I was in doubt whether I should go and buy this game or not, after reading the negative review on this site. Luckily I did.
Before going any further, I must say that this is a brilliant game, with a big IF:
If you play this game with 2 more friends. And by friends, I mean real friends, who you know in flesh and blood, go-out-have-a-beer-or-two kind of friends. People who you find on the 'net', but you have never seen them, don't know their habits... those just don't count.
Why is this important ? Because this is a party game, and you need to play it in a party of 3. No more, no less. If you are playing with some strangers then you will ruin the experience this game has to offer.
This being said, I am reviewing this game from the point of a gamer who is playing this together with 2 friends.
The game is a 3dsish isometric kind-of-game you're familiar with from another great Zelda titles, like Link Between Worlds. You can find the same elements from the older games, like the rupees, hearts (yes, those are shared among the 3 participants), weapons and also some of the characters.
This game is about collaboration. In order to 'solve' the levels, the three of you must collaborate, solve puzzles literally together, share hearts, combine clothes to beat the hell out of the monsters. What clothes you are wearing does significantly change the difficulty of the game.
Regarding the absence of a story-line: Yes, there is a story, but no, it's not like an RPG. It's not like the other Zelda titles. This is due to the fact that this game is meant to be played multiplayer, and from time to time: when you find the time to gather together for an hour and finish one of the dungeons. The duration of the levels is also well chosen: usually it requires around 1 hour to complete them. At the end of each, there is a 'boss' that you need to beat. Here it's also essential to use combined tactics to be able to beat it. You need to coordinate movements,: carry each other, shoot simultaneously, etc.
The communication is kept at minimal: on the touch screen, you can find several gestures (pre-defined), like Drop me, lift me up, Item, Over here and a couple more. There is no possibility to chat in-game. And this is brilliant. If you know each other well, and played a couple of levels together, these are sufficient to be able to coordinate each other quickly. There is no time to 'write down essays' while playing. Choosing one of those icons is sufficient in almost all cases: to visually tell the other buddy what to do. (If not, you can use a mobile phone app to write to each other. Here again, it's important to know each other).
After you complete each level, you get some rupees, and some materials that you can use to buy clothes from the Madamme. The distribution of the items is not equal, therefore your buddies won't have the same clothes available. Therefore it's also important to play the game with the same buddies: you will advance together, and, if you don't have a cloth that useful in a dungeon, your friend will have it , almost for sure.
If you are missing some materials for the clothes, there is a merchant outside from whom you can buy them (but only some quite common ones). However, the levels are designed in a way that you will get the materials as you advance in the game.
There is also a battlefield, where you can play against your friends, if one of you is missing, but it's just for filling time. This game is meant to be played in 3.
As a conclusion, I found this game to be extremely entertaining, giving a chance to fully cooperate with your friends. After completing a level, you can chat on skype to discuss the game you've just played. It' adds to the overall experience.
So regardless whether you're a Zelda fan or not, you should buy this game, but only if you can convince 2 more friends to play it together with you. Playing with strangers is almost a no-go, since most of the times you will end up with somebody who just goes ahead like Chuck Norris (in case he's more skilled than you are) or will hold you back (in case he's just staring the game).