 2026.
