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. 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
  2. Tr4ce
    May 23, 2023
    7
    (No Spoilers) After 90% completion of the game, with mainstory finished. If you want constructive reviews, instead of "10/10 Masterpiece" or "0/10 awful" - here's a read for you:

    Definitely more than just a DLC, this game improves in almost every aspect in comparison to BotW. But its not without its flaws. The games open world is once again one of its biggest strengths. You can find    (No Spoilers) After 90% completion of the game, with mainstory finished. If you want constructive reviews, instead of "10/10 Masterpiece" or "0/10 awful" - here's a read for you:

    Definitely more than just a DLC, this game improves in almost every aspect in comparison to BotW.
    But its not without its flaws.

    The games open world is once again one of its biggest strengths. You can find stuff everywhere, the game is full of interesting things to do.
    But in later stages of the game, I didnt even bother opening the chests in shrines anymore, as its just another weapon or other useless junk - the game is missing some collectibles aside from just korok seeds to give loot more variance, instead of just another diamond.

    Side Quests, Exploration, Music and the polish that this game delivers are top notch, one of the best in open world videogames. But the MainQuest is just really weak, with collecting 4-5 macguffins to open the path to progress further. And this gets very old, very quick.
    The temples are incredibly boring designed, the mechanics are incredibly repetetive, with most of the challenges being transporting an item to a destination point. Comparing to older titles, there is no engaging mechanic you need to use to solve the puzzles and riddles. It's Ultrahand, in every situation.

    Ultrahand is a quite clever mechanic, but so incredibly overused, its getting boring to solve every puzzle with it. The game's desperately missing more variety in this aspect.

    After 70+ hours with just another "find the 4 items"-mission, I really hate-finished the end, although a specific plot twist was really interesting and definitely one of the reasons that I still cared about the story.

    Game's definitely hold back by hardware limitation of the old switch system, nintendo really should have released a new hardware at this point, it looks so much better on emulation systems with 2k or higher resolution and 60+ fps than on switch. It's in every aspect the better experience to play this on PC with an Emulator, and that's completely nintendos fault, still not releasing a new hardware.

    Verdict: Very Repetetive, boring and lazy progression design. Beatiful and fun open world.
    Story is not bad, but the way it's presented to the player doing sidequests first doesn't make sense.
    Still no voice acting, still old hardware, and still breakable weapons.
    Its breathtaking to explore the world, but it gets very old, very fast.

    If you liked BotW you will also like this game.
    It's good, but by no means a masterpiece.    … Expand
  3. DerSchleifer
    Jul 1, 2023
    7
    For sure, it is really impressive what an amazing job Nintendo did with the totally obsolete Switch Hardware. However, that is exactly the problem. The ambitions were too big and the possibilities too limited. What's left is a huge game with interesting mechanics, but much of it is just empty and boring. The world seems almost dead. Quests are repetitive and what you get for real effortFor sure, it is really impressive what an amazing job Nintendo did with the totally obsolete Switch Hardware. However, that is exactly the problem. The ambitions were too big and the possibilities too limited. What's left is a huge game with interesting mechanics, but much of it is just empty and boring. The world seems almost dead. Quests are repetitive and what you get for real effort isn't worth the effort in the end. A similar game from another manufacturer would have landed somewhere in the middle of the ratings. Nintendo gets perfect ratings.… Expand
  4. Aureliano_Trees
    Jul 5, 2023
    7
    当我在玩旷野之息的时候，那些未知的区域能够给我很大的探索欲望，看到一些瑰丽的景观（比如第一次看到在火山口上爬行的蜥蜴神兽）也都让我感到敬畏。到了王国之泪我就没有这种感觉了，因为我太熟悉海拉鲁大陆了，陆地上的东西变化不多，我感觉都很熟悉；而空岛的面积也比较小，且不是很连贯，就像是几个飘在空中的神庙；地下世界的设计很千篇一律，难以让人产生探索欲。当我在玩旷野之息的时候，那些未知的区域能够给我很大的探索欲望，看到一些瑰丽的景观（比如第一次看到在火山口上爬行的蜥蜴神兽）也都让我感到敬畏。到了王国之泪我就没有这种感觉了，因为我太熟悉海拉鲁大陆了，陆地上的东西变化不多，我感觉都很熟悉；而空岛的面积也比较小，且不是很连贯，就像是几个飘在空中的神庙；地下世界的设计很千篇一律，难以让人产生探索欲。
  5. Lombricenpot
    May 19, 2023
    7
    Honnêtement, si vous n'avez pas fait BOTW, le jeu vaut le coup car il reprend 90% du génie du 1er jeu avec une surcouche de gameplay systémique assez géniale mais autrement...mes craintes se sont avérées justes pour ma part malheureusement..

