User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9840 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. May 14, 2023
    8
    Amazing game! Although i prefer BOTW, this one feels like a dlc with steroids
  2. Jul 1, 2023
    8
    No le doy un 10 porque usa el mismo mapa que el 1, pero las fisicas que han hecho con los artefactos son brutales, puedes crear infinidad de cosas y pasartelo de mil maneras. La historia esta bien por cada region que descubres, como te haces con el poder de cada descendiente y solucionas su problema. La trama de Zelda y sus apariciones y videos que vas desbloqueando es entretenida, nadaNo le doy un 10 porque usa el mismo mapa que el 1, pero las fisicas que han hecho con los artefactos son brutales, puedes crear infinidad de cosas y pasartelo de mil maneras. La historia esta bien por cada region que descubres, como te haces con el poder de cada descendiente y solucionas su problema. La trama de Zelda y sus apariciones y videos que vas desbloqueando es entretenida, nada del otro mundo pero te da ganas de descubrir mas. Graficamente… si! la Switch ya esta desfasada y esta pidiendo a gritos una nueva consola, bastante hace con el zelda con un hardware ya de hace 6 años, pero si vienes de jugar a otras consolas de hoy en dia te pega al ojo esos dientes de sierra al empieze del juego, y una resolucion muy baja. aun asi cuando llevas unas horas de juego ya te olvidas de los graficos y descubres el mundo que han creado, es GIGANTE!! Me lo he pasado en grande jugandolo, es un MUST HAVE en toda regla Expand
  3. Jun 12, 2023
    8
    [English / Portuguese] review:
    The game is huge and takes advantage of everything delivered in BOTW, improved in comparison to the previous one, but let's face it, we are in 2023 paying $70 on a game where the frame rate is really bad at some parts of it, especially when you are using some skills. In Zora's domain boss fight it drops really hard. Other necessary improvement is that you
    [English / Portuguese] review:
    The game is huge and takes advantage of everything delivered in BOTW, improved in comparison to the previous one, but let's face it, we are in 2023 paying $70 on a game where the frame rate is really bad at some parts of it, especially when you are using some skills. In Zora's domain boss fight it drops really hard. Other necessary improvement is that you need to READ basically everything all the time like we always did in all Zelda's games, there is no considerable evolution in that sense, there is no voices at all, also the English dub during cutscenes is something that could be better. So I would never give maximum score to the game. BUT these are the only improvement points in the game and it is still considered a masterpiece. 8/10.

    [PT-BR]
    O jogo é enorme e aproveita tudo que é entregue no BOTW, melhorou em relação ao anterior, mas convenhamos, estamos em 2023 pagando $70 em um jogo onde o frame rate é muito ruim em algumas partes dele, principalmente quando você está usando algumas habilidades. Na luta contra o chefe do domínio de Zora, cai muito forte. Outra melhoria necessária é que você precisa LER basicamente tudo o tempo todo como sempre fizemos em todos os jogos de Zelda, não há uma evolução considerável nesse sentido, não há vozes, também a dublagem em inglês durante as cenas é algo que poderia ser melhorar. Então eu nunca daria nota máxima para o jogo. MAS esses são os únicos pontos de melhoria do jogo e ainda é considerado uma obra-prima. 8/10.
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  4. May 17, 2023
    8
    Tears of the Kingdom is everything you can ask for a sequel. The game have all the elements that you like from breath of the Wild and they improved every aspect on it, if you love the first game I can assure you that you will definitely love this one. But if you dislike the first game, I'm sorry to say that you probably won't find this any interesting because it basically have the sameTears of the Kingdom is everything you can ask for a sequel. The game have all the elements that you like from breath of the Wild and they improved every aspect on it, if you love the first game I can assure you that you will definitely love this one. But if you dislike the first game, I'm sorry to say that you probably won't find this any interesting because it basically have the same fundamental of the previous game and some flaws that exist in the previous game is still here. Without any spoilers, I'm just going to give my personal cons and pro about Tears of the Kingdom.

    The Positives
    All the previous game mechanics in BOTW are in this game and some have even been refined.
    New game mechanics have also been added to spice things up.
    Huge improvement on the dungeons, with more interesting puzzles to be solved and conquer.
    The game is visually stunning and imo the best looking game in any Nintendo game.
    The soundtrack is just as good as BOTW if not better.

    The Negatives
    Lack of new enemies varation.
    The game is just as grindy as BOTW.
    The open world map is not as innovating as its basically about the same carbon copy as the previous game with some changes.

