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. Khalil1
    May 20, 2023
    10
    This is a Masterpiece. Its the best game i have ever played.
    The story, the mechanics, the music everything. i just cant stop playing it.
    Thank you Nintendo.
  2. LinkRss
    May 25, 2023
    10
    This is the ultimate zelda experience, su much freedom, su much to explore, im 100 hours in and I just want to go back and keep playing
  3. Sunny1974
    May 25, 2023
    10
    In 40 years of playing video games, I have never played a game that gave me more enjoyment. A true masterpiece.
  4. leonpercival
    May 25, 2023
    10
    This game is meant to be explored! There are many hidden details yo can't miss!
  5. Link_23
    May 25, 2023
    10
    In a few words, an improved Breath of the Wild, with tons of new mechanics, content, and environments, but what Nintendo achieved with this game is sorcery.
  6. Mitsukeni
    May 25, 2023
    8
    As a game, Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomably stellar experience. It's Breath of the Wild but bigger, how could that not be perfect?

    However, as a product and more importantly as a sequel, TotK ultimately fails to innovate beyond the formula BotW modernized 6 years ago. Ultrahand and Zonai Devices are wholly redundant mechanics that do little to expand on BotW's problematic lack of    As a game, Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomably stellar experience. It's Breath of the Wild but bigger, how could that not be perfect?

    However, as a product and more importantly as a sequel, TotK ultimately fails to innovate beyond the formula BotW modernized 6 years ago. Ultrahand and Zonai Devices are wholly redundant mechanics that do little to expand on BotW's problematic lack of extrinsic motivation. They aren't inherently fun to use, if anything they're frustrating. The satisfaction comes from seeing the validation of your own ingenuity and experimentation, not the action of using the tool itself. Because of this, the system quickly becomes redundant as you'll naturally gravitate towards the most efficient solutions that spend the least time using the frustrating Ultrahand mechanic. Rockets solve virtually every traversal obstacle. The weapons do no damage and are simply used to distract enemies. The few tools that have specific uses for bosses or quests gain nothing from the novelty of being freely movable and attachable together. They act like old fashioned Zelda items, their mere existence is the solution to the puzzle. So how does this new system expand the game? Much like the Ultrahand itself, attaching an engineering sandbox onto a pre-existing world and formula doesn't create anything new. The synergy you achieve is sourced by the creator's ingenuity, that is to say the player is the one creating something new, not the developer. I think the new sandbox is phenomenal and a technical marvel, but it exists in isolation from the formula and doesn't innovate beyond where it was 6 years ago.

    But wait, there are two new entire maps! The sky islands barely add 1/20th to the existing playable area. The way you reach them is uninteresting, the falling pieces are mostly scripted so your ventures into the sky are highly regulated by the developers' intentions. Besides that you can just balloon and rocket your way to whatever island you want, so immersive! The depths are a vast wasteland littered with nothing but rocks and copy pasted enemies. The only thing you can do down there is hunt for reused armor pieces from the last game and mine Zoanite for the new energy system. Hit rocks for 2 hours to make your car drive for 20 seconds longer, 10/10 game of the year. There are a plethora of new mechanics, interactions, and enemies, but it's all contained within the same world and game-play loop. I lost all intrigue after the first 3-4 hours when I realized just how little new content there was beyond the main questline. Oh they added new side quests... to unlock reused content. What's in this new area? Copy pasted enemies and loot. It feels like this game is catered to players who played BotW for 50 hours in 2017 and not the die hard fans who played for 100s of hours over the years like myself. Don't get me wrong, I love the game and plan to play it for years just like BotW. But it's 2021 $60 DLC good, not 2023 $100 flagship good.    … Expand
  7. Brisho
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Definitivamente merece el Goty, un gran juego que todos los fans deberian probar
  8. MANUEL_OK
    May 25, 2023
    10
    La mejor historia de zelda hasta la fecha. Mecánicas continuistas pero que siguen enamorando y gráficamente aceptable. Imposible darle un 9.
  9. Gigli_saw
    May 25, 2023
    10
    I suggest not using fast travel, to really get the most out of the experience. Massive, yet dense world. Story is even more fantasy immersion. If all you see is BOTW DLC, I fear what life may look like through your eyes. Historic work of art and an engineering marvel.
  10. Newton_elpro
    May 25, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Simplemente increíble una locura de juego, vale la pena el tiempo esperado, físicas increíbles, poderes nuevos y mejorados casas y NPCs increíbles y puedes torturar kologs, una locura!… Expand
  11. ToyDucksQuackng
    May 25, 2023
    10
    People need to look up what a sequel is before playing this game. Any complaint I've seen can pretty much be said about any other Zelda game to one another, because its a gameplay loop that defines the series. going to the three/four regions to collect the power things or whatever to defeat ganon/ganondorf/whoever. a lot of people will say "as a Zelda fan..." and then talk about theirPeople need to look up what a sequel is before playing this game. Any complaint I've seen can pretty much be said about any other Zelda game to one another, because its a gameplay loop that defines the series. going to the three/four regions to collect the power things or whatever to defeat ganon/ganondorf/whoever. a lot of people will say "as a Zelda fan..." and then talk about their experiences with ONLY breath of the wild. While I'm not denying that you can be a Zelda fan just by playing that one game, it sure does make it hard for some people to be retrospective on a series they've literally played a single entry to (and the most recent one at that). if you're going to play this game i have a couple things you shouyld do beforehand: 1) stop playing breath of the wild - TOTK is a massively expanded upon version of BOTW, and what I've seen is most people playing TOTK with the same gameplay style as BOTW and then complain how its just like BOTW. 2) play literally any other Zelda game first - you'll get a hang of the typical set up this series has and loops it throws you into (you may still complain that they're all too similar, but if so, maybe you actually just don't like Zelda?) and 3) just play the game. games are a lot harder to get into and to have fun with when you're constantly trying to compare the game to something else.