    J'ai pourtant vraiment adoré l'ile céleste du prélude avec son ambiance, sa jolie DA et les pouvoirs vraiment gratifiant. Ayant lu les tests et    Honnêtement, si vous n'avez pas fait BOTW, le jeu vaut le coup car il reprend 90% du génie du 1er jeu avec une surcouche de gameplay systémique assez géniale mais autrement...mes craintes se sont avérées justes pour ma part malheureusement..

    J'ai pourtant vraiment adoré l'ile céleste du prélude avec son ambiance, sa jolie DA et les pouvoirs vraiment gratifiant.

    Ayant lu les tests et vu le 96 metacritique, j'étais confiant que le coté 1.5 ne serait pas présent, je me disais qu'on allait passé 50% de notre temps dans des superbes et grandes iles célestes du niveau du prélude ou de grandes cités celestes comme Laputa des studio Ghibli par exemple, avec une verticalité complètement folle, des iles toujours plus hautes jusqu'à la stratosphère pourquoi pas.

    Je me disais que les souterrains seraient des gigantesques cités antiques avec un level design renversant
    ( coucou Elden Ring )
    Je pensais que le royaume d'Hyrule serait complètement transformé et "méconnaissable" des propres dires des journalistes ( Honnêtement à ce niveau c'est de la désinformation, c'est même plutôt grave je trouve )

    Les trailers laissaient entrevoir un scenario plus sombre et mature aussi avec des passages montrant des mécanismes dans les iles célestes qui semblaient modifier l'overworld ou du moins créer des énigmes environnementales gigantesques entre le ciel et la terre.
    Il y a de bonnes idées mais pas assez pour se démarquer de son ainé.

    et bah. Quelle déception..

    Reste un excellent gameplay systémique, oui mais cela ne suffit pas à renouveler le plaisir de la découverte de BOTW .

    Le parti pris de la suite directe était risqué mais sur le papier, il y avait quand même moyen de renouveler l'expérience en modifiant radicalement le royaume d'Hyrule et en travaillant la promesse des 3 strates verticales :cieux, terres transformées et souterrains.

    Sauf que l'exécution du concept relève d'un gigantesque jeu de la flemme, c'est osé quand même.

    Sans trop spoiler vous comprendrez que les iles sont plutôt anecdotiques. Un comble. Le plus gros point noir du jeu.
    Les souterrains sont pas très intéressants. Imaginez les souterrains d'Elden Ring mais vous enlevez tout le level design, toute l'architecture et le lore pour ne garder qu'une matrice vide de grotte dans le noir sur des kilomètres.
    Reste Les transformations du royaume d'Hyrule , bien sont trop minimes .
    Ce n'est pas une suite, c'est un copié collé, voilà le problème.

    Le scenario, je vais pas m'étendre mais BOTW avait le mérite d'être radicale dans son approche du scenario basique mais efficace et mis au service du gameplay et de la découverte.
    Totk est certainement trop enfantin contrairement à ce qui ressortait des trailers.

    Même GOD Ragnarök, que j'ai moyennement apprécié à cause du sentiment de déjà-vu, et bien là je le remettrai volontiers en perspective car la réutilisation/ transformation de l'univers du 1er opus est plus convaincante que dans Totk.

    Je n'ose même pas trop le comparer à Elden Ring, tant la différence de travail est flagrant.
    Je dirais juste que fromsoftware savent au moins " recycler" intelligemment des éléments de gameplay d'un titre à l'autre tout en proposant à chaque fois des expérience complètement renouvelées et singulières.

