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. BackProblems
    May 13, 2023
    4
    If you didn't like Breath of the Wild, you won't like this. Same map, 30 fps (maximum) with the game chugging hard in sections dropping below 20 fps, more so in combat. 720p graphics, which isn't everything but when you're used to at minimum 1440p in games, this looks really mid. Still no real dungeons in the game, still the same tired story about fighting yet another Ganon, charactersIf you didn't like Breath of the Wild, you won't like this. Same map, 30 fps (maximum) with the game chugging hard in sections dropping below 20 fps, more so in combat. 720p graphics, which isn't everything but when you're used to at minimum 1440p in games, this looks really mid. Still no real dungeons in the game, still the same tired story about fighting yet another Ganon, characters voices are wonky and feel out of place in this universe. This game, after God of War Ragnarok highlights that just because something is open world, does not make it good by any metrics. If this didn't have Zelda in the title, reviewers would have given this a 7/10, and that's just because it's Nintendo.… Expand
  2. Drash-Digimon
    May 18, 2023
    4
    Easily the worst Zelda to date in terms of disrespecting the conventions and traditions that defined the series.
    The temples remain boringly simple, the story remains fragmented, and the difficulty of the puzzles is nothing like previous prequels.
    Not to mention that the performance is horrible most of the time.
  3. Hsox05
    May 13, 2023
    2
    It’s a miss to me. Its just a lazy reskin of Breath of the Wild, minus the good parts. BotW started with 4 shrines (last one snow) to get 4 spirit orbs, led by the ghost of an old hyrule king. TotK starts with 4 shrines (last one snow) to get 4 spirit orbs disguised as light spheres, led by the ghost of an old hyrule king. First power up you learn in BOTW is magnet which allows your toIt’s a miss to me. Its just a lazy reskin of Breath of the Wild, minus the good parts. BotW started with 4 shrines (last one snow) to get 4 spirit orbs, led by the ghost of an old hyrule king. TotK starts with 4 shrines (last one snow) to get 4 spirit orbs disguised as light spheres, led by the ghost of an old hyrule king. First power up you learn in BOTW is magnet which allows your to float items through the air, first power up you learn in TotK is ultra hand which is basically the same thing. Sheikah slate is the same thing as the purah pad. Skyview towers are the same thing as the Sheikah towers, but rather than figuring out how to climb them, it’s just opening a door then a long winded animation of being slingshotted up into the air and falling back into that zone of the map. The Ascend power up is annoying with having to watch a long animation and then press “escape” when it finally goes through. The time reverse power up is pretty cool, but I’d rather have stasis and the bombs from BOTW. Climbing in the rain was always a very annoying feature of BOTW but it could easily be circumvented by advancing the story and getting revali’s gale early. Looks like they’ve taken that away and your best bet is roaming around and finding fallen rocks and doing time reversal on them. Or finding shelter and passing time at a fire, which was always tedious. Or sticky frog potion. Getting a power up that made it not as hard was much more rewarding. Also a bad problem to double down on. Story is a lazy, predictable “let’s take all your powers away”. Sky world was already done in probably the worst main game in the series, skyward sword.

    I haven’t played enough to get the hang of the vehicle building yet. So I can’t judge that. The shrines and the Korok seeds were a neat, new experience in BOTW, but they’re just slightly amped up but very similar ideas in this “new” game that took 7 years and multiple delays to come out. That’s crazy they delayed it so much only for it to look and play pretty much exactly like an old wiiU game. Not to mention the frame rate peaking at 30fps and often dropping way below that into being super choppy. Not sure I’ve ever been so disappointed in a game    … Expand
  4. Nightmare_L
    May 14, 2023
    3
    A complete cash grab, feeling like a DLC pack for Breath of the Wild but sold at a premium, with worse performance than the first game. They removed the old slate powers and replaced them with a bunch of gimmicky ones that are mostly useless, except the one that allows you to glue stuff to your weapons, that one is fun.

    This is just "what if Breath of the Wild, but with the kitchen sink    A complete cash grab, feeling like a DLC pack for Breath of the Wild but sold at a premium, with worse performance than the first game. They removed the old slate powers and replaced them with a bunch of gimmicky ones that are mostly useless, except the one that allows you to glue stuff to your weapons, that one is fun.

    This is just "what if Breath of the Wild, but with the kitchen sink thrown at it". If you've played Breath of the Wild, you have already played a better, more focused version of this game.

