The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9840 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7,514 out of 9840
  2. Mixed: 734 out of 9840
  3. Negative: 1,592 out of 9840
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  1. braybray1590
    May 15, 2023
    6
    I’ll try to be short and sweet. Honestly if you loved botw you will probably at least like this one. But after I spent 100+ hours in botw since release this feels like a chore to play. It feels boring and uninspired. Everything disliked in the first game returned. I feel like the hyper got this game much higher reviews than it deserved. It really does just feel like a dlc. Maybe theI’ll try to be short and sweet. Honestly if you loved botw you will probably at least like this one. But after I spent 100+ hours in botw since release this feels like a chore to play. It feels boring and uninspired. Everything disliked in the first game returned. I feel like the hyper got this game much higher reviews than it deserved. It really does just feel like a dlc. Maybe the feeling will change later into the game, but as it stands right now about 10 hours in it doesn’t feel fun to play.… Expand
  2. Nimmgreen
    May 14, 2023
    5
    Simply brilliant. A fantastic sequel to BotW. This will have unbelievable replayability and keep engagement high.
  3. Kido164
    May 14, 2023
    5
    This game has a lot of the old ones abilities just labeled as something else plus the fps drop is very irritating(i get that its on switch but still you gotta be prepared).
  4. GreaserPirate
    May 14, 2023
    5
    Best game I've ever played
    Love all the new moves and the size of the worlds Great game
  5. Taffarelu
    May 14, 2023
    5
    It’s the perfect sequel too yet another perfect game. it’s certain that it’s botw sequel and yet it’s different in many ways. Solving problems that it’s predecessor had in clever ways. Making it an amazing experience. It should have a 10/10 but as always great things have dumb haters behind it, give your self a favor and ignore any 0/10 review cause they clearly haven’t even bought theIt’s the perfect sequel too yet another perfect game. it’s certain that it’s botw sequel and yet it’s different in many ways. Solving problems that it’s predecessor had in clever ways. Making it an amazing experience. It should have a 10/10 but as always great things have dumb haters behind it, give your self a favor and ignore any 0/10 review cause they clearly haven’t even bought the game.… Expand
  6. ColinBerry
    May 14, 2023
    5
    A game well worth your time. If you liked Breath of the Wild, you’ll love this one. Not only are there significantly more areas to explore (or re-explore), pretty much every part of the previous game was improved and expanded.
  7. Emilyros
    May 15, 2023
    5
    Ive honestly just been blown away by this game they took the magic of breath of the wild and widly expanded it. Theres just more or everything, more dungeons, more bosses, more story, more side quests, the entire overworld was heavily expanded upon, they added the sky islands and the underneath both of which, particularly the underneath are vast and filled with loot. I had some concernsIve honestly just been blown away by this game they took the magic of breath of the wild and widly expanded it. Theres just more or everything, more dungeons, more bosses, more story, more side quests, the entire overworld was heavily expanded upon, they added the sky islands and the underneath both of which, particularly the underneath are vast and filled with loot. I had some concerns with the game, I was worried it wouldn't have enough content to justify it being a sequel or the hefty price tag but honestly they reworked and added so much it feels like three games all stacked together.… Expand
  8. NowiFate
    May 16, 2023
    6
    Since the game reuses a lot of old assets without fixing any problems the previous game had, I find it strange to see so many 100/100 reviews. The game is fun to play, most of the time. However, there are a lot of flaws right under your nose while you play this.

    First of all, the game reuses art assets, textures, characters, locations, the whole map, music, and a lot of its gameplay.    Since the game reuses a lot of old assets without fixing any problems the previous game had, I find it strange to see so many 100/100 reviews. The game is fun to play, most of the time. However, there are a lot of flaws right under your nose while you play this.

    First of all, the game reuses art assets, textures, characters, locations, the whole map, music, and a lot of its gameplay. For a Triple-A production that took 6 years, this is very little originality. This is all done without addressing a lot of the problems and mechanics that were bothersome in the first game.
    There is another direct Zelda sequel that also reused assets. While some found this controversial, the game did bring completely new characters or sides of previously established characters, a new world and new map, a completely different story, new music, different characters to play as, and a different way to progress through the story. This game used concepts and assets but built upon them. Something I found lacking in TotK.