    Pour conclure, en effet TOTK demeure un bon jeu " grâce" à la reprise bien trop important d'éléments de son grand frère mais bien trop recyclé, avec un sentiment de déjà-vu difficile à digérer. Si vous n'avez pas fait BOTW, il devient de facto un chef-d'oeuvre puisque améliore le gameplay de ce dernier.
    Je lui donne une relative bonne note toutefois car ce n'est pas intrinsèquement mauvais, loin de là par rapport aux jeux du genre mais il demeure plutôt fainéant et manque d'ambition.    … Expand
  6. 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
  7. techindelible
    May 14, 2023
    7
    J’ai bien aimé le jeu, l’histoire est intrigante pour une fois, mais les graphismes sans pas a la hauteur boucoup de beug les ralentissements la chute de framerate et inexcusable
  8. Dagshola
    May 30, 2023
    7
    I really like the game. A big world to explore with a lot of things to do, but ...
    The Switch is pretty old now, Nintendo did a great job in getting this up and running, but the graphics are sometimes not as sharp as they should be.
    Breaking weapons are the worst feature ever, i hated it on BotW and it's even worse on TotK. Some story links to BotW are nice (like in Gerudo town), other    I really like the game. A big world to explore with a lot of things to do, but ...
    The Switch is pretty old now, Nintendo did a great job in getting this up and running, but the graphics are sometimes not as sharp as they should be.
    Breaking weapons are the worst feature ever, i hated it on BotW and it's even worse on TotK. Some story links to BotW are nice (like in Gerudo town), other are completly missing. The story misses a lot of its potential. Trying to get money for armor sets is a lot of stupid farming and grinding.
    All in all a good, solid game which could be even better.    … Expand
  9. mac1appula
    May 13, 2023
    7
    Great game worth playing if you have or haven't played Breath of the Wild

    Sanctuaries are a step up from BOTW, has some interesting new gameplay mechanics. Other than that the game is BOTW 2.0 Same map, mostly the same music, also mostly the same ennemies and the same boring secondary quests and storyline! It also runs really bad on the Switch, and when i say bad it is bad (mostly    Great game worth playing if you have or haven't played Breath of the Wild

    Sanctuaries are a step up from BOTW, has some interesting new gameplay mechanics.
    Other than that the game is BOTW 2.0
    Same map, mostly the same music, also mostly the same ennemies and the same boring secondary quests and storyline!

    It also runs really bad on the Switch, and when i say bad it is bad (mostly 20fps but sometimes dips under)
    It is also not looking that great, thanks to the cell shading art direction kinda saving the look of it.

    It is not worth a 0/10 but definitely not a 10/10.    … Expand
  10. dragonborn3551
    May 14, 2023
    7
    Tears of the Kingdom is very innovative and is a vast improvement from Breath of the Wild. However, the game still has some flaws. The writing is very lackluster and retcons many of the other games and while that is not necessarily a bad thing; the lore in this game just feels inferior to what the previous games had built. I specifically find Ganondorf to be much less compelling as aTears of the Kingdom is very innovative and is a vast improvement from Breath of the Wild. However, the game still has some flaws. The writing is very lackluster and retcons many of the other games and while that is not necessarily a bad thing; the lore in this game just feels inferior to what the previous games had built. I specifically find Ganondorf to be much less compelling as a character compared to his old interpretation that was fleshed out in Wind Waker. You can always count on Nintendo games to be outstanding mechanically, but in terms of writing and artistic direction, I feel like they have developed into something less interesting than how they were on the N64 and Gamecube.… Expand
  11. pawnmessiah
    May 14, 2023
    7
    Tears of the Kingdom is a wholesome, mostly enjoyable adventure game. But six years of development should've resulted in more innovation and refinement. TOTK feels like a sidegrade or reshuffle of its predecessor (BOTW), not a true sequel.

    TOTK carries most of BOTW's strengths but also some of its flaws. Korrok seeds instead of unique rewards, simplistic combat and story, usage of menus    Tears of the Kingdom is a wholesome, mostly enjoyable adventure game. But six years of development should've resulted in more innovation and refinement. TOTK feels like a sidegrade or reshuffle of its predecessor (BOTW), not a true sequel.

    TOTK carries most of BOTW's strengths but also some of its flaws. Korrok seeds instead of unique rewards, simplistic combat and story, usage of menus interrupting the gameplay flow, breakable equipment that lacks progression, these issues still persist.

    As for new features, the sky islands are an afterthought aside from the tutorial area, fusing does not fix breakable weapons, and the Ultrahand feature absolutely wrecks the framerate. Manipulating the game through crafting contraptions is the best new addition, but it feels more like a cool novelty than something well slotted into the core gameplay.

