TotK is the game BotW should have been.
Narrative: 3--2 most of the time, the best parts can be up to 4.5
Gameplay: 3
Visuals: 3.5
X-Factor: 3
Overall: 3
TotK makes me feel regretful. I regret that I don't enjoy the game more. I regret having played BotW. I can completely understand why this game could be someone's GOTY or favorite game, but it just fell flat for me.

I loved BotW, but there were fundamental problems with the game--problems I either was able to ignore or did not notice till a subsequent playthrough. Those problems for me were: (1) combat being broken by infinite healing by pause menu and flurry rush; (2) disconnected story through memories and no strong story beats; (3) lack of dungeons and shrine content being underdeveloped. The saving grace for BotW was the exploration and the fact it was a fresh experience. TotK has all the same flaws, if not worse than BotW.

TotK did not have the benefit of being an entirely fresh experience; by the 10th-hour mark, I already felt combat encounters and shrines to be chores to do as there was little change from BotW. Gameplaywise there is little few significant changes beyond Ultrahand that make the game interesting to me. Even so, Ultrahand only was interesting for the first 20 or so hours.

My largest complaint is the story. Never have I seen such promise in a narrative only to be so disappointed. The opening with Ganondorf is so strong--the entire opening Island I kept thinking about what he may be doing, where I may encounter him and have great story moments. As I cleared the 4 main missions, my mind sank as I realized I wouldn't be getting any of those moments; he is simply waiting in a room for me to be done playing with the game.

The format of the dragon tears/memories also greatly stunts the story. Outside of inconsistencies and plot holes, the story suffers most from yet again, not including Link in the main story of the game. Link is a side character to the main story; I believe this is a side effect of Link being a silent protag that the writers feel unable to write an interesting story involving him. Thus, they thrust the main story into the past to circumvent the problem of a silent main character in a story-driven experience.

Had I played TotK fresh without ever having played BotW, this would easily be a 4/5 game with minor gameplay gripes and story complaints. Failing to address the fundamental problems of BotW made this game a chore to enjoy

I remember giving this game a glowing review when I played it ages ago and it's always funny to turn around and see how much of the glaring flaws I was dismissing for my recency bias,

Look the yakuza are acting so absurdist and out of character this is so funny!!! (this is the entire fucking franchise), a game designed so that you take screenshots and upload them on twitter so your garbage smelling friends can go "heh...I told you its peak"

Majima's side of the story is salvageable (if you hate melodrama rip your enjoyment), everything else is nonsense and over the top unfunny ass shit

Perfection. Simply outstanding. A title that I will carry in my heart for its uniqueness, its depth, and its ability to be everything you think and at the same time surprise you every single moment in the most absurdly disparate ways. Disco Elysium is a title that cannot be described, I find it extremely difficult to even try. It must be tried, played, lived, and with its billions of possibilities, you will always have different outcomes, with an examination of human history and humanity which, when truly learned, will allow you to understand how deep and hallucinatory the lore of the world is, how much both multifaceted and majestic. And we explore a small part of it. The unique blend of detective story, pen-and-paper role-playing, and existentialist theory, blends into a tortuous story filled with memorable characters and choices capable of making each playthrough worth savoring in every nuance.