    There are a lot of things that break gameplay, like menus and having to craft mid-battle. Since the new machines completely revamped the transport throughout the world, the Stamina meter feels like an unnecessary restraint to gameplay.

    The few points of dark and mature themes in BotW have mostly been removed when it seems characters have forgotten about the champions who died 100 years before BotW. (Which felt rude at times) The cross-dressing and potential male Link-admirer have also been shoved into the background to refrain from LGBT topics. And the story makes it very clear 'nobody got hurt' which eventually made the stakes not feel very high. Especially compared to the stakes of previous games, where Hyrule and its races were threatened with death and world-ending endeavors.

    Overall, if you enjoyed BotW a lot and want to do 240 shrines and 1800 Koroks instead of what we had before, this game is perfect. It adds new ways to explore what we got before and allows you to see the map from a different angle. But for people who expect (traditional) Zelda gameplay, a whole new game, people who didn't like BotW, or people who have played BotW a lot, this game won't have a lot for you.

    It's best described as a glorified, expensive DLC of BotW.    … Expand
  9. Jochmx
    May 16, 2023
    7
    One word, padding, padding the length with long walks, padding the difficulty with high damage, padding the fun with constructable solutions that break anyway. Its a good game, has good bosses, but u will struggle for hours to get to those exciting moments, i dont think its the best game ever created, so much 10 from official media just makes me wonder are this just from playing a demo,One word, padding, padding the length with long walks, padding the difficulty with high damage, padding the fun with constructable solutions that break anyway. Its a good game, has good bosses, but u will struggle for hours to get to those exciting moments, i dont think its the best game ever created, so much 10 from official media just makes me wonder are this just from playing a demo, havent they played alttp, didnt they see this is a rehash of everything else, in 97' shrines were called virtual missions in metal gear solid.… Expand
  10. h2o_hero
    Jun 3, 2023
    9
    Tears of the Kingdom was a great experience for me. They somehow manage to take a world that many gamers have already explored and changed it enough to feel brand new. The addition of sky islands and the depths to explore make it feel fresh even if you recently played Breath of the Wild. The new mechanics allowing you to build vehicles, rewind objects and fuse items change the way youTears of the Kingdom was a great experience for me. They somehow manage to take a world that many gamers have already explored and changed it enough to feel brand new. The addition of sky islands and the depths to explore make it feel fresh even if you recently played Breath of the Wild. The new mechanics allowing you to build vehicles, rewind objects and fuse items change the way you interact with the world.

    The story is much more interesting than I anticipated. The cutscenes are interesting and worth unlocking. The gameplay felt good. Fusing items allows for interesting weapon combinations and dynamic arrows for ranged fighting. When you get armor upgrades or better weapons, it feels noticeable and rewarding. There is so much to explore and collect that if you want to you can spend 100's of hours doing so. Even if you don't like going after every extra thing, you will be rewarded for the things you do accomplish.

    It's not perfect though. For starters, they keep the same quest beats - starter area, then 4 main quest objectives and a few others. It is more fleshed out for some of the main quests but I didn't like how samey certain aspects felt. The sage powers are really poorly implemented. I understand you only have so many buttons but I never used them because they weren't easy to access in combat. The depths is a neat addition but the borders of it can be unintuitive at times. Also I hate that Link is still silent as it makes any voiced scene he is in awkward.

    Overall, if you have played and enjoyed Breath of the Wild then you should absolutely give this a shot. If you haven't, I think you can hop into this just fine. Yes, it takes place after BotW but if you know who Link and Zelda are the rest of the small gaps aren't a big deal as they are existing hero and princess respectively. There is a ton to do and explore and this is one of the premiere games you can buy on the Switch.    … Expand
  11. PizzaBaratheon
    May 19, 2023
    7
    I'm now totally convinced the reason Nintendo delayed the release of Tears of the Kingdom a full year was because they knew Elden Ring was a superior game in every way.