    Disappointingly, these games continue to be held back by their hardware - playing TOTK would undoubtedly be a better experience on any of the outdated Switch's competitor machines, just like with the previous game.

    Despite these issues, Tears of the Kindgom is a good game that I would recommend to those who seek a mellow but magical adventure. (If you're someone who seeks a gritty or fast-paced experience, look elsewhere.)

    If you observe Tears of the Kingdom in total isolation, it's a good game. As someone who played BOTW and waited six years for a sequel, I cannot help but feel short-changed, as if Nintendo started resting on their laurels after BotW's universal acclaim.    … Expand
  12. MungGames
    May 13, 2023
    7
    The Negatives

    No post game, 4 glorified divine beasts with 4-5 terminal unlocks, The underground is mostly empty and is a literally inverted copy of the over world in which the devs add 120 light roots to specifically make it harder to realize it. Sky islands are very sparse and do not have much to do in them other than some main story stuff, same old **** shrines and the gacha ****    The Negatives

    No post game, 4 glorified divine beasts with 4-5 terminal unlocks, The underground is mostly empty and is a literally inverted copy of the over world in which the devs add 120 light roots to specifically make it harder to realize it. Sky islands are very sparse and do not have much to do in them other than some main story stuff, same old **** shrines and the gacha **** Story is still told through garbage memory system rather than actually trying something different.

    The Positives

    Big open sandbox like botw, cool to build stuff, if you like puzzles then you will have a fun time. Its a solid 7/10 but im confused as to why its getting universal 10's this game does not do enough to justify it having nearly a PERFECT SCORE when it does nothing to evolve gaming like ocarina of time or other games of the past.    … Expand
  13. Ellie96
    May 13, 2023
    7
    El juego es un BOTW 1.5, si no te gustó BOTW este juego tampoco te va a gustar.
    El mapa es el mismo, pero hasta la ubicación de los shrines es la misma en algunos casos. La historia te la siguen contando con memorias que vas por ahí encontrando, cómo si fuera juego indie.
    La mitad del tiempo que estás peleando te la pasas navegando menús, porque ya se rompió el arma y porque te la pasas    El juego es un BOTW 1.5, si no te gustó BOTW este juego tampoco te va a gustar.
    El mapa es el mismo, pero hasta la ubicación de los shrines es la misma en algunos casos. La historia te la siguen contando con memorias que vas por ahí encontrando, cómo si fuera juego indie.
    La mitad del tiempo que estás peleando te la pasas navegando menús, porque ya se rompió el arma y porque te la pasas buscando hacer combinaciones de las armas, tienes que hacer flechas especiales cada vez que la vas a usar por ejemplo. La gran innovación es que puedes hacer carritos, pues que es un juego de construcción ahora? Los analistas de videojuegos son solo fanboys cegados por nostalgia, ni de coña este juego es Perfecto    … Expand
  14. Bonbaro
    May 13, 2023
    7
    M y score is a 7.5 . This is a Great game that is sadly deeply flawed like botw and doesnt quite live up to much of its potential.

    From a technical standpoint this game is very impressive with how everything looks and runs. The artstlye isnt my cup of Tee but its unique. This games brings back shrines and they are much like in botw. Most of them are great and fun but there is one    M y score is a 7.5 . This is a Great game that is sadly deeply flawed like botw and doesnt quite live up to much of its potential.

    From a technical standpoint this game is very impressive with how everything looks and runs. The artstlye isnt my cup of Tee but its unique.

    This games brings back shrines and they are much like in botw. Most of them are great and fun but there is one gigantic flaw with them. They all look the same. Something as simple has giving us different shrine themes in different Regions would have really helped from them eventually feeling stale.

    Sadly this games biggest flaw is enemy veriety . They added maybe 4 new enemys and 3 new minibosses. Its baffling that for a game this gigantic it has so few enemys. Becouse of this flaw , combat get stale after a while when youre only fighting the same enemys over and over again. This is a gigantic flaw and makes me take away 1 and a half points.

    The caves in this game are really well designed and funt to play but yet again they suffer from little veriety. they all have the same enemys and goals. finding satori frogs and finding shrines. It would have been so much more exciting exploring the caves if there were unexpected minibosses or enemys or the shrines themselves had unique different themes.