    Is the game good? If you adore BOTW you would definitely love this, otherwise you probably won't. My gripped with this game is that it's not as exciting as the first game. The game just feel very familiar as the previous game due to the story taking place in the same map with some changes. Because of this, it doesn't have the same impact when I walked to a new place for the very first time and it takes out a lot of the wow moment for me.

    Overall it's a really good game that have potential to be game of the year, but it does comes with its own flaws as well.
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  5. Jun 25, 2023
    8
    The best thing about the game by far is its physics, which I suppose other games don't do because of its difficulty, and that must be valued
  6. May 13, 2023
    8
    A great sequel to Breath of the Wild, way more content and stuff to do. Pretty bad framerate shows the switch's age but its something I can live with.
  7. May 17, 2023
    8
    The game is great (as you can read on other reviews) so I'll talk about what i didn't like: the map. Don't get me wrong, the map has been expanded with the sky islands and caves and different activities for the player but to explore the map but to just wonder around to explore a then unknown terrain was a major part of the experience in early and mid game in bote that is, unsurprisinglyThe game is great (as you can read on other reviews) so I'll talk about what i didn't like: the map. Don't get me wrong, the map has been expanded with the sky islands and caves and different activities for the player but to explore the map but to just wonder around to explore a then unknown terrain was a major part of the experience in early and mid game in bote that is, unsurprisingly not present for returning players. Of course it's not easy to just make a new map considering it's a direct sequel, it would probably not make sense and some fans would get mad for it. But still i wouldn't mind if they had replaced the map for a new one and the NPC not acknowledge it. The game has been in production for 6 years after all and to reuse so many assets is rather disappointing Expand
  8. May 14, 2023
    8
    Full review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C52EbOteUU

    since breath of the wild came out redoing many of main staples of the Zelda series, focusing entirely on open world gameplay, the main question was how will the next game live up to it, will it expand upon the original or go in a completely new direction, well 4 years ago they announced that the next Zelda would be a sequel to
    Full review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C52EbOteUU

    since breath of the wild came out redoing many of main staples of the Zelda series, focusing entirely on open world gameplay, the main question was how will the next game live up to it, will it expand upon the original or go in a completely new direction, well 4 years ago they announced that the next Zelda would be a sequel to botw and now 6 years after its release it has finally arrived, but does it live up to the delay or is it just more of the same Zelda we have been playing.
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  9. Aug 10, 2023
    8
    This is a great game, the sense of adventure and freedom from BotW, its predecessor, is back, now with even more things to explore and collect. However the reused map and many of the same reused RPG mechanics mean that the game can feel very iterative and a bit disappointing if you're expecting a fresh take on the Zelda formula like BotW was. Luckily, it iterates from an already greatThis is a great game, the sense of adventure and freedom from BotW, its predecessor, is back, now with even more things to explore and collect. However the reused map and many of the same reused RPG mechanics mean that the game can feel very iterative and a bit disappointing if you're expecting a fresh take on the Zelda formula like BotW was. Luckily, it iterates from an already great game.

    Good points:
    - The world in general is just fun to wander round and explore
    - Caves are a great addition to spice up the overworld
    - Runes make combat and exploration more fun as you can now make your own weapons and vehicles.
    - The sky is pretty good and the overworld shrine quests are fun
    - The story is overall an improvement (and I thought BotW already had a decent story)

    Bad Points:
    - Too much of the game feels reused from BotW which really hampers the exploration
    - Having to fuse things to your weapons / arrows every time to make them useful gets tedious over time, especially with the game's durability system. You can't fuse items in the inventory and have to activate the rune in the overworld which is just baffling.
    - The depths are just ok. They feel pretty empty compared to the rest of the game.
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  10. May 31, 2023
    8
    Pros:
    - Music
    - Art style/Graphics
    - Gameplay
    - Scale
    - World

    Cons:
    - Underground
    - Switch Hardware
    - Weapon durability (still)