    Where Elden Ring shines in exploration, traversal, and rewards, TOFK misses the mark. Getting around this massive world feels extremely tedious and the rewards for discovering a new cave, defeating an enemy camp, or    I'm now totally convinced the reason Nintendo delayed the release of Tears of the Kingdom a full year was because they knew Elden Ring was a superior game in every way.

    Where Elden Ring shines in exploration, traversal, and rewards, TOFK misses the mark. Getting around this massive world feels extremely tedious and the rewards for discovering a new cave, defeating an enemy camp, or unlocking a hidden chest in one of the many shrines just doesn't feel worth it. Players should feel rewarded for spending 15 minutes climbing a mountain or solving a puzzle and this game really fails at it.

    Resource management in this game is a chore. You'll find yourself constantly scrolling through the item menu to create space for new weapons or shields that are going to break ten minutes later. It was annoying in BOTW but for some reason Nintendo made it 10X worse in TOTK.

    The new abilities don't feel flushed out. Mechanics for the new "ultra hand" ability are clunky and at times infuriating. Lining up the parts of a vehicle you're trying to craft is extremely tedious and aggravating. The worst part about the new vehicle system is that you constantly have to manage energy supply levels or the thing you just spent a half hour making will break. It's basically like a more aggravating version of breakable weapons.

    I could look alot of these problems aside if the story was compelling, but 40 hours in, there just isn't enough here to make me care about what i'm doing. Nobody in this world seems to be too worried that their capital got blown up and all this crazy **** is happening. All the NPCs do is hammer you over the head with repetitive dialogue and silly side quests. It's like Nintendo completely overlooked giving context to the people of apocalyptic Hyrule while making this Frankenstein of a game.

    In summary, I think Nintendo would've been much better off creating an entirely new game based around the archipelago sky islands instead of making people pay $70 for a Breath of the Wild DLC, which is ultimately what Tears of the Kingdom is.    … Expand
  12. MasterJed
    May 14, 2023
    5
    BOTW left the old school Zelda formula and became a massive hit but Tears of the Kingdom just rehashed and tweaked everything BOTW has and offered it as a $70 game. Totk feels like a huge dlc update nothing surprising nothing to wow on! Just a massive time sink. Let's face open world games are becoming more lifeless, dull and boring.
  13. Carcrasher34
    May 14, 2023
    5
    Overall, it's Zelda. Some meaningful changes and new features make it somewhat stand apart from its predecessor, but it's major performance issues along with it's 30fps nature make it quite hard to stomach over such a grandiose adventure. Die hard fans will enjoy it regardless of it's issues, but others may want to look elsewhere for their next adventure experience.
  14. Greenherb
    May 21, 2023
    5
    This and BotW are nothing like the previous 15+ Zelda titles. Not only did they ruin the Zelda series but they are not even enjoyable to play (BotW is even less enjoyable). Its like they hired an entirely new staff (and perhaps inexperienced) to make these 2 games that have never played other Zelda games. Just as ugly design and graphics as previous game. Tedious and convoluted mechanics.This and BotW are nothing like the previous 15+ Zelda titles. Not only did they ruin the Zelda series but they are not even enjoyable to play (BotW is even less enjoyable). Its like they hired an entirely new staff (and perhaps inexperienced) to make these 2 games that have never played other Zelda games. Just as ugly design and graphics as previous game. Tedious and convoluted mechanics. Voices and characters/story are very unlikeable but cant really say other Zelda games didn't have this problem. But BotW and Tears of the Kingdom are in a league of their own in terms of terrible story/characters.

