The gaming landscape changed forever when Breath of the Wild was released alongside the Nintendo Switch in 2017. Breath of the Wild showed the industry players are ready to go on an adventure with little hand-holding or direction. It was a bold and divisive design choice after the smoke cleared. Despite being one of the best rate games of all time, it wasn’t free from heavy criticism from the diehard Zelda faithful.
Critiques mainly targeted the lack of traditional dungeons, a reliance on bespoke, fragmented narrative, and a relatively weak villain. After a long bout of anticipation and waiting, the sequel to the modern classic is finally released. It’s apparent Nintendo took that feedback seriously, as Tears of the Kingdom addresses almost every issue people had with its predecessor. This Tears of the Kingdom review in progress will explain how Nintendo exceeded the original to create the most incredible games we have ever played.
Story: A Link to the Past
During our Tears of the Kingdom review, we were surprised at how it picked up immediately after the original. Link and Zelda are exploring the depths of Hyrule Castle in search of answers and ancient Hyrulien secrets. They discover a chamber with detailed drawings that showcase the Imprisoning War. This war was fought between the Zonai and the Demon Prince Ganon. Shortly after, a twisted husk of Ganon attacks our heroes, and the world gets lifted into the sky.
This story begins with Link again stripped of all power, Hearts, and gear. High in the sky, on a floating rock called the Great Sky Island. This introduces Tears of the Kingdom’s newest mechanics and a ton of lore bombs. Whereas Breath of Wilds’s story was primarily told through obscure landmarks that triggered memories, Tears opts for a more direct approach to storytelling.
By finding Dragon Tears, which are much easier to discover. This helps drive the narrative forward, and it does a much better job of connecting the memories of the past to the present to keep the plot engaging and mysterious instead of clumsy and disconnected.
Gameplay: Link Between Worlds
When our Tears of the Kingdom review process began, we weren’t sure what to expect. Much of the gameplay and general feel of the game is mainly similar to Breath of the Wild. Link’s movement, climbing, and stamina management have remained relatively unchanged. What has changed are the tools Link has access to. All of the powers he had before are gone, instead replaced with a new suite of abilities that are designed to test your creativity and ingenuity.
These new powers push Tears of the Kingdom to the stratosphere (not a pun, we assure you) with tools that allow many creative solutions to the same problems. There is no “right” way to get around an obstacle. No “correct” way to solve a puzzle. If you can think of it, the various new abilities given to the player and trust in them to use each one will almost always reward your creativity. It’s a game designed to make the player feel like a genius whenever they try something that works. When something doesn’t work, instead of frustration, we know that we have to alter the approach.
The world of Hyrule itself is chock full of surprises. Not only did the main world of Hyrule change in some significant ways, the Sky Islands and the massive open world beneath the open world known as the Depths. These three environments seamlessly flow with their narrative, gameplay, and puzzle elements. The sheer terror of crawling around the dark, desperately searching for the next light source, adds an element of gothic horror that Tears of the Kingdom embrace from its opening cutscene. It’s an unexpected direction for the game but a welcome one that genuinely helps separate this game from Breath of the Wild.
Graphics/Audio: Sparse and Serene
Like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom features a minimalist approach to its visual and audio presentation. In place of soaring melodies, adventure is punctuated by chimes, bits of music, and easygoing piano cues. Classic Zelda tunes and melodies are saved for the game’s most significant story moments, and when they come in, it makes us wish we could hear more of them throughout the experience.
Graphically, Nintendo is doing everything that the Nintendo Switch is capable of. The team at Monolith has lent their skill at creating massive open worlds to flesh out Hyrule with tons of small details everywhere. Even though Hyrule may be the same, many of the landmarks from Breath of the Wild and its characters have undergone many changes. The game runs at a near-locked 30 frames per second, with only slight drops in certain towns or when using the Ultrahand ability.
The fact that the game features an entire set of Sky Islands and a Depths underground that’s just as massive as Hyrule itself. This game’s sheer scope and size and how well it runs is an enormous achievement.
Related:Â 10 Things to Do First in Tears of the Kingdom
Conclusion: The Perfect Execution
After about 100 hours of playtime, we still enjoy our time in Tears of the Kingdom. The story is told in a much better format than Breath of the Wild, and the story of how Link, Zelda, and Ganon all come together is a Zelda fan’s dream. The lore is excellent, and the number of secrets to discover after the story concludes is immense. From our experience, we can say that Tears of the Kingdom is far more than a retread, and it’s packing enough innovation to make Breath of the Wild seem like an experimental concept.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.
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