    Also, if you played BotW on Master Mode they don't allow you to import your horses. So long Epona.    … Expand
  5. Spassbremse
    May 14, 2023
    0
    I loved Breath of the Wild. While it is a great game, it's not perfect, and Nintendo really had an opportunity to improve upon the foundation laid out by BOTW with a direct sequel...instead they chose to play it completely safe and rerelease BOTW as TOTK. I call this game "Copy/Paste - Find and Replace". Here are just a few examples:

    1. The music is almost completely copy pasted    I loved Breath of the Wild. While it is a great game, it's not perfect, and Nintendo really had an opportunity to improve upon the foundation laid out by BOTW with a direct sequel...instead they chose to play it completely safe and rerelease BOTW as TOTK. I call this game "Copy/Paste - Find and Replace". Here are just a few examples:

    1. The music is almost completely copy pasted throughout the entire game; I think I noticed 5 new themes while playing.
    2. Ascend rune is just Revali's Gale but now it goes through solid matter.
    3. The time rune no longer freezes time but moves time backwards slowly.
    4. You wake up in a shrine with zero powers.
    5. You start on the “Great” area and can’t leave until you gain your 4 base powers.
    6. Zelda is missing for some reason.
    7. Zelda's Memories are now called Dragon’s Tears.
    8. You have to complete Zonai Shrines instead of Sheikah Shrines to open up warp points.
    9. You have to find all the same armor sets.
    10. You go to each race's region to beat a themed dungeon.
    11. You have to collect stupid Korok seeds.
    12. Weapons are very very fragile (possibly more so than BOTW).
    13. You gather the four Champions to help you fight Ganon.
    14. You have to remove “Corruption” within each race’s region.
    15. You have to complete a dungeon in each race’s region.
    16. Sheikah Towers are now Skyview Towers.

    The only new gameplay aspect in this entire game is the fusing/crafting system, which is so needlessly finnicky and restrictive as to deter me wanting to use it. I hope you like building long planks as a ramp or bridge, because that’s largely all you do. Sure, you can build vehicles to your heart’s content, but you have a limited “energy” meter that drains within 5-10 seconds meaning you cannot actually USE any of those vehicles for any meaningful length of time. How do you upgrade your energy meter? Grinding. Lots of grinding. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to grind for 20-30 hours just to improve a **** battery. I want to enjoy a Zelda game, not play an MMO.

    Another thing that bothers me is that all of the shrines are stupidly easy. There wasn’t a single one that even /remotely/ used the new mechanics in interesting ways. Nintendo is so proud of its new crafting system that solving a puzzle often times, you guessed it, means you build a ramp or a bridge to cross a gap. Whoopdie damn do.

    The temples are seriously the worst in the series. They are all THE SAME TEMPLE, with variations on “how many buttons do I need to press”? You just wander around until you find a button, then you press it. Do this a few times, fight the boss. Temple over. There are no puzzles, no items, no thought. It’s just so incredibly lazy, and I don’t know why they designed them this way.

    And why is Zelda relegated to not being a character in this game? In BOTW she was very sympathetic, compelling, and well written. In this one they make her disappear and then she doesn’t have any character change or growth throughout the entire game. She’s there to be a magical mcguffin, and it’s just sad. I wanted her to play a larger role, help Link alongside him this time around, maybe even contribute to gameplay. Nope. Go sit on the sideline and do nothing, Zelda. You aren’t important.