    Edited: I raised the score to 5 because, even though I still wouldn't change my negative comments, some puzzle concepts are relatively fun and improved from BotW. It also simply has more to do and discover.    … Expand
  15. TheCrownedGamer
    May 14, 2023
    5
    It's just Breath of The Wild with incremental updates, what else is there to say?
  16. TornadoII
    May 15, 2023
    6
    Reused assets. Music is the same, sound effects are the same, the menu is the same, combat is the same, enemies are mostly the same, the map is the same, graphics are the same, and the core game is the same (Shrines for hearts, towers to unlock the map, the weather system, cooking, stamina, the horrendous breaking weapons system, etc)

    People saying the map is super fresh and new are    Reused assets. Music is the same, sound effects are the same, the menu is the same, combat is the same, enemies are mostly the same, the map is the same, graphics are the same, and the core game is the same (Shrines for hearts, towers to unlock the map, the weather system, cooking, stamina, the horrendous breaking weapons system, etc)

    People saying the map is super fresh and new are delusional.
    It is the exact same Hyrule field with some debris and new stuff here and there. The underground sector is a significant area of nothingness, with little to do, and only for grinding materials.

    The sky Islands are just rocks scattered and all look more or less the same. At least going there or diving to the ground is fun and fresh.

    Same world, exploration was replaced with new mechanics and gameplay gimmicks. I know this world, I've been here 6 years ago, and I don't feel it new at all, the sense of awe and exploration is mostly gone, is way too familiar.

    The weapon system is the worst mechanic of the botw game and persists here, the fusing mechanic doesn't really help to improve things.
    Having nice weapons is meaningless, they brake with a couple of swings, and you spend half of the time browsing the menu disrupting constantly the flow of the battle, then you fuse stuff and the cycle begins again.
    Honestly, I avoid engaging with many enemies because I found the mechanic so annoying and meaningless, which is a huge red flag for me.

    You spend half of this game browsing the menu, cooking, and grinding materials constantly, which I feel is a chore and has terrible pacing.

    720-900p with fps around 25-30 and sometimes less is terrible, Nintendo really needs to bring in some new hardware, this game is too big for this outdated console.

    The story is nice, I love the art direction, outfit design etc. Nintendo improved the dungeons too. Which is a good thing.

    By any means this game is bad, is not just straight out 10 and the best game ever created as many people say.    … Expand
  17. Tehemai
    May 15, 2023
    5
    Sadly, this game feels like more of an expansive overhaul mod of botw than it does a sequel. And it still suffers performance issues, which is pretty unacceptable from the very people that also designed the console that struggles to run it.

    This overhaul also doesn't really rectify most of the issues fans highlighted with the first, resorting instead to band-aids at best: - The music    Sadly, this game feels like more of an expansive overhaul mod of botw than it does a sequel. And it still suffers performance issues, which is pretty unacceptable from the very people that also designed the console that struggles to run it.

    This overhaul also doesn't really rectify most of the issues fans highlighted with the first, resorting instead to band-aids at best:

    - The music is again sparse, largely reused and still not comparable to Koji Kondo's classic work.
    - The "dungeons" are little more than texture and gimmick swapped divine beasts.
    - The weapon breakage system while modified is still abrasive & disincentivizes exploration and combat.
    - The obnoxious koroks are back, often reusing the same already overused puzzles from the last game.
    - The barebones story is delivered again through the poorly received memories system.

    The pattern seems to be minimizing development costs. But that's not to say there is no new content. There's still new enemies, new features such as vehicle crafting and dark treacherous caves. Fine additions to be sure. Just not really groundbreaking enough to make it feel like a new experience. It also comes at a ridiculously high menuing cost that makes you miss the convenience of Ocarina of Time's iron boots.