    Overall the Overworld of hyrule just feels too samy to botw with exeptions of caves. Age of calamity showed the potential of how they could change the map like having rebuilt ruins or a rebuilt hyrule castle but much of the game just feels like they only aded sky dabree.

    Speaking of the sky , what a disapointment. The opening Skypllateu is amazing but otherwise there is very little to do in the sky. The skyislands feel like an afterthought that they mostly used for marketing. The underground in this game is just as big as the base botw map but is very empty. Its frustrating becouse it has an extremely cool astetic and atmosphere and the Idea of that you cant see anything and constantly need seeds and checkpoints too light up the map is really cool... but most of the time thats the only thing youre doing. There is a really cool lengthy side adventure in the underground but other then that most of the underground is just walking around and sometimes finde patents or costumes.

    The dungeons in this game are a big mixed bag. On the one hand they fixed botw biggest issue with the dungeons having destinct themes this time around. on the other the dungeons design itselft just isnt as good as in the old 3 zelda games. I think the five terminal sytem really limits the potential of these dungens and that you can solve the puzzles in any order you want. The puzzles are fun but easy. Now the gameplay segment leading up to these dungeons are fantastic and really fun. They give me my zelda dngeons fix but not they just dont reach the highs of the dungeons in twighlight princess , Skyward Sword , Oot. The bosses on the other hand are fantastic and this game has some of the best and most creative bosses in the franchise. And this game has arguably the best ending and final boss in the entire series so thats a humongus step up from botw.

    The story in this game is frustrating. This game has imo the best opening and ending to any zelda game however just like in botw the story is told through memorys and it just cuts any tention the story could have had because its not really relevant to what you are doing at the present moments. The cutscenes are fantastic and add alot to the zelda lore but it would have been so much more effective if it would have been told in the present and in a linear fassion.

    The new fuse mechanic is incredible but it feels like Nintendo spent much more development time on the new mechanics then everything else. I feel like the game would have felt alot better if it came out 3 or 4 years after botw but after 6 years it feels like this game has so much wasted potential. My biggest fear was that this game just eels like dlc and sadly atleast for me , it does just feel like really big dlc most of the time.    … Expand
  15. Blompo
    May 13, 2023
    7
    This is gonna be one of those games where the user score will go down as time goes on.

    As someone who loved Breath of the Wild, I can't help but feel disappointed with Tears of the Kingdom. This really does feel like a $70 expansion to a BotW, or rather a different version of BotW, which is lame as half of the fun of the game was experiencing the world for the first time with all new    This is gonna be one of those games where the user score will go down as time goes on.

    As someone who loved Breath of the Wild, I can't help but feel disappointed with Tears of the Kingdom. This really does feel like a $70 expansion to a BotW, or rather a different version of BotW, which is lame as half of the fun of the game was experiencing the world for the first time with all new mechanics. I already feel like I've seen everything in TotK, the draw just isn't as strong. The gameplay is mostly unchanged, including all of its negatives. Cooking is still annoying, exploration can still feel pointless, durability is even more annoying, etc etc. Link does have new abilities this time around but I honestly think I prefer his old ones. TotK also has pretty bad performance issues, like way more than its predecessor. Dips, stutters, and moments of blurry picture quality are all too common.

    With all that being said, TotK is still a fun and (mechanically) polished experience, which is more than you can say for most AAA games being made these days. Just don't go in expecting something totally new and groundbreaking.    … Expand
  16. ss93
    May 14, 2023
    7
    Tears of the Kingdom is very disappointing. My worst fear came true with this game. Nintendo played it too safe with Tears of the Kingdom and it feels almost exactly alike Breath of the Wild. This game is one of the least innovative Zelda games ever. Instead of a new Hyrule we're in almost the same exact one as Botw. Combat is the exact same with no new moves for Link to use in battle, theTears of the Kingdom is very disappointing. My worst fear came true with this game. Nintendo played it too safe with Tears of the Kingdom and it feels almost exactly alike Breath of the Wild. This game is one of the least innovative Zelda games ever. Instead of a new Hyrule we're in almost the same exact one as Botw. Combat is the exact same with no new moves for Link to use in battle, the food system is the same as BOTW, the shrines are the same where you get 4 orbs or as they're called here blessing of light and trade for stamina or heart upgrade. The bosses are better in this game though than BOTW. The new powers like the ultra hand and having to make raft devices suck cause the rafts go crashing sideways into a wall even when I set it up correctly and you're forced to do this at many point. Every Zelda prior to this introduced new mechanics like Majora's mask introduced the masks and the forms Link could transform into, wind waker introduced sailing and rolling during combat, skyward sword had motion controls and flying through the sky, ocarina introduced 3D zelda and horseback riding on Epona. In Tears of the Kingdom? Nothing. There is really no new gameplay mechanics, not much of a new world and the game is severely lacking innovation.… Expand
  17. contralaelite
    May 13, 2023
    7
    El Juego cuenta con buenas mecánicas de exploración, buena jugabilidad, pero en el apartado de rendimiento deja mucho que desear, 900p dinámicos no son justos en pleno 2023, que los FPS lleguen a caer hasta los 20 empeora las cosas, que hasta en modo portátil los 720p no sean estables es incómodo, entre otras cosas más.
  18. gpucci0
    May 14, 2023
    7
    A good game, with lots of Zelda vibes. A game every Nintendo/Zelda fan would rate a 10.

