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. Vladamir8
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    this is the best game on switch anyone who puts this below 8 is a lair. It is way better than botw a 10000% worth the 90$
  2. supernite
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is fantastic. it's essentially just Breath Of The Wild, except better in every single way. the sense of scale that the new sky islands and depths add is just the cherry on top of this big beautiful cake of a game.… Expand
  3. rafaaguilera
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    I find open worlds game sometimes quite exhausting, but this Zelda is so creative and have some crazy and out of the box ideas, that convinced me to donate 90 hours of my life playing it, but It's not perfect. I think that the dungeons and narrative, even if superior to Breath of the Wind, there's still room for improvements. Also, I find that the depths and the skies aren't as fantasticI find open worlds game sometimes quite exhausting, but this Zelda is so creative and have some crazy and out of the box ideas, that convinced me to donate 90 hours of my life playing it, but It's not perfect. I think that the dungeons and narrative, even if superior to Breath of the Wind, there's still room for improvements. Also, I find that the depths and the skies aren't as fantastic as the surface (but they are fun to explore though).
    Even so, what we have here, is so superior compared to similar games in scope, exploration, mechanics and design, that its faults becomes something minor. Tears of the Kingdom is truly special and even better than Breath of the Wild. Probably the best 2023 game so far and the best last battle I've played.    … Expand
  4. taosho
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Given the way most AAA franchises are treated by studios, with routine and uninspired follow-ons or remakes (looking at you Assassin's Creed), this is a triumph from Nintendo. If you think this is a $70 DLC, or just two DLCs put together due to the sheer size of the world, then I just don't know what you expect out of a video game.

    If you didn't like BotW, you won't like this. It has a    Given the way most AAA franchises are treated by studios, with routine and uninspired follow-ons or remakes (looking at you Assassin's Creed), this is a triumph from Nintendo. If you think this is a $70 DLC, or just two DLCs put together due to the sheer size of the world, then I just don't know what you expect out of a video game.

    If you didn't like BotW, you won't like this. It has a much bolder storyline with some added creativity that feels like a (close) return to form of the narrative-driven Zelda that I missed in BotW. The world is still an open world, which means most of the side quests are still scattered in pockets – stables, villages, etc. But that was also the remarkable thing about BotW: you really could just go anywhere and they've retained that. But they've added some linearity to how you should progress, which I quite liked.

    The main mechanical difference is the relationship between monster parts, materials, weapon breakability, and rupees with the new Fuse ability. Feels a lot more balanced vs. the hundreds of Bokoblin fangs you could gather in BotW only to be able to use them in...elixirs? A much needed upgrade.

    Main complaints which I overlook for the sheer imagination and scale of this game:
    - Performance is extremely laggy in some areas. And that's with the internal witchcraft Nintendo already has to make this game seamless as possible.
    - The added collectibles. I felt like the orbs and Koroks were enough in BotW. Here, they've added even more and it's what most AAA franchises do to make the game "interesting" after you've beaten the main storyline.
    - The scattered armor sets. I felt like BotW rewarded you for exploring the world, whereas TotK requires you to. Good armor you could purchase, special armor was findable. The sheer size of the world requires many more hours to really find the good armor than probably should be required.

    Many other aspects of BotW were improved: more linear main dungeons, a harder final boss fight, the ability to revisit main dungeon areas, and again, can we talk about that story?

