The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an action-adventure game with role-playing and puzzle elements. The player controls the protagonist Link from a third-person perspective in a three-dimensional space. Link primarily engages in combat with enemies using a sword and shield, but many other weapons, such as a bow and arrow, clawshots, and bombs, become available as the player progresses. Link also obtains a series of new items, such as a whip and a mechanical flying beetle, that allow him to reach previously inaccessible areas.

Link's adventures consist of traveling between Skyloft, a community based on floating islands in the sky that act as the game's main hub, and Hyrule, which is located directly below on the Earth. Skyloft contains a bazaar where the player can purchase or upgrade potions, shields, and weapons. Initially, access to Hyrule is sealed off by a "cloud barrier," but portals through the clouds to each of the three provinces of Hyrule (forest, volcano, and desert) open as the game progresses. The player flies upon Link's giant bird, called a Loftwing, to travel and skydive into the portals or travel between the multiple islands of Skyloft. Bird statues, which are abundantly placed in both Hyrule and Skyloft, act as save points and allow the player to transport back to the sky from Hyrule.

Skyward Sword retains the traditional Legend of Zelda gameplay of exploring the different regions of Hyrule (the overworld) and then exploring the dungeons contained within. Link navigates these dungeons and fights a boss at the end to obtain an item or otherwise advance the plot. Skyward Sword has seven unique dungeons: two in each of the three provinces of Hyrule and one located in Skyloft. Notably, Skyward Sword integrates the two modes of exploration more than other games in the series. Puzzle-solving is not confined to the game's dungeons and is carried over into the overworld, a facet which has helped label the gameplay of Skyward Sword as more dense than any other Zelda title. less