    Leaving fanaticism aside, it's a good game, but with outdated technology, shallow storyline, and with no real breakthrough in mechanics.
  19. rinneshisui
    May 14, 2023
    7
    i had a weird feeling about this sequel. While the trailers at first teased interesting twists in the story, game structure/progression & some aspects of the world, I just wondered how they were gonna refresh a game with essentially the same map, enemies & combat, without entering in redundancy & shallowness.

    And after putting the hours on this game, I can confirm that this weird    i had a weird feeling about this sequel. While the trailers at first teased interesting twists in the story, game structure/progression & some aspects of the world, I just wondered how they were gonna refresh a game with essentially the same map, enemies & combat, without entering in redundancy & shallowness.

    And after putting the hours on this game, I can confirm that this weird feeling developed to disappointment, as much as I wanted to love the game.

    For starters, if you didn't like BOTW, you probably won't like TOTK, and that's a huge let down for people who wanted something different, considering the years of development.

    Exploring the world hasn't changed that much, the feel is quite similar, & while the sky islands & the underground provide new areas for traveling, there isn't something really refreshing, & the reward for exploration feels unbalanced. You are just gonna find some shrines, some enemies (lots of recycling) or some weapon that you probably won't use, or be excited about. Nothing too transcendental.

    The story is there, but the open world shenanigans & the structure of the game progression makes it feel like it is far in the background in your gameplay experience, a problem that BOTW had.

    I had some hopes for the dungeons, & some leakers where claiming wild takes about them, but in reality, they are glorified divine beasts with little to zero difficulty. The lead ups where a bit more interesting though.

    The new abilities have their charm, but if you are not interested (like lots of people) in distracting yourself with infinite builds & fuses that don't provide any substance or meaning to your quest, you probably going to find it tedious & useless quickly. And there are TOO many options with various weapons anyway, so you won't find something really challenging that makes the difference in effectiveness.

    This is without even mentioning the graphics & performance issues that i think they are just unacceptable for any major franchise/major game development. Dips in fps & aged graphics.

    So here we are, with more questions than answers,

    Why is this game getting 10s almost everywhere, with no objective review in sight?
    Why is everyone assuming that an infinite sandbox & open world "experience" automatically gives a game a greatness status?
    What happened to the mystic & sense of transcendence that made past Zeldas so great?

    The thing is, this is a game that is perfect for streamers & people that make memes, because the potential of making jokes & crazy situations is very much there. But it seriously lacks the feel of something transcendental, of the experience of being a hero on a mission, a magical journey with high stakes & immersive places. The customization options are amazing, but they should not be the main point of the game, since i am not interested in minecraft zelda edition.

    Still, there are many moments of charm & there are many opportunities to express yourself & enjoy the ride. But in no way this is a perfect game.

    Reviewers & fans have to take a step back & really analyze this game better, because we are sending Nintendo the wrong message & there's a huge room for improvement.    … Expand
  20. CirilUnbrok
    May 14, 2023
    7
    It's not 10/10. If you like BOTW, you will like TOTK.

    The problem is BOTW was industry changing game. TOTK isn't. It wouldn't be so bad, if it came 2 years after BOTW, but 6 years? That's too long for amount of changes aplied to BOTW formula. If Elden Ring would come out this year, than Elden Ring would still be GOTY. Nintendo sells game without full voice acting and with horrible    It's not 10/10. If you like BOTW, you will like TOTK.