    Neutral:
    - Story
    - Voices

    Verdict:
    Pretty much BoTW, but with improvements and changes, worthy of a sequel.
  11. May 16, 2023
    8
    O jogo é incrível de fato mas mantem tanta coisa do botw que acaba virando uma sombra, mesmo melhorando pontos do antigo acabou sendo prejudicado pelo console. Gráficos datados, drop de fps insano em algumas áreas, o switch as vezes parece que ta pedindo perdão. É o majoras mask do breath. Muito ambicioso para um console tão fraco, podia ser melhor.
  12. Aug 22, 2023
    8
    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pays homage to its legacy while introducing fresh elements, earning it a solid 8 out of 10. Enchanting visuals and deep storytelling create a nostalgic yet innovative experience. Though minor technical hitches arise, the game's puzzles, combat, and characters still shine brightly, making it a must-play for fans and newcomers alike.
  13. Jun 4, 2023
    8
    Expanding the map of "Breath of the Wild"'s Hyrule Kingdom to mind-blowing new heights, "Tears of the Kingdom" may have some missed opportunities, but it does have a richer & bolder story this time, and develops the gameplay, dungeon designs and characters in satisfying directions.
  14. May 13, 2023
    8
    (I played 500+ hours in BOTW and probably 20 hours so far in TotK)
    No clue why the critics have given TotK a 96, IMO it's at most an 85. While the world has been well remixed with many areas better than in BOTW, in some places it feels unrecognisable. The game is more linear than BOTW but still feels open world. The plot is engaging and lore heavy but far from perfect. The dungeons are
    (I played 500+ hours in BOTW and probably 20 hours so far in TotK)
    No clue why the critics have given TotK a 96, IMO it's at most an 85. While the world has been well remixed with many areas better than in BOTW, in some places it feels unrecognisable. The game is more linear than BOTW but still feels open world. The plot is engaging and lore heavy but far from perfect. The dungeons are pretty boring but the puzzles are okay. Overall it deserves an 8/10 from me.
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  15. May 14, 2023
    8
    Tear of the Kingdom is another great game from the Zelda Franchise.

    Already have more than 10+ hours in the game and barely scratch the whole map of ToTK, puzzles in shrines are quite unique compared to the first one, some of them will require you to think outside the box using the Rune (Botw)/ DIY game mech they include in the game which is fun for the most part (excluding the clunky
    Tear of the Kingdom is another great game from the Zelda Franchise.

    Already have more than 10+ hours in the game and barely scratch the whole map of ToTK, puzzles in shrines are quite unique compared to the first one, some of them will require you to think outside the box using the Rune (Botw)/ DIY game mech they include in the game which is fun for the most part (excluding the clunky controls such as rotating the object).

    The combat is pretty much the same nothing has changed, they gave you the ability to fuse weapons to another object making the weapon more durable or stronger which is very helpful.

    The main problem I have with TotK is, though flying islands scattered at the skies of Hyrule, Hyrule itself was the same map as Botw with a change of landscape prior to the events at the start of TotK, You need to repeat the same thing you've done from Botw in order to reveal the whole area in your map you need to go to towers (different method this time) and scan the whole area via flying up the skies to reveal the area which is pretty much the same and a hassle imo since it was the same map we explore from Botw, Clunky controls when you're in the Rune/DIY mode rotating an object will literally piss you off while this mech is fun it'll test your patience with the clunky rotational controls.
    Performance as expected it's a switch game a 30 fps with frame drops in certain areas, and graphics is the same as Botw.

    Overall the game is fun with some few problems still exists from Botw.

    Overall
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  16. Jun 21, 2023
    8
    Tears of the Kingdom builds on what Breath of the Wild created. The new abilities are simplified and expanded--the abilities are more intuitive and allow for greater creativity. The narrative is stronger than BOTW's. However, it is still relatively simple and not one of the greatest highlights of the game.

    One of the assets of this game is you have the freedom to do as much or as little
    Tears of the Kingdom builds on what Breath of the Wild created. The new abilities are simplified and expanded--the abilities are more intuitive and allow for greater creativity. The narrative is stronger than BOTW's. However, it is still relatively simple and not one of the greatest highlights of the game.

    One of the assets of this game is you have the freedom to do as much or as little as you like. There are tons of shrines and side quests that could take hundreds of hours, or you can approach the main quests more directly, opting for minimal side content. I appreciated this; after about 100 hours, I felt ready to move on.

    The creativity of building using Zonai devices is limited somewhat by the need for resources, which must be farmed. This is not especially satisfying. In fact, anything requiring combat is underwhelming, much like BOTW. Fusing weapons is an interesting new layer to what was present in BOTW, but it doesn't do anything to fundamentally alter the combat.
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  17. Sep 1, 2023
    8
    This game was a lot more BOTW. If you liked BOTW, you'll like TOTK. I unfortunately did not have the creativity or the energy for getting much out of the building system, nor does the game really require you to use the system much. The game fix any of the issues I had with BOTW, mainly the weapons breaking after 1-2 kills.

    The voice acting is just as bad as in BOTW for most characters
    This game was a lot more BOTW. If you liked BOTW, you'll like TOTK. I unfortunately did not have the creativity or the energy for getting much out of the building system, nor does the game really require you to use the system much. The game fix any of the issues I had with BOTW, mainly the weapons breaking after 1-2 kills.

    The voice acting is just as bad as in BOTW for most characters (Rauraru and Zelda specifically), made worse by there being even more voice acting. There's no standout performances, but Tulin and Ganondorf are acceptable.