    *Gamers stop trying to make every game/series a soulless husk of its former self challenge: level - impossible*    … Expand
  12. Nellwyn
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Excellent Sequel, it does everything BOTW did but better.
    The world feels more alive than any other Hyrule.
  13. Ghostyfrosted
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Honestly, I expected less from the game. I thought that Hyrule would not be very interesting because of the same map, but after playing the first 5 hours, I realized how wrong I was. New mechanics, large-scale new locations. Finally, they tightened the plot, and now it is more pleasant to watch it. The gameplay has become even more interesting and enjoyable. Now I have already managedHonestly, I expected less from the game. I thought that Hyrule would not be very interesting because of the same map, but after playing the first 5 hours, I realized how wrong I was. New mechanics, large-scale new locations. Finally, they tightened the plot, and now it is more pleasant to watch it. The gameplay has become even more interesting and enjoyable. Now I have already managed to play 50 hours, it was the best 50 hours in recent times...… Expand
  14. CiceroSez
    May 25, 2023
    2
    In a realm where Wind Waker's artistry stood,
    Tears of the Expansion (of BotW) emerged, misunderstood.
    With hope in my heart and nostalgia's embrace, I ventured forth, a jester, to jest this Zelda space. The open world beckoned, vast and so wide, But lacking enchantment, it made me deride. Wind Waker's seas, a sight full of grand, While Tears of the Expansion, a lackluster land. Dungeons    In a realm where Wind Waker's artistry stood,
    Tears of the Expansion (of BotW) emerged, misunderstood.
    With hope in my heart and nostalgia's embrace,
    I ventured forth, a jester, to jest this Zelda space.

    The open world beckoned, vast and so wide,
    But lacking enchantment, it made me deride.
    Wind Waker's seas, a sight full of grand,
    While Tears of the Expansion, a lackluster land.

    Dungeons once grand, puzzles crafted with care,
    Now pale shadows, a tedious affair.
    Rooms and puzzles skippable, immersion defaced,
    No treasures to find, no challenges to embrace.

    Maps, compasses, keys, they've faded, it's true,
    Took an arrow to the knee, a sad adieu.
    Replaced by simplicity, devoid of true zest,
    Puzzles forsaken, immersion put to the test.

    Breakable weapons, tools that won't last,
    Zelda's essence faded, a relic from the past.
    The Blood Moon, tired and worn, in its repeat,
    Rehashed memory cleaning, a cycle so fleet.

    A lengthy two-hour tutorial, a burden to bear,
    Tears of the Expansion, time wasted in despair.
    An identity crisis, lost in its lore,
    Assassin's Creed's shadow, knocking at the door.

    "Ubitowers" once more, an intrusion so odd,
    Zelda's spirit diluted, a fusion so flawed.
    Minecraft's influence joining this melee,
    Challenges diminished, immersion in disarray.

    Link to the Past, a standard so high,
    Minish Cap and Ocarina of Time, oh my!
    They set the bar for what Zelda should be,
    A rich tapestry of lore and adventure for thee.

