TL/DR Notes
Review Grade: 10/10
Pros: A revamped take on what made Breath of the Wild a strong, new direction for The Legend of Zelda franchise, challenging gameplay and puzzle solving, new overall story
Cons: Reused assets from Breath of the Wild feels lazy at some points, there are some quality-of-life upgrades that could be made, enemy diversity—though not totally the same—feels the same
Parental Guidance: This game is rated for Everyone 10+. There are some scenes a young child could find scary (a demon King, death, violence). There are occasional flashing lights.
Gameplay Time: 50+ hours
Platform Experience: Nintendo Switch
Introduction
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released in 2017, it was a bold new direction for the franchise, albeit not a fresh concept: open world survival. However, the franchise had all the right elements to create its own corner in the genre, and in a noteworthy way, Tears of the Kingdom takes what made the previous game a Game of the Year experience and adds onto it many positive ways.
Story
Nintendo begins the game with Link and Zelda venturing below Hyrule Castle to investigate something Zelda has been looking into. On the way there, the duo comes across an evil that’s been hidden away for a very long time. After accidentally awakening the ancient evil, Zelda is flung through time, Link is knocked out after losing an arm and havoc spreads across Hyrule.
After blacking out, Link awakens and [JG2] is greeted by a spectral figure who informs the swordsman his arm has been replaced after sustaining so much dark energy from the awakened evil. Link journeys out from where he was resting to find a series of floating islands high up above Hyrule (is this Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword?). Link is tasked with unlocking new abilities for his new arm to help him traverse the challenges that away him in the sky, in Hyrule, and below the kingdom.
With a series of quests, Link has to embark on a familiar journey to do the very thing he and his ancestors have always done: save Princess Zelda. By befriending other heroes along the way, Link must build up his arsenal of weaponry, enhance his heart containers and stamina, and vanquish the ancient evil many fans of the series know well: Ganondorf.
Gameplay
What caught me by surprise was how vastly similar yet stunningly different both Switch-era games. In Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hyrule feels new because we’ve never experienced it in such a way like this: If you can see it, you can go there. We also have changed the mechanics where Link no longer requires consumable hearts to heal himself but rather whole meals.
In Tears of the Kingdom, the fully voice-acted cutscenes, and puzzle-solving experience and builds upon it. For example, Link’s Ultrahand ability is a vast improvement over the previous game in that it allows you to lift a wider range of objects, not just magnetic objects that the Magnesis ability limits you in Breath of the Wild.
Doing this allows for so much creativity to solve problems, complete dungeons, defeat enemies, and overall play the game as you wish. You can also bind items together to make a variety of useful (or just silly) creations.
Link has also been granted the Fuse ability allowing him to fuse many, many things together to create unique weapons and shields. I never thought attaching a bomb to a spear and then throwing it would be so satisfying, and yet here it is.
There’s even been a series of videos surfacing online where players are just building all sorts of weapon creations, vehicle design, and other ideas that is sure to make sure no two gameplay sessions are the same. I thought the game might become repetitive in gameplay as Breath of the Wild became for me, but even 50+ hours in, I’m not bored. In fact, the biggest element of the game that feels fresh upon each discovery is the cave exploration. Link will come across various caves in the world. Each has some sort of secret within it.
There’s also the Depths of Hyrule, which made me pause the game immediately because it is pitch black down there unless you light things up with a brightseed (you’ll need plenty, by the way).
Tears of the Kingdom rewards those curious enough to seek what’s around every corner, though some of the ‘secrets’ you might find could come across as stale because many of the items ‘discovered’ in the game are simply reused assets from the first game. I’ve come across a large number of armor pieces from Breath of the Wild, though Nintendo tries to present it as this great big find.
I should also note, this game also feels like the enemies are a bit smarter. I’ve never died so many times in a The Legend of Zelda video game, but I like it. I haven’t felt challenged by a Legend of Zelda game in years. Yes, the game is geared toward teens and up, but it’s been my favorite franchise since I was a kid, so to see it mature in such a stunning way has been excellent.
Same Hyrule, but with even further exploration
The Hyrule you knew from Breath of the Wild is mostly present in Tears of the Kingdom, but there are noticeable changes you’ll find along the way. Certain areas have been revamped, there are building supplies sprinkled throughout the kingdom to help players make fun creations with the Ultrahand ability, and the world does appear to feel more full of life compared to the previous game. Yes, Breath of the Wild was an open world experience, but many places in the world just felt empty; a lack of things to do, things to see, etc.
Tears of the Kingdom still feels slightly that way but nowhere near as much as its predecessor. The explorable caves give a little extra flavor to Link’s journey. The floating islands above Hyrule also give a different sense of exploration when looking for goodies that lurk around each corner.
That's right. In Tears of the Kingdom, you can even make an airplane if you want. Photo captured with Nintendo hardware. The "Depths of Hyrule" is almost like the “hard mode” experience of the game because of the newly added ‘gloom’ mechanic in the game -- a sort of life force stealing essence that can be healed and is sure to make your adventure that much more perilous.