    That said the original was still very fun for all its flaws. So I'd say it may be worth the pick up if you've either never played botw or if you're already in the mood to play it again. Though even then, I'd consider maybe waiting for Nintendo's next console in the hopes of experiencing this without the performance issues.    … Expand
  18. xellos81
    May 14, 2023
    7
    I need to write my review because I've just read another guy talking about TOTK as BOTW 2.0 which is exactly how I felt playing it.
    Gameplay is the same, combat is the same, music is the same, and also audio effect etc.
    For me, the biggest problem in this game is that feels completely disconnected in his different parts. Totally looks like a production with a certain direction but then    I need to write my review because I've just read another guy talking about TOTK as BOTW 2.0 which is exactly how I felt playing it.
    Gameplay is the same, combat is the same, music is the same, and also audio effect etc.
    For me, the biggest problem in this game is that feels completely disconnected in his different parts.
    Totally looks like a production with a certain direction but then they started adding stuff on top of it. Maybe Nintendo thought that adding everything together in an open world made sense but no, it didn't .
    Is still the same, but like a cheap copy of it. You already had the original in BOTW.
    The sages stories are the same, plus are shallow and totally not even comparable to the struggle that the characters had in Botw trying to help you because the failed in the first place. The real last chance. Nobody have the emotional strength of Mipha.
    Here the characters have minor emotional impact on Link, is mostly like that you help each other but without being interconnected.

    I also want to say that walking around Hyrule for the first time in Botw was astonishing.
    When in BOTW I arrived in the Zora's domain I was like: Wow... This place have his own poetry and I was honored to have the possibility to walk around and feel the magic of the artists that invented such a beautiful place.
    Now in totk instead, everything is empty, without a soul, because every place is well known and Nintendo also ruined the magic of the experience adding totally different game dynamics over a place that had a different purpose.
    As I said, they added on top, not in the mix.

    The demonstration is that the sky islands aren't actually connected with the game itself, is just something they added to have different panoramas for the marketing.
    And also the Zonai tech is almost skippable because it's not intertwined with the game itself and vehicles are more similar to a cheatcode in GTA than anything made with love for the Zelda's saga.

    Plus, we totally need new hardware.

    That said, I'm playing it
    But I'm not engaged    … Expand
  19. CyberRobotnix
    May 14, 2023
    5
    It's about the same as last game, it's not any better or any worse TBFH. Maybe they could've tried instead of being lazy.
  20. nnja
    May 26, 2023
    5
    MY SCORE IS 5/10 not 10/10 : please metacritic DO NOT CHANGE THIS!!!

    All the other 5-7/10 reviews nailed all the aspects of my review : This feels like BOTW 1.5 All the core mechanics are the same as BOTW; Link has no voice (WTF); People saying graphics are so much better are only talking about draw distance, not actual graphics quality (no HDR, unstable 30 FPS); The switch    MY SCORE IS 5/10 not 10/10 : please metacritic DO NOT CHANGE THIS!!!

    All the other 5-7/10 reviews nailed all the aspects of my review :

    This feels like BOTW 1.5
    All the core mechanics are the same as BOTW;
    Link has no voice (WTF);
    People saying graphics are so much better are only talking about draw distance, not actual graphics quality (no HDR, unstable 30 FPS);
    The switch becomes very hot, watch out in summer days;

    Hopefully I will update my review with more hours on this game but so far 100$ with taxes in canada i WAY too much to ask for this...

    PS : Davie504 said "behind each hate comment is a sad person" : YES! I am sad. Nintendo disapointed me, Skill Up disapointed me, MVG disapointed me. I'm selling my copy 24 hour after I have bought it. I'll never buy a nintendo game ever again.    … Expand
  21. Elawarai
    May 15, 2023
    6
    When Nintendo announced BOTW, I firstly was excited then sceptical when I played at it. Since my childhood, Zelda games used to be a big event : epic adventure, interesting characters, best OST ever, brilliant gameplay. True masterpieces from Link's Awakening to WindWalker.

    BOTW and TOTK followed a new gameplay paradigm of minimalist scenaristic exploration games. It's not really bad    When Nintendo announced BOTW, I firstly was excited then sceptical when I played at it. Since my childhood, Zelda games used to be a big event : epic adventure, interesting characters, best OST ever, brilliant gameplay. True masterpieces from Link's Awakening to WindWalker.

    BOTW and TOTK followed a new gameplay paradigm of minimalist scenaristic exploration games. It's not really bad but it more looks like an independant €10 steam game than a Zelda game. Though the artistic direction is neat, the technical aspects of graphics are totally overaged, music is boring, controls of Link are quit bad, the inventory and menus are too complex. You spend your time to solve puzzles or to find nuts but the game is empty of any epic Arthurian quests or bosses, only cooking or spending time wandering.