    Performance was abysmal overall. Using the God Hand power would drop my Switch to what felt like 15-20 fps. The fire temple also ran at about 10 fps the entire time.

    Was it awful? No. Was it my GOTY? Not remotely.
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  18. May 15, 2023
    8
    The world is really good, and it's a step up from "BREATH OF THE WILD", with even more interesting new abilities. But the game screen has not changed, and I even feel that the FPS in many scenes is more unstable.
  19. 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.
  20. May 13, 2023
    8
    I started to play the game on the 75“ tv screen and its awful. After the 5 hour tutorial i switched to the handheld mode and i like it a lot more. Controls are sometimes clumsy and you need to walk/ ride a lot and a fable for exploring must be given. For me clearly not so good as the N64 Zeldas but not bad at all.
  21. May 30, 2023
    8
    Better story than BOTW, more creative, however the game feels the same as before, the world, the enemies, the gameplay except for ultrahand and the difference approaches to solve the shrines.
    Good game overall, deserves 8.5/10.
    If it had a long chain of main quests like 30 -40 hrs that would be perfect and will be a drastic change from BoTW, I prefer the old Zelda games to be honest.
  22. Aug 28, 2023
    8
    Definitely an improvement over the first game, However, the sky islands were over advertised. The 4 important characters and their development isn't as good as the first game. The game doesn't unlock good stuff till you progress through the story and towards the end. Overall, a good game but not definitely 10/10.
  23. May 20, 2023
    8
    An excellent game overall. However, it is frustrating to be sent back to the final boss after beating it (NO NG+)!?
  24. Jul 4, 2023
    8
    Game is great, but If I hadn't played Breath of The Wild, I would have enjoyed it much more.
  25. Jul 2, 2023
    8
    THE LEGEND OF ZELDA – TEARS OF THE KINGDOM REVIEW

    As a long time, Zelda lover, for this new iteration to the franchise I was expecting Nintendo to polish some of the things I did not like from Breath of the Wild, and indeed they did polish them, but many other aspects were not touched and to me, personally that is something I did not like. Don’t get me wrong, this game is amazing, but
    THE LEGEND OF ZELDA – TEARS OF THE KINGDOM REVIEW

    As a long time, Zelda lover, for this new iteration to the franchise I was expecting Nintendo to polish some of the things I did not like from Breath of the Wild, and indeed they did polish them, but many other aspects were not touched and to me, personally that is something I did not like. Don’t get me wrong, this game is amazing, but if you disliked some of the things you played during the previous switch game, you will feel a little disappointed here.

    SETTING
    Sometimes Nintendo reuses their iteration of Zelda and Link, and this one was no exception. The spectacular intro of Tears of the Kingdom will leave you breathless, it is simply the darkest and most gorgeous intro in a Zelda game. From the start you know that this game will be complex and that the journey ahead will be full of adventure. Exploring not only the overworld of Hyrule but gliding and soaring through the skies of Hyrule is incredible. But hey, not only that, but you also explore the depths of Hyrule, so it is like three worlds seamlessly connected. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but jumping off a ruin in the sky to land in the depths of Hyrule is amazing!

    MECHANICS
    • Exploration:
    The core of the game, and the best aspect from Breath of the Wild. Now exploration is upskilled with the introduction of two new worlds for you to engage: The sky, the land, and the depths. Finding shrines of light is your main objective, you need to increase your stamina gauge and your hearts if you mean to survive. Yes, the land of Hyrule may seem the “same” as BotW, but many changes have been introduced. There are a plethora of caves, shrines, and places of interest in this game, that after 50+ hours of gameplay, I thought for sure I had done at least 70% completion… a meager 40%, this game is BIG! And yes, there are once again Temples to be visited, but not in the regular Zelda fashion that you know. Still, those temples made me feel happy as I really did not love the big machine like temples we got from BotW.

    • Combat:
    Sorry but this is the main flaw of this game. I simply do not like to engage in combat. The combat is too simplistic, and it is a copy-paste from BotW… weapons break, but with the addition of a new ability to “glue whatever you find to a weapon” (which sometimes feels ludicrous to me) you can extend the duration of a weapon, but in the end they will break. Yes, even the Master Sword when you get it will “break” and you need to wait 10 minutes for it to recover. This system does not make sense to me!
    Additionally, Link is pathetic in combat, if you get swarmed by enemies, you will die, a lot! So, the best tactic is to run away and find a sweet spot to try to smash enemies one by one. I did not like the combat in BotW, and I do not like the combat in TotK either! Instead of giving us the ability to “create” stuff to solve puzzles, I would have preferred a more robust combat system.