    I criticize this game because I know Nintendo is capable of more, and quite frankly this game is just creatively empty to me. Same map, same gameplay, same exact story, same beats…and apparently it took them over 6 years to make. I keep asking myself, how is that possible? I don’t have an answer.    … Expand
  6. krutoj
    May 14, 2023
    0
    Nintendo didn't fix any of the critiques from BotW. There are still weapons that break before the enemy does. The shrines are back, while the so called "dungeons" aren't any different from the beasts in BotW. The controls got even worse. And the world, while still beautiful doesn't have anything worthwhile to do.
  7. Robert27384
    May 13, 2023
    3
    That's a lazy DLC of BOTW but not a new Zelda. There's no way it tooks 6 years of development. There's not even graphics improvments. The Switch can definitively do better.
  8. Jinoon
    May 13, 2023
    2
    A low rate for the laziness and the lack of work ! This actually perfectly reflects the Nintendo company since their device reached the success. No ambition, no investment, just remasters and remakes, with higher prices. Frankly speaking...if this game had been released 6 years ago instead of BOTW... I would have probably gave a 8on 10. But nobody should tolerate such a massive copy/paste.A low rate for the laziness and the lack of work ! This actually perfectly reflects the Nintendo company since their device reached the success. No ambition, no investment, just remasters and remakes, with higher prices. Frankly speaking...if this game had been released 6 years ago instead of BOTW... I would have probably gave a 8on 10. But nobody should tolerate such a massive copy/paste. Same world, same progression structure, same hud, same musics, same enemies, same goddamn korugus, same obnoxious breakable weapons, same disappointing dungeons... If this game wasn't called Zelda, this kind of job would have probably created a scandal ! But this gonna be goty... it's a shame !… Expand
  9. FortTrash
    May 14, 2023
    0
    720p 30fps dropping dropping down to 20fps in 2023 wtf? Dungeons disappointing af same boring world with some new locations. Feels like a big dlc
  10. Notda004
    May 14, 2023
    2
    Absolutely dissapointed, it seems Nintendo did the bare minimum to appease classic Zelda players. They would even give us legit dungeons THE BIGGEST ASK and they didn't deliver. Sure the world is good but that's because it's BoTW world completely reused and BoTW world was good to begin with. I understand it's a sequel but the reuse of assests is crazy. It's quite easy to see NintendoAbsolutely dissapointed, it seems Nintendo did the bare minimum to appease classic Zelda players. They would even give us legit dungeons THE BIGGEST ASK and they didn't deliver. Sure the world is good but that's because it's BoTW world completely reused and BoTW world was good to begin with. I understand it's a sequel but the reuse of assests is crazy. It's quite easy to see Nintendo focused heavily on appeasing to minecraft players and want people addicted to building stuff in game instead of actually playing zelda. 1. If you don't like building stuff literally every 5 minutes to get everywhere this game isn't for you. 2. If you hate being in menus more then actually playing this game isn't for you. 3. If you're a classic zelda fan that's itching for classic dungeons you can spend hours in trying to figure them out this game isn't for you (slightly larger unique looking divine beast is about all we got). 3. If you hated the weapon breaking in botw this is even worse because it both has weapon breaking which wasted enough time but now you have to waste even more time to "fuse" stuff to weapons just to be effective at battle. ---- the world is great, the exploring is great, just like botw but the rest of it I'd lacking and really does feel like DLC. BoTW was a great one time departure from the Zelda franchise but many of us are ready for a real Zelda game not a Zelda skinned open world game. Not saying the next Zelda can't be open world but it actually needs to have Zelda gameplay in it... dungeons, items you actually need to work for, meaningful weapon and gear upgrades (that don't break), a higher sense of fantasy. The Zelda formula is timeless and has proven itself over and over again, I'm not against change but I am against upended an entire franchise people love for something "new" and completely forgoing homage to the past.… Expand
  11. NakedSnakeBr
    May 15, 2023
    4
    Same map, same map, it's not a bad game, but it's a lazy game, carried by journalists, it lacks innovation
  12. Bluer
    May 14, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Apart from being freely created, this game has nothing particularly eye-catching compared to Breath in the wilderness, and is not worth hyping up… Expand
  13. veilex
    May 13, 2023
    0
    If you enjoyed Breath of the Wild, this is basically that game with some tweaks to the mechanics, and an increased color-saturation, for some reason (seriously, why?). This is honestly just an expansion being billed as a full-on sequel. Its an okay game... not great... not terrible... NOT worth $70.
  14. Procrustes
    May 15, 2023
    0
    20fps check
    Horrible graphics check
    Boring puzzles all over the place check
    Overpriced check
    This game does not deserve, by any means, the 10s which, by majority, are fake, because this game has crucial issues as far as gaming is concerned.

    Overall, Genshin impact does everything better and its free.
  15. Djc1980
    May 15, 2023
    0
    Spent 7 hours looking for the 4th shrine to progress the game. Ended up looking it up on YouTube, and when I saw the solution, I parted with my copy of the game. Utterly ridiculous.

    It also felt like Minecraft in parts, where I was constantly building just to move from point A to point B. I hate Minecraft, and I despise crafting in games, so this was another tick in the wrong box. The    Spent 7 hours looking for the 4th shrine to progress the game. Ended up looking it up on YouTube, and when I saw the solution, I parted with my copy of the game. Utterly ridiculous.

    It also felt like Minecraft in parts, where I was constantly building just to move from point A to point B. I hate Minecraft, and I despise crafting in games, so this was another tick in the wrong box.

    The controls are also confusing AF, there are too many and I found myself getting completely lost with the myriad of options available and pressing the wrong button over and over again.