    TL;DR – it makes BotW look uninspired and simple, which is just saying this should be Game of the Year.    … Expand
  5. MrM21
    Jul 4, 2023
    4
    If you like the old Zelda games you will be disappointed. Combat is fun but there is so, so much walking and doing nothing. The Death Stranding of the Zelda franchise. And the world is pretty empty. Bring back the old Zelda style, cause this one isn't it.
  6. challenguate
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    It may not surpass Breath of the Wild, but it certainly matches it! The game is brilliant and lots of fun.
  7. emeraldos
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    my number one on nintendo switch, i recommend this game to everyone, work of art.
  8. Lucasraiol
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Acredito que estamos diante de uma obra prima de game design, um jogo onde você simplesmente tem a liberdade de aproveitar da sua maneira, a jornada tem início, meio e fim, porém ninguém além do jogador, decide como que essa jornada será trilhada. Brilhante no quesito diversão, história tocante e apesar dos apesare, muito bonito visualmente, e pela escolha artística, dificilmenteAcredito que estamos diante de uma obra prima de game design, um jogo onde você simplesmente tem a liberdade de aproveitar da sua maneira, a jornada tem início, meio e fim, porém ninguém além do jogador, decide como que essa jornada será trilhada. Brilhante no quesito diversão, história tocante e apesar dos apesare, muito bonito visualmente, e pela escolha artística, dificilmente envelhecerá mal, ou seja, um jogo que se tornou um clássico instantâneo. Longe de ser perfeito, tem problemas de performance, algumas missões secundárias que não lhe recompensam de maneira satisfatória e a terrível mecânica de quebrar armas, não tiram o brilho dessa carta de amor aos jogadores de videogame. Nota 10… Expand
  9. Daeesaurus
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Tears of the Kingdom is the type game where you feel sad knowing that you will never get to play it again for the 1st time again. If you never “beat” the main storyline of this game, you would still have hundreds of hours of play time. The creativity that it allows in solving puzzles is incredible. So many scenarios where I said “I know I didn’t solve it the way they intended”. It’s aTears of the Kingdom is the type game where you feel sad knowing that you will never get to play it again for the 1st time again. If you never “beat” the main storyline of this game, you would still have hundreds of hours of play time. The creativity that it allows in solving puzzles is incredible. So many scenarios where I said “I know I didn’t solve it the way they intended”. It’s a perfect game and it is one that I look forward to replaying years down the road.… Expand
  10. GuilhermeGGS
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Simplesmente o melhor jogo AAA da geração, história impecável, (diferente do BOTW) mecânicas novas surpreendentes, personagens cativantes, e um mundo rico de detalhes e missões, com certeza um dos melhores jogos que já joguei.

    Críticas negativas: As missões para pegar os sábios são bem repetitivas. Uma vergonha a Nintendo não traduzir para português, As quedas de FPS me decepcionou    Simplesmente o melhor jogo AAA da geração, história impecável, (diferente do BOTW) mecânicas novas surpreendentes, personagens cativantes, e um mundo rico de detalhes e missões, com certeza um dos melhores jogos que já joguei.

    Críticas negativas:

    As missões para pegar os sábios são bem repetitivas.
    Uma vergonha a Nintendo não traduzir para português,
    As quedas de FPS me decepcionou bastante, porém é um milagre para um Nintendo Switch, do mais o jogo é ótimo, e merece um 10 (com um pouquinho de puxação de saco).    … Expand
  11. NINTELDRITCH
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Just about the perfect sequel. Whereas Breath of the Wild was a game about the joys of exploration and discovery, this is a game about the joys of creation and ingenuity. Whereas Breath of the Wild was about finding and climbing the mountain, this game is about flying up the mountain in a space shuttle, blowing up the mountain, and using it as parts for an unheard-of death machine.Just about the perfect sequel. Whereas Breath of the Wild was a game about the joys of exploration and discovery, this is a game about the joys of creation and ingenuity. Whereas Breath of the Wild was about finding and climbing the mountain, this game is about flying up the mountain in a space shuttle, blowing up the mountain, and using it as parts for an unheard-of death machine. (metaphorically, of course.) Where Breath of the Wild let you choose where to go and when to do it, this game lets you choose how to go and what to do. It manages to add amazing new areas, along with somehow making the old ones feel new again. It manages to be both an outstanding vessel for your creativity and a fantastic open-world RPG. Every new mechanic works beautifully. Everything is well thought out. While the moment-to-moment writing and dialogue isn't as on point as in Breath of the Wild, this is a small blemish in an otherwise nearly perfect game. The overarching story writing makes up for it as well. The physics and creativity the game allows are breathtaking. The score/soundtrack is fantastic. The game feels very different to Breath of the Wild, but not in a way that is better or worse. Just... different. Some parts bring joy. Some fear. Some amazement. And almost always, they are absolutely incredible. They managed to make a sequel that is equal to Breath of the Wild. A truly *ahem* breathtaking experience.
    10/10    … Expand
  12. Mortar97
    Jul 4, 2023
    10
    Phenomenal Game.
    This game is pure fun. No frustration. Everything works. Multiple solutions to the puzzles.
    And the ending... It made my heart of stone crumble a little and reminded me that I have tears.
  13. mrwho995
    Jul 4, 2023
    7
    A fun enough experience, but not worth the 6 year wait.

    The game uses the same gameplay mechanics, physics and chemistry engines, assets, and overworld as its predecessor, which makes things feel stale. The re-use of the overworld especially, after the longest wait for a new Zelda ever, makes this game impossible to rate too highly. However, it does also add a lot of new stuff. The    A fun enough experience, but not worth the 6 year wait.

