Its predecessor left a masterpiece of a foundation and Tears of the Kingdom pays great respect by not deteriorating it. Every addition this game adds is a positive one and it keeps the momentum and excitement as if no time has passed since BOTW. The biggest structural difference is that TOTK is more of a "destination and the vehicle to get there" game instead of the previous "journey over destination" approach. It's a necessary shift when reusing a world we've already journeyed through. The "legend" takes a bigger focus, as enough has been established narratively to dig deeper and raise the stakes. The main challenge this game faces is differentiating it's self from the original, especially as time goes on. But there's certainly enough differentiating to warrant playing both.

A platformer FPS that will keep you engaged 100% of the time you're playing. It's like the inverted version of Super Hot with some Mirror's Edge mixed in and all the concepts work very well together. I love how powerful you can feel without skimping on difficulty and you're rewarded for better execution. While the gameplay isn't repetitive, some of the utilities become so, such as weaponry and types of movement. The levels also some times feel clostrophobic and limit your want to utilize parkour, but the "Red Faction style" terrain explosion gives more traversing enjoyment. It's great fun and I highly recommend trying it.

An incredibly fascinating game that's worth playing just to see the care put into the animal ecosystem. No other game will put you in the eyes of the "bottom of the food chain" animal and make you cower from every moving thing. It reminds me of the Metroid Dread horror sections but fully fledged and the thrill is very enduring. That only hurdle for me is the game is not great at showing you where to go or what to do. Even movement options are waiting to be discovered in non intuitive ways. The guide character is often unclear or spazzes around creating confusion on progression. Still a great play with always lively art style/animation.

Another fantastic title in the Pikmin lineup with only a few complaints that really only affect series veterans. I love the amount of depth (ha) in campaign which is a nice contrast to Pikmin 3, and the quality of life changes made to the cave system are greatly appreciated. The more lateral worlds allow for even more appreciation of world design, making this game the pinnacle of beauty in the Pikmin series. I think this is also the best incorporation of onions, as you always feel rewarded for the difficulty of obtaining them. I like how each Pikmin battle mode introduced has its own spin and dandori battles still retain the irreplicable thrill of competitive Pikmin play. The only bothersome elements are the general ease of access choices that really should have a toggle option. Automatically locking on not only hurts real time strategy, but also can be infuriating when you're unable to throw at the right target in a crowd. I can't for the life of me figure out why they thought it was a good idea to only allow 3 types of Pikmin in each territory, especially when they're more multipurposed than ever before. But these are all relatively minor issues that hold the title back for long time players like myself. Still a fantastic game.

Definitely a stunning visual upgrade from the original and the graphics are as good as you could hope for from the Switch. It would have been nice to have some quality of life changes from the original, but other than more control options it carries the same frustrations. There are also some small baffling changes like removing dynamic light from beams, longer to charge shots, doors looking less dynamic, and the thermal visor straight up looking bad. I also feel the controls aren't as fluid as the Wii versions. But these are ultimately nitpicks that won't impact first time players and the stunning views are worth experiencing by veterans.