    • Abilities
    As an engineer, I love to see how things can be built, and how to create new things. This game will provide you with that. The thousands of ways you can solve a puzzle are amazing, and the developers really did a good job here. I personally don’t like games where you need to build stuff, and in TotK I find myself many more times being frustrated because I’m locked down on a specific puzzle, than amazed for the way in which I cleverly managed to solve the dratted puzzle.

    VISUALS
    When will we get a Zelda game with graphics like God of War, Horizon Series, Dark Souls, or Final Fantasy? I’m unsure why Nintendo keeps giving Zelda a cartoonish look when this series is so amazing. Visuals are ok, if you liked BotW you won’t have a problem here. There is a revamp and an upskill in terms of graphics in here, but the amazement comes not from the graphics per se but for the grandeur of the setting, the world, the bosses, the temples, and Ganon… oh my, Ganon and the dragons!

    Is this the best Zelda game? Not for me, Twilight Princess will still be the best Zelda game, but this game has an amazing exploration system, which is undermined by the simplicity of its combat, a core and a foundation for the Zelda franchise. Still, you will have a blast with this game.
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  26. May 15, 2023
    8
    The game is good sensational story, good gameplay but 30fps with drops to 22 to 25 is unacceptable for a game in 2023.
  27. May 14, 2023
    8
    Very amazed by how the development team manage to impress us again. Didn’t expect they would make an open world game to even more freedom. The transition from BOTW to this new game seems convincing for me, afterall, we just want to find new challenges to save Zelda again. Would definitely recommend new players to start BOTW first before starting this game. First, the story would seem muchVery amazed by how the development team manage to impress us again. Didn’t expect they would make an open world game to even more freedom. The transition from BOTW to this new game seems convincing for me, afterall, we just want to find new challenges to save Zelda again. Would definitely recommend new players to start BOTW first before starting this game. First, the story would seem much more connected. Secondly, it sort of expects you to know the basics already. I’m at the first temple right now and I must say I’m very impressed with it so far. The only flaw or downside to this game would be the quality and resolution of the game. Occasionally the frame rate drops. And this is solely due to the weak specs of the switch system itself. So -2 for the weak switch system. Otherwise the game is a must play. Expand
  28. May 14, 2023
    8
    In terms of visuals, there aren't significant differences compared to the previous installment, but the overall graphics are more rich and diverse, providing a delightful visual experience. However, this enhancement comes at the cost of slightly strained frame rates, and there may be occasional drops in FPS in certain scenes, which is a somewhat regrettable aspect.

    The free synthesis
    In terms of visuals, there aren't significant differences compared to the previous installment, but the overall graphics are more rich and diverse, providing a delightful visual experience. However, this enhancement comes at the cost of slightly strained frame rates, and there may be occasional drops in FPS in certain scenes, which is a somewhat regrettable aspect.

    The free synthesis system is a major highlight of this game, offering players a diverse and engaging gameplay experience. Through synthesis, you can greatly enhance your character's abilities and skills, not only increasing the game's replayability but also providing players with more strategic choices.

    The world map design in the game is highly appealing, filled with a sense of mystery and exploration. Players can't resist the desire to explore every corner, and the design that encourages active exploration brings immense joy.

    The story is relatively simple and straightforward, without overly intricate and complex plotlines. This design makes the game easy to understand and get into, without burdening players with excessive complexity. It is believed that this simplicity will not be a concern for most players.

    Overall, through its rich visuals, enjoyable free synthesis system, captivating world map, and straightforward storytelling, this game creates a delightful and worth-exploring gaming world for players.
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  29. Jun 27, 2023
    8
    They did a good job establishing Link as a determined hard motherfuxxer from the get go by making you plunge head first from kilometers away, unlike the bs the woke army has been trying to do with the character. They also removed the stupid Ubisoft towers and made the enemies hit harder.
    But the game does feel rehashy with the same structure of temple hunting and minor side quests that
    They did a good job establishing Link as a determined hard motherfuxxer from the get go by making you plunge head first from kilometers away, unlike the bs the woke army has been trying to do with the character. They also removed the stupid Ubisoft towers and made the enemies hit harder.
    But the game does feel rehashy with the same structure of temple hunting and minor side quests that repeat themselves through the whole game, and the despawn of animal and objects right on your face is really annoying and cheap.
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  30. May 14, 2023
    8
    O jogo realmente é fantástico, as possibilidades de mecânicas é surpreendente. Entretanto, a história é clichê e as constantes quedas de FPS acabam tirando um pouco a imersão.
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 150 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. 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. 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.