    The game uses the same gameplay mechanics, physics and chemistry engines, assets, and overworld as its predecessor, which makes things feel stale. The re-use of the overworld especially, after the longest wait for a new Zelda ever, makes this game impossible to rate too highly. However, it does also add a lot of new stuff.

    The best thing about this game are the Side Adventures. There's a huge amount of them and they have good variety. From a nice little contained story in Tarry Town, to the extensive adventures you get up to with the Lucky Clover Gazette; from a war between a fashionista and a traditional mayor, to infiltrating the Yiga Clan; from fighting with regular townspeople against monsters, to soloing an entire priate camp that has taken over Lurelin Village, and then rebuilding it. The Side Adventures are truly exceptional.

    The biggest weakness of the game is exploration rewards. They are almost always not worth the bother. The game is massively bloated with useless costumes, and if not that, rewards are one specific item you don't need, a bad sword/bow/shield. a map to something useless, or at best a Sage's Will. This heavily disincentivises exploration and makes the game feel empty and unrewarding.

    The Depths are a welcome addition, and can be good fun to explore. However, after a while they start to get slightly tedius and repetitive, with very little content in them beyond combat encounters and yiga camps.

    The dungeons are a vast improvement on Breath of the Wild's divine beasts, and were genuinely enjoyable to play, one of the highlights of the game. But unfortunately they are still quite far the standard set by Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. However, the Water Temple is very underwhelming and worse than the divine beasts, and the Spirit Temple simply isn't a dungeon at all, although the leadup to it was great. The highlight of the temples has to go to the Lightning Temple, which comes closest to feeling like a traditional dungeon. The Fire Temple and Wind temple are also good.

    The memories are far better implemented and far more interesting than in Breath of the Wild, but ultimately I still find them to be a bad way of telling a story in an adventure game; I'm not engaged if the story isn't contemporaneous and related to the actions of the player. The main questline is shockingly repetitive between the different regions, with an extremely fomulaic and repetitive story structure, and using almost the exact same cutscene four times; it's unbelievably lazy at points. The final few hours of the game are good fun however, with a great final boss followed by an epic and cinematic setpiece.

    Despite the Sky Islands being the main marketing draw of the game, they are really quite underwhelming and there's not that many of them. The exact same islands are copy-pasted countless times, which is honestly shockingly lazy for something that is supposed to be the main marketing draw of the game. They're a decent addition but could have been much, much better.

    The Fuse and Ultrahand abilities are fun to play around with, and very impressive from a technical, design, and art perspective. They can transform how you play the game and allow for a lot of fun gameplay experiences. They both must have taken a significant amount of work. Ascend and Recall are also technically impressive, and fit well in to the game; they make you quite fundamentally rethink how you approach exploration and combat respectively.

    Unfortunately, although the home building feature is an amazing idea, is executed utterly abysmally. They honestly shouldn't have allowed this feature to be released in such an underdeveloped, awkward, and restrictive state.

    Graphically, the game is certainly showing the Switch's age, and the successor can't come soon enough. Despite the ancient hardware the game can still manage to look really nice in parts, and although performance issues are more common than in BoTW, they're still relatively rare. The draw distance can sometimes be very poor. But usually, the experience is a good one. This game definitely shows the Switch's age but it *just about* gets away with it.