    A massive, massive let down. BOTW was a masterpiece, the sequel is just an utter joke.    … Expand
  16. floyd05
    May 13, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You can't pet the dog
    You can't pet the dog
    You can't pet the dog
    You can't pet the dog
    You can't pet the dog    … Expand
  17. Aaronshiffer
    May 14, 2023
    0
    Please check the credits of each game i worked as a graphics designer for breath of the wild and 3d audio locations and designs for tears of the kingdom. The way the company handled this title is very disgraceful. There were many days at the office we were told to " re use " as much as we could from breath of the wild. a large portion of our staff was let go because there were so many rePlease check the credits of each game i worked as a graphics designer for breath of the wild and 3d audio locations and designs for tears of the kingdom. The way the company handled this title is very disgraceful. There were many days at the office we were told to " re use " as much as we could from breath of the wild. a large portion of our staff was let go because there were so many re used assets there was almost no need for a team that large to work on tears of the kingdom. I cannot put my name behind a project that was so clearly driven by greed and shame. our players deserved a much better sequel than all these re used assets shoved into the same engine we previously used for BoTW. This company has fallen a long way and as a part of the development team that actually cared and put forth a lot of effort im asking that you stay away from buying this game please. We cannot teach them that they can charge full price for a bundle of re used assets and then fire all the people that originally made these assets so they see no fruits of their labor. if they are allowed to get away with this just imagine how poorly the next game will be made and even the next. growing up on zelda i just cant help but think i helped add to this horrible mishmash of re used assets and stolen hard work.… Expand
  18. AgusP
    May 14, 2023
    0
    The most overrated game in history. It's boring, there's nothing to do in its empty world with very poorly optimized graphics.
  19. TheRatsnake
    May 14, 2023
    3
    Garbage. Over 90% of the game is recycled from BotW and that is not a good thing. Same boring, tedious, repetitive nonsense we got 6 years ago and they have the audacity to charge more. Save your time and money.
  20. Der_Barmherzige
    May 16, 2023
    3
    While it is fun, this game is a full price title for 70€ and it feels raw. It looks like it's predecessors from 2017 and feels like it just with more exploration and abilities
  21. Tabarnacul
    May 15, 2023
    0
    Big for nothing. Pretty empty. The time of play is artificially inflated by weapons system and traveling.
    Not worth the price
  22. sarisa
    May 17, 2023
    4
    Much has already been said. Nintendo believed in their own propaganda they paid for back then in 2017. And this is why this game is what it is. And now, after they bought reviews for TOTK again, Anouma promises more "open world Zelda games". And all this knowing the open world formula was already dead in 2017 and BoTW was just boring walking simulator.

    Whether you call BOTW or TOTK    Much has already been said. Nintendo believed in their own propaganda they paid for back then in 2017. And this is why this game is what it is. And now, after they bought reviews for TOTK again, Anouma promises more "open world Zelda games". And all this knowing the open world formula was already dead in 2017 and BoTW was just boring walking simulator.

    Whether you call BOTW or TOTK spinnofs, or DLC, fact is that we still don't have new Zelda since 2012. Therefore let's hope some indie studio will eventually fill this void.
    After so many years and seeing what they're doing, there is no point waiting for Nintendo. They clearly became clowns. Just let them live their Clown World.    … Expand
  23. PlayHard
    May 13, 2023
    0
    Zelda 720p 20fps in 2023 is something you can't accept. Switch's technical issues limit the game's potential.
    Zelda is not an INDIE! Zelda is AAA and It should run at 1080p~1440p~4K 60fps. NOT 720p 20fps.
  24. ChrisJ8
    May 17, 2023
    4
    You wake up after a grave injury, and are given access to a futuristic tool. In order to unlock the powers of the tool, you must travel around a tutorial area (that you can't leave) and complete shrines. You are guided by the ghost of a regal figure of the past who had direct contact with the main villain. Before you can get what you need, you have to find a shrine on a cold mountain.. andYou wake up after a grave injury, and are given access to a futuristic tool. In order to unlock the powers of the tool, you must travel around a tutorial area (that you can't leave) and complete shrines. You are guided by the ghost of a regal figure of the past who had direct contact with the main villain. Before you can get what you need, you have to find a shrine on a cold mountain.. and in order to do so you must find cold resistant materials in order to survive.

    So.. am I reviewing Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom? You’ll never know.. because the first few hours of TotK gameplay are LAZILY identical.

