This review contains spoilers
JANUARY 2024 EDIT: I'm keeping this review up because I still agree with most of what was said, but time has soured my view of this game, and I was definitely too nice to it here. Bear that in mind.
I spent a little while waffling over whether to give this game a 7 or 8 out of 10, before remembering that I gave BOTW an 8 and I don’t feel this game is quite as good as its predecessor. So a 7 it is, though this is really more of a 7.5
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: you don’t need me to tell you that the gameplay is top notch. It’s like playing BOTW again for the first time (an incredible feeling already), except bigger and better with even more to do. The new features allow for so much creativity, and are a natural fit for the game. BOTW’s design philosophy of “if it works it ain’t stupid” is compounded here, and its a joy to experience. It’s also wonderful to see all the characters and the land of Hyrule again. It really feels like visiting old friends.
Any prerelease promise of traditional Zelda dungeons were out and out lies, but these dungeons are leagues more interesting, both visually and gameplay wise, than the Divine Beasts. The bosses are a return to form as well, playing much more like classic Zelda bosses. The final boss especially is a notable improvement. You can’t just brute force your way through it and it actually looks, well, cool!
Where the game loses me is in its story. I really care about the stories in Zelda games, they’ve told some fantastic and thematically rich ones in the past. But Tears of the Kingdom’s is kind of a mess.
The reason why the memories system worked well in BOTW, at least in my opinion, is that the majority of them weren’t focused on story so much as they were focused on character. Their purpose was to let you get to know Zelda, and care about saving her. And she actually does have a character. She’s bitter about her circumstances and needs time to warm up to Link, but cares deeply and is passionate about her interests. This system does not work as well in TOTK. The memories in this game serve a different goal, they’re intended to show the events of the plot, not give insight into characters. Seeing as you can discover the memories in any order, the whole story loses its impact when you’re seeing it out of order. It’s not confusing, just frustrating. And the characters feel like props moving the story along, not characters in their own right. Characters who become very important (Mineru, I’m talking about Mineru) are difficult to care about like you’re supposed to because they never feel real. This sacrifice in character moments in service to a story that’s damaged by the way it’s told really stings.
And can we talk about that story? How you hear it repeated every single fucking time you complete a dungeon? The past sages provide no new insight and do not tell the story any differently so you just hear the same old thing, over and over. I think it’s a good thing they didn’t try to make the past sages characters, they would have just felt like replacements for the champions, but it means it’s boring as sin to hear them go on.
Speaking of the champions, the new champions sure are there. They all have fine roles in the story, but I can’t help but yearn for more. There’s glimpses into better arcs, but the conclusion of “it’s my entire people’s purpose to assist Link so I’ll do my best!” is uncomfortable to watch happen four times. And on the subject of that conclusion…
Much smarter people than me have talked about the Zelda franchise’s issues with racism and imperialism, but I’ll throw in my two cents. The suggestion that the other races of Hyrule’s purpose is to assist the royal family is an uncomfortable one, and it’s made worse by the fact that Ganondorf is back in this game and. Like that. I shouldn’t need to tell you his design plays on several harmful tropes. At the absolute bare minimum, the vai outfit is gone from the game and you can make Link girlboss with being fetishistic (thank you frostbite set).
I don’t dislike everything the game’s story has to offer, I love the little mysteries about what the fuck Zelda’s been up to (my friends and I took to calling the Zelda imposter Zelwario) and I love everything to do with the light dragon. I wish we got to see Fi, but I know I’m one of maybe a dozen people on earth who wanted to see that, so I understand why it didn’t happen.
I don’t know. I got really invested in the simple yet effective story of BOTW, and it feels like this game is a good example of bigger isn’t always better.
It really speaks to how damn fun this game is that I’d still rank it so highly with so many negative things to say about it. I may have beaten the main story, but I’m nowhere near done with this game. Those Koroks aren’t going to torture themselves.
I spent a little while waffling over whether to give this game a 7 or 8 out of 10, before remembering that I gave BOTW an 8 and I don’t feel this game is quite as good as its predecessor. So a 7 it is, though this is really more of a 7.5
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: you don’t need me to tell you that the gameplay is top notch. It’s like playing BOTW again for the first time (an incredible feeling already), except bigger and better with even more to do. The new features allow for so much creativity, and are a natural fit for the game. BOTW’s design philosophy of “if it works it ain’t stupid” is compounded here, and its a joy to experience. It’s also wonderful to see all the characters and the land of Hyrule again. It really feels like visiting old friends.
Any prerelease promise of traditional Zelda dungeons were out and out lies, but these dungeons are leagues more interesting, both visually and gameplay wise, than the Divine Beasts. The bosses are a return to form as well, playing much more like classic Zelda bosses. The final boss especially is a notable improvement. You can’t just brute force your way through it and it actually looks, well, cool!
Where the game loses me is in its story. I really care about the stories in Zelda games, they’ve told some fantastic and thematically rich ones in the past. But Tears of the Kingdom’s is kind of a mess.
The reason why the memories system worked well in BOTW, at least in my opinion, is that the majority of them weren’t focused on story so much as they were focused on character. Their purpose was to let you get to know Zelda, and care about saving her. And she actually does have a character. She’s bitter about her circumstances and needs time to warm up to Link, but cares deeply and is passionate about her interests. This system does not work as well in TOTK. The memories in this game serve a different goal, they’re intended to show the events of the plot, not give insight into characters. Seeing as you can discover the memories in any order, the whole story loses its impact when you’re seeing it out of order. It’s not confusing, just frustrating. And the characters feel like props moving the story along, not characters in their own right. Characters who become very important (Mineru, I’m talking about Mineru) are difficult to care about like you’re supposed to because they never feel real. This sacrifice in character moments in service to a story that’s damaged by the way it’s told really stings.
And can we talk about that story? How you hear it repeated every single fucking time you complete a dungeon? The past sages provide no new insight and do not tell the story any differently so you just hear the same old thing, over and over. I think it’s a good thing they didn’t try to make the past sages characters, they would have just felt like replacements for the champions, but it means it’s boring as sin to hear them go on.
Speaking of the champions, the new champions sure are there. They all have fine roles in the story, but I can’t help but yearn for more. There’s glimpses into better arcs, but the conclusion of “it’s my entire people’s purpose to assist Link so I’ll do my best!” is uncomfortable to watch happen four times. And on the subject of that conclusion…
Much smarter people than me have talked about the Zelda franchise’s issues with racism and imperialism, but I’ll throw in my two cents. The suggestion that the other races of Hyrule’s purpose is to assist the royal family is an uncomfortable one, and it’s made worse by the fact that Ganondorf is back in this game and. Like that. I shouldn’t need to tell you his design plays on several harmful tropes. At the absolute bare minimum, the vai outfit is gone from the game and you can make Link girlboss with being fetishistic (thank you frostbite set).
I don’t dislike everything the game’s story has to offer, I love the little mysteries about what the fuck Zelda’s been up to (my friends and I took to calling the Zelda imposter Zelwario) and I love everything to do with the light dragon. I wish we got to see Fi, but I know I’m one of maybe a dozen people on earth who wanted to see that, so I understand why it didn’t happen.
I don’t know. I got really invested in the simple yet effective story of BOTW, and it feels like this game is a good example of bigger isn’t always better.
It really speaks to how damn fun this game is that I’d still rank it so highly with so many negative things to say about it. I may have beaten the main story, but I’m nowhere near done with this game. Those Koroks aren’t going to torture themselves.