one of the better soulslikes, but these games are a balancing act that can easily tip into "fucking mess" and at times this game is really teetering on the edge. there's a recurring feeling (particularly pre-patch) that everything is overtuned - all the bosses hit super hard, they're super aggressive, they're super mobile, and they have shitloads of HP. and there's almost always a phase 2 with a new health bar. even the minibosses are just tediously tanky. it's not inherently super difficult - though it does have elden ring's comically delayed wind-ups - it's just balanced so punishingly that there's almost zero room for error, and that kind of sucks.

i do have some issues with certain aspects of the design (the largest being the skill tree, and what's on it), but most of those would be minor nitpicks if the game gave you a little more leeway on the big fights. there's not much you can do when you hit one of the many brick walls - there's basically nothing to explore, all of the major upgrades are locked behind the game progression, and the NPC specters are rarely helpful. the recent balance patch helped in this regard, but if you thought fromsoft games need an easy mode, or if you rely on summons to get through the tough fights, this game might not be for you.

at first i was a bit put off by some of the design decisions - i'm a big fan of "hard puzzle games" (stephen's sausage roll, anything by draknek, etc.), as such, i've been spoiled by quality-of-life features like infinite undo and instant resets. this game doesn't have those, to the detriment of the initial experience - you have to trust that SE are doing something very deliberate here. as it turns out, they are.

to my surprise, i actually see recognize a lot of shmup DNA in the overarching design. this is a puzzle game with a risk/reward mechanic, with multiple loops and esoteric clear conditions. you don't just beat the game by solving all the puzzles, in fact, solving all the puzzles isn't even necessary to beat the game. there is so much lurking beneath the surface that i don't think anyone could confidently mark the game as "completed," but the superficial experience is strong enough that you don't need to go down the rabbit hole to have a good time.

this is the zeroranger of sokoban.

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(vague, minor spoiler below)

an addendum of warning: like zeroranger, this game also has the "deletes your save file" gimmick at certain point(s). in that game, it wove into the narrative and systems of the game in a way that, to me, enhanced the experience, and crucially, the consequences were basically negligible. i'll defend it in ZR, but i'm not here for it this time. back up your save. it's not worth it.

The ultrahand ability is an apt metaphor for the game: TOTK doesn't actually fix any of the problems with BOTW, it just glues a bunch of new shit on top.

There is an incredible physics system, and they do fuck-all with it. Every non-combat shrine is a physics puzzle for babies. Their lack of trust in the player's ability to reason about a problem is genuinely insulting.

The combat system still sucks. The companion system is a total mess, and every time you get a new party member they tell you the exact same fucking story about the Imprisoning War.

The sky islands are surprisingly sparse, and the depths are just a darker, less interesting version of the main map . The temples are barely an improvement over the divine beasts, and in some ways I actually consider them a step back.

Above all else, the absolute worst thing about this game is the sheer amount of progression and quests locked behind tedious resource farming. Just awful.

Overall, a very flawed follow-up and one I had to force myself to finish. I am a Zelda Hater now

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