    The problem is BOTW was industry changing game. TOTK isn't. It wouldn't be so bad, if it came 2 years after BOTW, but 6 years? That's too long for amount of changes aplied to BOTW formula. If Elden Ring would come out this year, than Elden Ring would still be GOTY.

    Nintendo sells game without full voice acting and with horrible performance (drops to 15-20fps in cutscenes!) for 70$. This is a joke. I am not planning buying next Nintendo console, if they still gonna treat customers like that.

    In summary, people saying that TOTK is 10/10 are just simply lying.    … Expand
  21. Psycokiller
    May 14, 2023
    7
    Em português: Extremamente datado, graficamente, mecanicamente. Sofre do velho e decepcionante CTRL C CTRL V do mundo comparado ao primeiro jogo, com algumas melhorias no quesito de densidade de coisas para se fazer. Não é um jogo decepcionante, ele é justamente aquilo que se você assistiu aos trailers e se você não hypou, você imaginou que seria. Definitivamente não é uma obra prima
  22. zhangsiyan12134
    May 15, 2023
    7
    A great game as the previous BoTW with additional craft system. I would love to give this game a full mark. However, the performance of the Switch itself is a huge drawback. The graphics and the frame rate in handheld mode is unacceptable in 2023. Personally, I highly suggest everyone to dump your own copy of the game and play it on the emulator to enjoys the beauty of this game.
  23. 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
  24. Dertylon
    May 16, 2023
    7
    Un gros air de déjà vu.

    C'est un jeu qui plaira sans aucun doute à la nouvelle génération, mais pas tellement aux vieux croulants comme moi, qui sont nostalgiques d'une période aujourd'hui révolue. Avec ce titre, Nintendo confirme la direction que la licence a prises avec BoTW à mon grand désarroi, mais au grand bonheur de mon neveu. Commençons par les points objectivement mauvais :    Un gros air de déjà vu.

    C'est un jeu qui plaira sans aucun doute à la nouvelle génération, mais pas tellement aux vieux croulants comme moi, qui sont nostalgiques d'une période aujourd'hui révolue. Avec ce titre, Nintendo confirme la direction que la licence a prises avec BoTW à mon grand désarroi, mais au grand bonheur de mon neveu.

    Commençons par les points objectivement mauvais :
    - le jeu est laid (textures pauvres et énormément d'alisaing) et il y a des gros problèmes de
    performances (stuttering et clipping assez présent).
    - Le jeu est trop similaire à BoTW. On a un un très gros air de déjà tellement que les jeux sont semblables. Le problème est que ToTK reprend les concepts de BoTW "tel quel" sans changer à les améliorer ou les rafraichir. je pense notamment à l'usure des armes et à utilisation des chevaux qui aurait pu gagner à être retravailler. On n'a vraiment pas l'impression que ce jeu à chercher à améliorer BoTW, ils ont juste fait un "copier-coller".

    Passons ensuite aux points plus subjectifs :

    - Les nouveaux pouvoir sont moins fun que dans BoTW, voire carrément frustrant par moment. Le pouvoir de combiner les armes par exemple est un système de crafting assez simplistic, et la fabrication des objets rend le titre très "bac-à-sable", ce qui est pas vraiment de mon gout.

    - Les puzzles ne sont pas intéressant. La plupart utilisent le système de fabrication d'objets, où on doit être très minutieux sur les angles des pièces, l'équilibre finale, etc pour que ça réussisse. Du coup, la difficulté est plus axé sur l"execution que sur la réflexion.

    - Les "donjons" sont assez similaires aux créatures divines. Aucune atmosphère, aucune tension, aucune joie d'exploration. ils se finissent assez vite, et on vous dit même dés le début ce que vous devez faire et où vous devez aller !

    - Le "loot" n'est pas super motivant. On peux parfois passer 2-3 minutes à construire un truc pour accéder à un coffre... pour au final se retrouver avec une arme que l'on a déjà en 3 exemplaire dans la sacoche....

    - Le monde est tout aussi vide que dans BoTW voir plus... D'accord, y a des nouvelles zones, mais le contenu est pas super intéressant et au final, très répétitif...