    A sequel awaits, skepticism in hand,
    Will Call of Duty gameplay next invade this land?
    Firing at Moblins with a Model Deku slide-action grand!    … Expand
  15. Zef1ro
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Everyone should play it. Great design, story and music, but most of all great gameplay. It stimulates the player creativity to an incredibile level. A must-play.
  16. Dreadphobic
    May 13, 2023
    10
    It’s literally a masterpiece. A 10/10. A must play. It took everything about botw and made it even better. A lot of the negative reviews are just botw babbling haters who whine about breakable weapons or the fact that it’s a direct sequel to botw so it has the same map.
  17. Xavi_Perez
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Es un juego muy bueno es el mejor que he probado hasta la fecha (si soy zeldero)
  18. MamaGanza
    May 25, 2023
    10
    El juego es una obra de arte digna de estar entre los mejores de la historia, el diseño artístico de personajes y lugares es simplemente hermoso, así como el soundtrack y el gameplay (que es tan extenso como tu imaginación lo permita) también lo son
  19. ultraviper
    May 25, 2023
    6
    My biggest gripe about breath of the wild was the way it loved to waste your time. In the sequel... none of is has changed. Still have to go through a convoluted process to cook things. Still have to change clothes because of weather all the time. Still way too many cutscenes in every shrine. Weapons are still super fragile. Only now you have to fuse stuff to weapons when you get them,My biggest gripe about breath of the wild was the way it loved to waste your time. In the sequel... none of is has changed. Still have to go through a convoluted process to cook things. Still have to change clothes because of weather all the time. Still way too many cutscenes in every shrine. Weapons are still super fragile. Only now you have to fuse stuff to weapons when you get them, making collecting them even MORE tedious than before!

    Enemies scale too strongly. There's no sense of progression or getting stronger. Early game: 3 hearts, I die in 2 hits. Later in the game: I have 12 hearts, but enemies now do 7 hearts worth of damage so I still die in 2 hits.

    Performance is absolutely TERRIBLE. Constant frame drops (from an already low 30 fps) when too many enemies are on the screen, when there are too many trees/buildings on the screen, when you use a power, etc. And sometimes the game will just FREEZE for several seconds while it loads if you try to dive through the sky too fast.    … Expand
  20. Gorgola34
    May 24, 2023
    7
    Es un juego bueno, el apartado artístico mola mucho pero la historia me parece que está desaprovechada y es muy flojita, al final se queda en una historia pasable, el juego es 95% explorar un enorme mapa, cosa que al final cansa.

    Lo recomiendo pero no es perfecto en absoluto y l he echado 60h o más
  21. JustADude15
    May 25, 2023
    5
    IF you missed BOTW, this is a must play. But listen carefully…

    If you didn’t miss BOTW (no matter how much you loved it) — TOTK plays and feels like a poorly timed remaster (on a console at the end of its lifespan). I hate to say it, but the folks looking forward to this game most will likely be the ones most disappointed. In the time since BOTW left its mark on gaming, we’ve seen its    IF you missed BOTW, this is a must play. But listen carefully…

    If you didn’t miss BOTW (no matter how much you loved it) — TOTK plays and feels like a poorly timed remaster (on a console at the end of its lifespan).

    I hate to say it, but the folks looking forward to this game most will likely be the ones most disappointed. In the time since BOTW left its mark on gaming, we’ve seen its mechanics recycled 100 times over in other games.

    This might sound like typical sequel nitpicking, but I enjoyed both Ragnarok and Forbidden West quite a bit despite beating the original releases… The problem is that BOTWs unique charm was largely a product of its inventiveness and novelty — in that way, the sequel is NOTHING like its predecessor… closer to the opposite.

    Iterative installments work better when leveraging improved tech to benefit QOL / graphics. This is literally the same game with superimposed map expansion & some minor tweaks.