    There is a lot to like about the game, but ultimately it's an underwhelming experience for me. It feels too similar to Breath of the Wild to justify waiting so incredibly long for it. The new abilities are very impressive from a technical perspective, and must have taken a lot of time, effort, and trial and error to work so well. The dungeons are a huge improvement to the Divine Beasts. And the side quests are by far the best in Zelda history. But this doesn't make up the lazy, repetitive, and underwhelming story, the terrible rewards for exploration, the dry soundtrack, and the extremely extensive re-use of content, especially in the context of the longest ever wait between 3D Zeldas and with no 2D entry to plug the ga    … Expand
  14. SaschaAM
    Jul 4, 2023
    7
    Can't put a finger on it, but I got bored fast. The visual quality is good. The story felt boring compared with breath of the wild. If I should describe what this full price game feels like, like a collection of mods, including cheating mods.
    It does not feel balanced and I have to limit myself on which tools I am allowed to use, without robbing me myself of any challenge/fun. The sky    Can't put a finger on it, but I got bored fast. The visual quality is good. The story felt boring compared with breath of the wild. If I should describe what this full price game feels like, like a collection of mods, including cheating mods.
    It does not feel balanced and I have to limit myself on which tools I am allowed to use, without robbing me myself of any challenge/fun. The sky islands feel like simple puzzles, while the underworld feels like unbalanced copy pasta. First Zelda game I probably will never finish.    … Expand
  15. Awkylold
    Jul 4, 2023
    8
    Game is great, but If I hadn't played Breath of The Wild, I would have enjoyed it much more.
  16. Roxas11
    Jul 3, 2023
    9
    A very good game but i would of prefer getting a new map for tears of the kingdom
  17. 26thgamer
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    It is good. I mean there is really no arguing with it. If Breath of the Wild is a 10 out of 10 then this must be like a 15 out of 10. That is just how good this is.
  18. jorjao12
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    o jogo é incrivel os graficos deixam a desejar mas é o que o switch comporta então estou surpreso por ser o jogo que é no console que é acho que talvez supere o ocarina of time
  19. BiggieZeke
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    One of the best sequels of a video game ever. Just built on everything BOTW did and then added mechanics and systems that mesh well with the originals. Must play for all Switch owners.
  20. Yihsus
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    10/10 imo most fun I had playing any game. The I am 125 hours in and I spent most tome exploring instead of following the main story.
  21. RdeRuben
    Jul 3, 2023
    6
    Muy aburrido
    No te obliga a usar las nuevas mecánicas, por lo tanto, mal diseño de niveles.
    Buen Zelda stranding.
    Mal Zelda Minecraft
  22. Dman91
    Jul 3, 2023
    10
    30 Hours in, I’ve only scratched the surface. Tears of the Kingdom improves upon Breath of the Wild's formula and changes it in unique ways. If you liked Breath of the Wild, and/or previous Zelda games, this is an absolute must play.
  23. YoMammy
    Jul 3, 2023
    7
    all this game is is a copy and paste of the last zelda and that game was not very good either. i've been a die hard fan of zelda since super nintendo and those games leading up to this game were much better and more interesting. these new zeldas don't even have dungeons anymore it's just a bunch of shrines that are made for elementary school kids to solve
  24. bang0800
    Jul 3, 2023
    7
    The story line is a bit dull, doesn't make you feel like wanting to know what happens next. Art style is a bit let-down too. Others than that, its good if you want a chilling and farming-focus game. 7/10.
  25. HellDiamond
    Jul 3, 2023
    9
    Best game i played in 2023 so far.
    The game ist verry fun and there ist a lot to do. and i mean a lot.
    Some of the aspects are rebooted from BOTW. And BOTW was all new so thats why its a 9/10.
    Overall ist a great expirience for player who like sandbox / Builing / collecting games.
    Not a game for everyone but for me its the game of the year!
  26. Flyzerd
    Jul 2, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pour ma part, j'ai joué a BOTW avec des étoiles dans les yeux, je découvrais plein de chose, j'adorais explorer et l'histoire était géniale. En 70h de jeu, j'étais comblé.

    Dans TOTK, avec 130h de jeu a mon actif, malheureusement, on a l'aspect découverte au début avec les nouveaux pouvoirs. Ensuite, c'est tout comme BOTW, donc on se retrouve très vite sur sa faim. Je me suis mis a découvrir les nouvelles zones des que j'ai pu, les cieux, les profondeurs.. mais sur terre c'est BOTW... Je ne prends pas les grottes en compte car elles sont souvent peu utiles...

    Un bon Zelda pour moi, c'est une bonne histoire et un bon gameplay.
    Mais là trop de chose ne vont pas...
    Sans prendre en compte le prix et les lacunes niveau performance et graphique de la Switch...
    Le jeu vaut le coup d'oeil étant donné que c'est une suite de BOTW, mais il y a trop de chose qui ne mène à rien. Le joueur n'est pas assez récompensé. On a 16 cinématiques "Souvenirs" et pour moi il en manque vraiment beaucoup. J'aurais aimé que cet aspect soit améliorer, peut être en ayant toutes les cinématiques Accessibles et pas seulement des souvenirs.
    Mais il y a un manque cruelle de cinématiques, de récompenses, d'équilibre entre explorer et trouver des quêtes qui sont SUPER importantes.

    Par exemple, dans les profondeurs, c'est vide, même après avoir afficher la carte a 100%, on a une récompense équivalente à "Bravo" : "Wow merci je me suis embêté a faire tout ça pour ça ? J'ai même pas de cinématique ? D'explication ? De ah merci ça a servi à quelque chose ?" Non rien. Tu peux juste enfin regarder toute la carte c'est génial.
    Plein de quête dans des villes qui "ne servent à rien", exemple a elimith où on assiste à une meuf qui veut monter au pouvoir, au final on règle la situation, et wow, on peut baisser notre capuche, MERCI !