    I'm not convinced at all by this new paradigm of Zelda.    … Expand
  22. Soul_Viper
    May 18, 2023
    5
    In only 1 word: DISSAPOINTED. But not only with this title but with previous Breath of The Wild too. Why I say that? Well, I'm essentially referring to the direction in which the franchise has evolved.

    I consider myself a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda, in fact my personal top 5 games of all history includes Ocarina and Majora's. In my opinion the following games of the saga were only    In only 1 word: DISSAPOINTED. But not only with this title but with previous Breath of The Wild too. Why I say that? Well, I'm essentially referring to the direction in which the franchise has evolved.

    I consider myself a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda, in fact my personal top 5 games of all history includes Ocarina and Majora's.
    In my opinion the following games of the saga were only a bit step behind those ones, but we are talking about truly masterpieces too. I refer to Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword and Link's Awakening.

    It seems the company has forgotten that one of the hallmarks of the saga is the innovation. Every game launched since Ocarina of Time is very very different from the previous one. The originality and uniqueness present on each release is over. This TOTK is just a copy-paste of BOTW with very little mods and it's very sad.

    In the first 3 hr of playing this TOTK, I only talked with 8-9 stupid automatas and a spirit (not counting the intro when Zelda talks to you). The rest was boring and basic exploration, 2 tiny dungeons and 5 min combat. In my opinion the evolution taken by the company on this saga is clearly wrong.

    This huge world is too much for Link, most part is empty and the gameplay is mainly based on exploration, gathering, cooking, climbing, walking and repeat and then repeat again. Don't expect here to see an Elden Ring universe full of life with very different and captivating scenarios but without forget including those great "closed" areas of previous Soul's games. Because one of the funniest and challenging parts of an adventure game like this one was supposed to the challenge of complete the great dungeons/temples that now are a mere shadow of those ones. In adittion final bosses are way too easy and derivative.

    The landscapes now are all very similar within itselves and the gameplay is boring. Why they left behind all the charming stories that was a key element of the game? Because don't forget that The Legend of Zelda is a game about stories, relationships with people and all vested with an awesome halo of fantasy and magic with hints of epic and sometimes tragic. Now all these elements gone and it doesn't seem to come back soon (at least while people continue loving the path they have taken with last 2 games...)

    Even the epic music that featured most of the Zelda videogames and made us to fall in love with it (how to forget saria's song, bolero of fire, gerudo valley, ballad of the goddess, kakariko village, romani ranch...) has now turned into boring and typical tunes without soul.

    Definitely I can't recommend anyone to play this game.    … Expand
  23. DanterY
    May 18, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am disappointed that in the trailers this game looks very promising and ended up being the same as we had in 2017 sold as a new game… Expand
  24. ThisDragonfly25
    May 20, 2023
    7
    I enjoyed BOTW but this feels too similar in all the worst ways. Often find it tedious and frustrating. But it is clearly well-made.
  25. jacobhaskins222
    May 15, 2023
    5
    I'm a fan of Zelda. I can get behind BOTW, but not TOTK. And yes, I've experienced every aspect of both games (shrines, plot, exploring the world, quests, sky, depths). After 30 hours in this game, I know I'm in for a building slog.

    The framerate isn't gamebreaking. It's mostly noticeable for me with the camera because I can't turn lol. But that isn't what holds TOTK back. What holds    I'm a fan of Zelda. I can get behind BOTW, but not TOTK. And yes, I've experienced every aspect of both games (shrines, plot, exploring the world, quests, sky, depths). After 30 hours in this game, I know I'm in for a building slog.

    The framerate isn't gamebreaking. It's mostly noticeable for me with the camera because I can't turn lol. But that isn't what holds TOTK back.