Familiar faces from the previous game might be found in different locations upon looking for them in the newest game. What was once the town square in the Hyrule of old has been revamped into a point of civilizations restoring itself after the calamity that brought down Hyrule in the first place. Link will encounter many new quests—both side and main—on his journey to save the princess. Much like the previous game, wherever you choose to go first is up to you, just expect some changes to the landscape as you traverse the land. Large openings in the ground are now present allowing Link to journey below Hyrule and uncover the mysteries of the Depths.
The one bit I was hoping we’d see—though I understand it might be a whole other level of loading issues for the Nintendo Switch—is the ability to explore the waters of Hyrule. Link can’t swim below the waves like I was hoping he’d be able to do, but that didn’t kill the game for me. I assure you: there’s enough of a refreshed take on exploration in this game to pique one’s interest and keep you entertained for a long time.
Freedom of choice
The Legend of Zelda franchise is known for its excellent ability to create a self-contained adventure and leave you wanting more knowing you’d already done everything in about roughly 40 hours. The beauty of Tears of the Kingdom is it builds upon what Breath of the Wild did in regards to removing constraints from players and allowing the freedom of choice to flourish in each unique experience.
What’s hilarious is that I beat Tears of the Kingdom by accident. I won’t be too detailed, but just know my search for an Ocarina of Time-era Hyrulian shield landed me face to face with the final boss fight of the game. I laughed so hard afterward because I clearly wasn’t paying attention to the clear, in-game indicators that I was approaching the end. At the time of writing this, I’m still going back to complete the final dungeons I didn’t finish before completing the game and then plan to beat it again.
Breaking the tradition of ‘go here first, now here, now here’ allows Legend of Zelda to enter a new stage for the franchise, one I think will open up possibilities for a multiplayer experience, additional unique gameplay, and more excellent storytelling.
Quality of life needs investment improve in future games
Should Nintendo decide to continue with the formula it’s created for Link’s adventures, I’d like to see some housekeeping. For example, when you come across an item you’ve never seen in-game before, the game pauses and presents a little notification letting you know you discovered something. This becomes bothersome if it happens many times in a short span of time, which it did for me. I get it Nintendo, I discovered a thing. They could easily just indicate on your screen and label it ‘NEW’.
Also—in true Nintendo fashion—players have to go through similar cutscenes over and over unless they skip it, including upgrading your inventory, increasing your hearts and stamina gauge, and upgrading your armor. I’m aware Nintendo is trying to cater to that ‘wholesome’ experience, but I don’t think you have to keep showing players the same thing constantly.
It could be because the company wants to be inviting for players new to the series; however, I argue Nintendo should give players the choice for a reduced ‘guide me’ experience, and I’m not talking about adjusting the HUD to ‘pro’ level in the settings.
I also enjoy Link’s ability to attach many different things to his arrows, but there has to be a more efficient way to do it where players don’t have to scroll for a very long time to find the item they want to attach. Yes, you can select the ‘sort’ option to help you guide, but I challenge Nintendo to find a more efficient way to use this feature. The feature itself is good, but when you’re trying to find what you need, it feels cumbersome.
Lastly, Link’s ingredients to create elixirs and meals need to be fine-tuned. Having all the ingredients on the same page is a massive eye-ache. I would suggest creating one category for elixirs and one for food, because otherwise the inventory just feels incredibly cluttered.
P.S.: Though not major for everyone, I don’t like the button placement for players to make Link run and jump. I would switch where the stealth button and the run button are, but to each their own.
Almost There
Nintendo created another 10/10 Zelda experience, no question; however, it’s hard to deny the franchise feels like it’s ramping up to provide something even bigger than it already has but is limited by the Nintendo Switch’s capabilities. There were moments I was descending into the Depths and the game had to take a while to load. I understand Nintendo wants to have a console that has an attractive price point for families, but just once I’d like to see the company make something to give Microsoft and Sony a run for their money. The Legend of Zelda franchise has a lot of potential and Tears of the Kingdom showed that Link’s adventures are far from over.
Series producer Eija Aonuma told Game Informer, “I think it's correct to say that it has created a new kind of format for the series to proceed from,” and I think that’s encouraging; however, I think that will require Nintendo to increase its offering for hardware capability.
There were moments in the game where you’re followed by heroes you befriend on the way and I kept thinking, “Man, this would make a fun multiplayer experience.” I’m not advocating for a massive multiplayer online game but rather a more small and intimate experience between one to four players.
Exploring Hyrule is undoubtedly fun in Tears of the Kingdom, but sometimes it felt so vast that it would be nice to have a companion who was controlling another player. I have some ideas of what that would look like, but perhaps that’s an article for another day.
Parental Guidance
I can confidently say parents will feel comfortable having their kids play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The game looks and feels cartoony, though to be clear, you can slay creatures and there are plenty of violent ways to do this; however, it’s nowhere near as violent as many other games out there.
The biggest concern you might have is the Demon King Ganondorf (he looks pretty demonic in some of the cutscenes) and the blood moon resurrecting fallen enemies (it’s basically the game refreshing enemies you’ve already destroyed). Some of this might be scary for your kid, but I honestly think it’s fine. We’re talking about good and light vanquishing evil.
As with any game you allow your child below the age of 15 to play, sit with them and see exactly what it is they’re seeing. Have conversations with them about the themes a game might have. When it comes to this game, I feel you’ll be okay letting them save the Kingdom of Hyrule.
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