    Le meilleur des temples qui apportaient des choses "Nouvelles" c'est le temple Gerudo qui pour moi est de loin le meilleur des temples BOTW inclut, et je ne comprends pas pourquoi ils n'ont pas gardés les même directives sur les autres, ou pas exactement pareil mais histoire que ça change un peu quoi..

    Maintenant, au niveau de l'histoire...
    Ils ont voulus jouer avec le temps... Chose qu'ils avaient bien réussi à faire a l'époque avec les Ocarina of time etc... Mais là c'est un échec absolu, ou bien nous n'avons pas encore toutes les réponses mais c'est vraiment inexplicable, on ne peut être que dans des théories et ça c'est chiant ! Quand je finis un jeu, je veux que tout soit expliqué au moins ! Mais là il n'y a aucune cohérence.
    Par exemple, Zelda revient dans le temps et se transforme en dragon. Pourquoi on ne l'a pas vu dans BOTW ? Étant donné que cela fait 10 000 ans qu'elle est sous cette forme, on aurait pu le voir dans l'ancien jeu.
    Autre exemple avec la master sword, cela veut dire qu'il y en a deux dans une même époque dans BOTW, une sur Zelda dragon, et une a l'arbre mojo... Et pire encore comme exemple, elles sont où les technologies Sheikah? A l'école d'elimith, on apprend que les créatures divines ont bien existé, on a même des références à celle-ci, mais on apprend rien de plus ? Elles sont où ? On a que des questionnements sans déconner ? On peut pas nous donner une cinématiques au début du jeu qui nous montre les 7 ans qui se sont écoulés ? Peut être qu'ils ont supprimés les Tours, les sanctuaires, les gardiens, et les créatures divines, MAIS RIEN N'EST EXPLIQUÉ ?
    BAH NON, ça sera sûrement fait dans des DLC qui nous viendront 40€ l'unités, qui sait??

    Si je résume sans spoil :
    - Scénario avec trop de flou et d'incohérences - Trop peu de cinématiques
    - Gameplay ok mais qui rajoute des tonnes d'heures inutiles et répétitives - Des quêtes parfois trop longues qui n'apporte pas grand chose voir rien
    - On peut vite rater des quêtes importantes sans même sans rendre compte
    - Les korogu, il faut arrêter ça rajoute 70h de jeu juste a courir dans tous les sens
    - Les armes se cassent toujours, on aurait pu avoir un système de réparation de nos armes mais non on peut en fusionner...
    - Améliorer son niveau de batterie, c'est un enfer
    - Trop de farm a faire pour récupérer des choses importantes
    - Les sanctuaires on en peux plus, c'est long et pourtant super important, les anciens Zelda me manque car il n'y avait pas ce concept bidon de courir partout et résoudre 4 énigmes pour gagner un coeur/endurance... - Trop peu de vrai discussion avec des vrais voix et pas juste des onomatopées - Temps de jeu beaucoup trop long, a 120h de jeu je suis a 60%...
    - Graphisme peu important car égale à BOTW
    - Performance compliqué a cause de la Switch

    Pour terminer les aspects positifs pour moi :
    - Le peu de cinématiques qu'on a sont sympa voire incroyable pour certaines
    - L'histoire malgré ces lacunes est sympa a découvrir
    - Le gameplay malgré le temps qu'il prend est bien et amène a joué avec son esprit créatif    … Expand
  27. NoGameshahaha
    Jul 2, 2023
    5
    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
  28. Osman5678
    Jul 2, 2023
    5
    Entretenido, pero aburridisimo, su mundo abierto es aburrido a morir, en lo personal, un juego que esta sobrevalorado.
  29. Sleckers
    Jul 2, 2023
    0
    I understand some people love this game which is great for them, but to me I don’t understand how a major franchise can bring out something as dull and boring as this in 2023. The game is just a bland walking and climbing experience with little guidance and a dull story, I could barely finish the tutorial as I kept falling asleep with the switch in my hand, took me 3 attempts before II understand some people love this game which is great for them, but to me I don’t understand how a major franchise can bring out something as dull and boring as this in 2023. The game is just a bland walking and climbing experience with little guidance and a dull story, I could barely finish the tutorial as I kept falling asleep with the switch in my hand, took me 3 attempts before I managed to stay awake long enough just to be dumped into the main game which is no different, no guidance and all I do is walk around and climb stuff.… Expand
  30. LordBarco
    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.    … 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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