Tears of the Kingdom is slick, colossal sequel to Breath of the Wild, boasting greater mechanical refinement and providing an unparalleled amount of things to see and do. The game spreads the same activities and collectibles from Breath of the Wild, and then some, across three layers of overworld. If you thought A Link to the Past's two parallel worlds were a lot to explore, just wait until you start filling out the map in this game. It doesn't quite match Elden Ring in terms of shock value, but it just might win in terms of sheer scale. Expect to spend well over a hundred hours doing a handful of the side activities, scouring the world for collectibles, and tackling the main quest. Even if you just go for the latter goal, you're still looking at a good fifty hours of play.
The eagerness of Breath of the Wild to break from the formula established by A Link to the Past was one of its best qualities, and it helped the game feel like a breath of fresh air when compared to prior installments. With Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo indicates that the Breath of the Wild formula is effectively the series' new baseline, and interviews with producer Eiji Aonuma back this up. In that sense, Tears of the Kingdom is a bit of a disappointment, because it's nowhere near as bold and inventive of a project as its direct predecessor. Expect the same general art style, shrine system, main questline objectives, and past versus present narrative of Breath of the Wild, just with green and gold color tones rather than blue and silver.
I poke and prod at some of the annoying conformities to this new Zelda formula because the unique things that Tears of the Kingdom does are its most interesting aspects. I like when my Zelda games are bold, and this game has a few bold moves of its own. To name a few standouts: building and engineering, the Depths, sages, weapon fusion, and the Master Sword quest. These more radical elements kept me coming back to the game even when I felt a bit bored from the déjà vu, and I'm hoping the next installment can shake things up even more.
The eagerness of Breath of the Wild to break from the formula established by A Link to the Past was one of its best qualities, and it helped the game feel like a breath of fresh air when compared to prior installments. With Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo indicates that the Breath of the Wild formula is effectively the series' new baseline, and interviews with producer Eiji Aonuma back this up. In that sense, Tears of the Kingdom is a bit of a disappointment, because it's nowhere near as bold and inventive of a project as its direct predecessor. Expect the same general art style, shrine system, main questline objectives, and past versus present narrative of Breath of the Wild, just with green and gold color tones rather than blue and silver.
I poke and prod at some of the annoying conformities to this new Zelda formula because the unique things that Tears of the Kingdom does are its most interesting aspects. I like when my Zelda games are bold, and this game has a few bold moves of its own. To name a few standouts: building and engineering, the Depths, sages, weapon fusion, and the Master Sword quest. These more radical elements kept me coming back to the game even when I felt a bit bored from the déjà vu, and I'm hoping the next installment can shake things up even more.