    What holds TOTK back is Ultrahand. Ultrahand = SS motion controls. And I like Fi more than most of this cast. SS is a low bar that TOTK should be able to beat, but doesn't. Ultrahand takes far too long because it introduces a linear way to puzzle in a BOTW format. You have to gingerly aim where you place objects or risk having to start over. Maybe I'd like Ultrahand more if there were other items I could use to impact puzzles. But Ultrahand's gravest offense is that it promises a fun time because it allows for "player creativity", and then eats the player's time by requiring them to build exactly as the game designed. And despite a brilliant start, the plot felt lazy (the story did do better than BOTW though. At least Nintendo tried).

    The world is emptier. It is straight up harder to collect materials AND materials are worth less (prices are the same btw). Luminous ore, for example, used to be worth 70 rupees but now grants only 20. Your best bet for money is probably cooking, but to do that you have to travel quite a ways across open space to gather sparse materials.

    This game won't age well. It can't for the reasons I've mentioned. Once the rabid excitement of the game wears off, I don't think this game will be seen favorably. Sure, I might spend more time with it than BOTW, but that's because this game doesn't respect my time. A long game with Ultrahand puzzles building the same machines got old fast for me, and I wager it'll be the same for a large portion of the player base.

    That said, this game is salvageable--if it takes a leaf out of SS's book and streamlines Ultrahand, combines the content with DLC I'm sure is coming to address some of the emptiness, then maybe TOTK has life. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth though, since TOTK took 4 years to develop and it took players only a few days to notice that Ultrahand is supposed to take 20+ hours of a serious player's playthrough, but is NOT fun with trial and error.    … Expand
  26. vincepouni
    May 17, 2023
    7
    More of the same. Lots more of it.

    Seems like the critics didn't play BoTW.
  27. Syxx1129
    May 15, 2023
    7
    Enjoying the building mechanic. Most likely a GOTY contender. However if any other game released with frame drops, artifact shimmer, and pop in etc., reviews wouldn’t be throwing out as many 10’s
  28. XxRenardezu
    May 14, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The gameplay is a 10/10 but. the story have a huge flaw the game blatantly ignores botw , no champions mentioned , no divine beasts , no guardians , nothing , they disappeared and no one talks about it… Expand
  29. Ewjones212
    May 15, 2023
    5
    It's kind of just the same game as BotW, I give this game the dungeons are reasonably better but some of the boss fights are more brain dead than anything else. Why can't we expect more novelty from the games industry, that what amounts to a pallet swap for most of the powers and a return to a somewhat more classic style of dungeons being celebrated as some monumental achievement. DirectIt's kind of just the same game as BotW, I give this game the dungeons are reasonably better but some of the boss fights are more brain dead than anything else. Why can't we expect more novelty from the games industry, that what amounts to a pallet swap for most of the powers and a return to a somewhat more classic style of dungeons being celebrated as some monumental achievement. Direct sequels to Zelda games used to be such a departure for the franchise that i relished them now it seems it's just more AAA cash grabs with no payoff.… Expand
  30. Kimkatt94
    May 15, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A must buy just like BOTW but better music is awesome and cutscenes are chef’s kiss. You know get a Huge! map not only the land of Hyrule but now you get to explore the depths and skies 10/10!!!… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Switch Game of 2023
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 150 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 145 out of 150
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 150
  3. Negative: 0 out of 150
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Mar 18, 2024
    100
    I wasn't sure how Nintendo would find a way to top their work in Breath of the Wild back when it came out, but I feel they have here – with years of more polish applied and refined exploration. [Issue #66 – July/August 2023, p. 71]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 22, 2024
    100
    The good thing is that, thanks to the limited possibilities, the creators couldn't go crazy and swing for hundreds of game miles. Instead, they created what could be called Elden Ring in a travel pack. [Issue#328]
  3. Shacknews
    Dec 28, 2023
    100
    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has lived up to the high expectations created by the success of Breath of the Wild with its exquisitely intertwined gameplay systems, outstanding music, and a legendary story culminating in a magnificent denouement. It's not every day that such a special video game like this comes around. Truly the stuff of legend.
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