    Bref, pour faire simple, Si vous avez aimer BoTW, vous aller adorer celui-ci. Si BoTW vous a laisser un avis mitigé, celui vous frustrera encore plus !    … Expand
  25. Zelda4ever
    May 17, 2023
    7
    Buen juego, muy mal zelda, de zelda solo tiene los personajes y algunas melodías. Es el mismo juego que botw pero con nuevos trucos que alejan aún más al juego de la esencia. Eso sí, el final es excelente e inigualable, por eso le subí la nota. La exploración es de lo más frustrante, pasas horas explorando y al fin logras encontrar el tesoro y oh sorpresa, te premian con flechas u ópalo,Buen juego, muy mal zelda, de zelda solo tiene los personajes y algunas melodías. Es el mismo juego que botw pero con nuevos trucos que alejan aún más al juego de la esencia. Eso sí, el final es excelente e inigualable, por eso le subí la nota. La exploración es de lo más frustrante, pasas horas explorando y al fin logras encontrar el tesoro y oh sorpresa, te premian con flechas u ópalo, quitando toda emoción a la exploración. Los personajes irritantes sin algun boton que te ayude a activar o desactivar la ayuda de ellos, lo hace frustrante. Que cada cosa tenga una misión secundaria lo hace aburrido. Los gráficos son un asco, no puedo creer que en pleno 2023 sigan trabajando con tan pésimas texturas, entiendo que la justificación son las mecánicas del juego y lo acepto, pues son excelentes, pero no quita la realidad . Lo peor de todo son los recuerdos, el trailers del juego fue un clickbait de nuevo, todo todo es recuerdo... Esté juego vive solo de su nombre, sin el, no tendría tanto 10 falso de la prensa.… Expand
  26. Sashka80
    May 18, 2023
    7
    It‘s nice, but overrated. When you own a switch, you can of course buy it, when you don‘t, you play Elden Ring or Immortals Fenyx Rising. And use a Pro Pad, game controls aren’t good, but with this tool, it goes a bit better.
  27. 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
  28. ajtat0416
    May 18, 2023
    7
    Overall, I enjoy the game. I won't say that this feels like an expansion (it does). So I will try to add more to it.

    The sky island you start off at gave me same "oooh" feeling that I had when I played BOTW. After a couple hours there it was time to hit the ground. After hitting the ground it became evident that the ground level map was reskinned. Since hitting the ground I no longer    Overall, I enjoy the game. I won't say that this feels like an expansion (it does). So I will try to add more to it.

    The sky island you start off at gave me same "oooh" feeling that I had when I played BOTW. After a couple hours there it was time to hit the ground.

    After hitting the ground it became evident that the ground level map was reskinned. Since hitting the ground I no longer had the feeling of "oooh" and surprise. To be fair, I did here and there but those moments were few and far between. And at certain points it became an adventure finding what is the "same" in the game. And there is quite a bit sadly.

    I'm not disappointed with my purchase overall, however, I am disappointed that after 6 years this is what was the final product. A "this is what we wished we released with BOTW" product from Nintendo and devs.

    They heard the complaints about weapon durability and added weapon fusing as a workaround. Which was nice to see.

    Overall, the story is different but from high level overview somewhat the same.    … Expand
  29. Linkgamer
    Jun 20, 2023
    7
    I think it an amazing game. but i does have some flaws. i don't like the dungeons is too similar to the divine besets from BOTW. and i don't like that the debility system has not been fixed and i know we have fuse. but the weapons still break and you to find a new one. but overall a amazing game. and Utra hand i amazing i love playing with it. and also love the depth it really fun to explore.
  30. Sidus56743
    May 29, 2023
    7
    I think totk as its own is a good game, because it plays with a lot of interesting concepts. But its not really fun to explore new things, because i have seen 99 % of the overworld map and characters before. In the story you have to go to the same regions and prevent some sort of danger, which i have already done in botw. Most of the time you just fly everywhere, which breaks the fun ofI think totk as its own is a good game, because it plays with a lot of interesting concepts. But its not really fun to explore new things, because i have seen 99 % of the overworld map and characters before. In the story you have to go to the same regions and prevent some sort of danger, which i have already done in botw. Most of the time you just fly everywhere, which breaks the fun of adventuring. After 10 hours of playtime i just got bored. The underground and the sky cant replace a new world. It feels like they throw a bunch of little new things at you and connect them somehow into a storyline.… Expand
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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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