    Korok seeds, shrines, towers for visibility? There's zero added structure/innovation to the game's functionality. Everyone is fawning over a reskin with some new tools/powers that are even less 'Zelda' than they were in BotW.

    Oh, and the framerate is absolutely deplorable.    … Expand
  25. FeiAshtear
    May 14, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Awful game. Way too long. I wanted zelda not mincraft. Overpriced overhyped overrated.… Expand
  26. truthbetold1981
    May 14, 2023
    0
    Overrated Sequel. It's just BOTW with some minor additions. And breakable weapons still a thing in this gameRecycled Content: This game took 3 times more development time than Majora's Mask compared to Ocarina in its time, and even so, everything that has been superficial Hyrule is too blatantly recycled, while in Majora's the entire Termina region was newNot a Zelda game anymore but aOverrated Sequel. It's just BOTW with some minor additions. And breakable weapons still a thing in this gameRecycled Content: This game took 3 times more development time than Majora's Mask compared to Ocarina in its time, and even so, everything that has been superficial Hyrule is too blatantly recycled, while in Majora's the entire Termina region was newNot a Zelda game anymore but a sandbox game. Never in a million years would I imagine a zelda game where I rotate objects and stick them together like minecraft and its even worse controlling it with a controller… Expand
  27. affus
    May 14, 2023
    2
    I'd like to discuss some important points about Tears of the Kingdom that I think the reviews were lacking to clearly explain, and it is necessary to clarify the flaws in advanced to set up players expectations.

    Float islands: while the trailers and the marketing massively showed the air lands, it is just the tutorial of the game and you are gonna finish it in 2 hours. There are some    I'd like to discuss some important points about Tears of the Kingdom that I think the reviews were lacking to clearly explain, and it is necessary to clarify the flaws in advanced to set up players expectations.

    Float islands: while the trailers and the marketing massively showed the air lands, it is just the tutorial of the game and you are gonna finish it in 2 hours. There are some small floating island through the game, but they are not so big or interesting.

    Map: the map of the game where you are gonna play 80 to 90% of the game is exactly the same. You are gonna spending uncountable hours looking for new korok seeds and new shrines at random places. I do feel a little disappointed here, cause I was expecting more of the floating islands or some significantly change in the original map. But not, you are gonna play the same game twice, but with a new story. There are a new place that I will not mention here (to let people discover while playing), but it unfortunately is not so interesting.

    Story: the story is brand new and captivating. Every location shows the passage of time and people remember you when you approach. You will most of the time, follow the story buy a way like the memories in Breath of the Wild, finding places and seeing a scene.

    New powers: here is where I think Nintendo spent most of the time developing the game. The new powers, in special the Ultra Hand, let players use the game as an amazing sandbox. You can craft unimaginable things and solve problems in creative ways.

    Overall, I think this game would be great if Breath of the Wild didn't exist, but it does. Tears of the Kingdom felt to me like a copycat trying to monetize through the success of its predecessor. This game is worthy playing if you give some years between Breath and it, ir order to forget most of the map. I can not imagine other franchise to imitate so hard its predecessor, using the same map, and critically being so acclaimed by media. Sometime I think reviewers are afraid of Nintendo stopping sending game to them if they give bad reviews.    … Expand
  28. Ghostagent
    May 15, 2023
    0
    Really disappointed with this game. It has worse graphics and performs more poorly than botw. They've added a building mechanic to the game which was interesting at first but then felt like a gimmick.

    Weapon durability remains, the world has more verticality but feels too familiar and boring. Looking forward to the next game, hopefully nintendo doesnt make another zelda game that feels    Really disappointed with this game. It has worse graphics and performs more poorly than botw. They've added a building mechanic to the game which was interesting at first but then felt like a gimmick.

    Weapon durability remains, the world has more verticality but feels too familiar and boring.

    Looking forward to the next game, hopefully nintendo doesnt make another zelda game that feels like a $70 sandbox dlc demo and returns the series to a more traditional title.    … Expand
  29. Garchomp102
    May 13, 2023
    4
    There are some issues with the core system of the game, the Ultra Hand. When exercising the Ultra Hand, the frame rate can become unstable and I feel stressed. It's annoying just replacing what was done in the previous work with the element of crafting.
  30. Buzzdovan
    May 14, 2023
    0
    This game is not good , it's an copy paste game , it's an overrated game , and never deserve game of the year, the map is empty and genshin impact wannabe.
    Not a Zelda game anymore but a sandbox game.
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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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