    TOTK is not bad, but it is essentially large DLC & the critic reviews are EXTREMELY hyperbolic. Maybe I would have enjoyed it had I not sunk 400 hrs into the original, but that was a long time ago — I felt nothing on this one.    … Expand
  22. laycris
    May 25, 2023
    10
    Estou jogando a mais de 30 horas e a quantidade de conteúdo desse game é maravilhosa. As novas habilidades, poder explorar as ilhas e o subsolo, fora o mapa térreo ter mudanças significativas dos cenários habituais de botw, tornam esse jogo uma experiência fantástica.
  23. AL3Xnew_
    May 25, 2023
    10
    I really liked botw so I guess i’ll like this one and play with my friends and randomize things or anything else
  24. LasseRon
    May 25, 2023
    8
    Played it for 80hours and liked it a bit more than Breath of the Wild. The breakable weapons is still horrible and it still feels a bit unrewarding to explore.
  25. gooderthanu
    May 25, 2023
    4
    I like it more than BOTW but barely… it’s really the same game with a lot more content. What happened with the Zelda I know and love. Skyward Sword started the downward trend but at least the dungeons were good. for a perspective… Majoras mask > Lttp > ocarina > twilight princess. All amazing dungeons.

    this games dungeons are a little atmospheric but good god they are terrible.    I like it more than BOTW but barely… it’s really the same game with a lot more content. What happened with the Zelda I know and love. Skyward Sword started the downward trend but at least the dungeons were good. for a perspective… Majoras mask > Lttp > ocarina > twilight princess. All amazing dungeons.

    this games dungeons are a little atmospheric but good god they are terrible. There’s too much going on in this game for it’s own good. besides that the stupid ridicolous “put this object back in its place correctly” just doesn’t vibe anymore as an adult.    … Expand
  26. Marlijn20
    May 25, 2023
    10
    This game is from every point of view an amazing step up from its predecessor Breath of the Wild. Not only the world does have some significant changes, but the way of playing and Links new abilities let you experience Hyrule from a whole new perspective. The world is also more lively with a lot more characters you’ll encounter during your journey. Let you take by surprise and use yourThis game is from every point of view an amazing step up from its predecessor Breath of the Wild. Not only the world does have some significant changes, but the way of playing and Links new abilities let you experience Hyrule from a whole new perspective. The world is also more lively with a lot more characters you’ll encounter during your journey. Let you take by surprise and use your creative mind to travel, explore and fight your way trough Hyrule like never before.… Expand
  27. VoidStun
    May 25, 2023
    8
    **__Gameplay: 3.5/2__**
    The Gameplay of the Game is unlike any other open world game. The amount of things you can do within the game and the amount of options presented to you is incredibly outstanding.
    **__Story: 1/2__** The story serves it's justice, it's interesting and compelling. Maybe people who are more into Zelda before totk will enjoy it more than I did but it wasn't anything    **__Gameplay: 3.5/2__**
    The Gameplay of the Game is unlike any other open world game. The amount of things you can do within the game and the amount of options presented to you is incredibly outstanding.

    **__Story: 1/2__**
    The story serves it's justice, it's interesting and compelling. Maybe people who are more into Zelda before totk will enjoy it more than I did but it wasn't anything like crazy it was a fun ride.

    **__Music & Graphics: 1.5/2__**
    The slightly cell shaded style of breath of the wild shines through in this game as well as new designs for enemies to make them not look as samey. Music wise there are a lot of standout tracks and not a single track where I was like meh.

    **__Performance: :star: 1/2__**
    The performance of the game is really what holds it back from being scored anywhere above an 8.5 the game does a great job of managing the performance issues however there are certain parts of the game where it's not ignorable and begins to chug a bit. But a majority of the game is stable enough to land it at least 1 star.

    **__Challenge: 1.5/2__**
    The challenge within the game feels like it's much more balanced then botw where in that game after like a handful of shrines pretty much most enemies other than guardians are kinda just cannon fodder as most higher tier enemies are locked behind divine beasts and they don't show up in divine beasts so you could almost never see those harder enemies. In totk it is definitely a challenging game if you don't prepare properly for an engagement, however with some many tools to deal with the many problems you will face within the kingdom of Hyrule it is a very good strength of this game in my opinion.    … Expand
  28. Giovanni1
    May 25, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gioco MAGNIFICO, EMOZIONANTE , GIGANTESCO, e con una trama pazzesca, un MUST-PLAY che ti permetterà di capire cosa rende un videogioco un capolavoro moderno.
    Meccaniche innovative e da certi punti di vista veramente fatte bene.
    Il bello di questo gioco è il fatto che stimola la creatività e da un senso di pace e avventura allo stesso tempo.
    Bravo Aonuma & company!    … Expand
  29. Silko
    May 25, 2023
    10
    In fact it's the best Zelda game.
    It's so nice to play it. A big map,new mobs, everything. It's perfect
  30. SaintRonan
    May 24, 2023
    10
    A true masterpiece, every bit as good as the first game. In fact it’s much better than Breath of the Wild. This game lives up to all the high expectations people had for it.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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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