Pros:
+ art design and visual style is one of the best ever created
+ incredibly realized, fully believable open world
+ size of the world has more than doubled from BOTW
+ movement through the world is a spectacle
+ important upgrades like the warp item are available early on
+ technical performance is mostly fine
+ untold amounts of things to do and secrets to discover
+ addition of caves noticeably enriches the game world
+ new abilities add a lot of new actions to the gameplay
+ ultra hand is an engineering marvel that works without issues
+ fuse system is easy to use and adds heaps of complexity to the combat
+ ascend mechanic is a helpful addition and just works
+ physics and chemistry systems have been much improved over BOTW
+ cooking system has been improved and many new modifiers affect the gameplay
+ Sages and their abilities are well-implemented and tied to the gameplay
+ Zelda's arc and plot revelations are highlights of the series
+ quests are more complex and varied compared to BOTW
+ story is better constructed and carries a greater urgency than in BOTW
+ Purrah is the best bae
Cons:
- controls are cluttered and take a lot of time to get used to
- ultra hand in particular feels cumbersome to use
- general game progression is copied from BOTW
- the depths are too empty and mostly disconnected from the overworld
- most shrines are too simple and too many are completely empty
- item management is time-consuming and needs more sorting options
- attaching items to arrows cannot be automated
- silver enemy variants are tedious damage sponges
- fights in the later game are zero-sum-games
- rewards for the bigger fetch quests are disappointing
- fuse system makes searching for treasure chests mostly obsolete
- shop prices are exceedingly high and rupees are tough to come by
- sensor is still difficult to handle
- musical direction is still great but mostly copies that of BOTW
- US dub is pretty rough (you should chose the Japanese voices instead)
- no accessability options
- final fight feels underwhelming compared to the size of the game
Playtime: 220 hours, 72% of in-game progress. Almost all quests finished, all armor acquired, all Bubbul gems acquired, all Sage's will acquired, all shrines and roots activated, 330 Korok seeds found.
Magic Moments: Entering the depths for the first time. Building a working flying machine and finding out I could control it. Entering the Korok forest again. Understanding the fuse system and using it to solve puzzles. The first finished Gleeok fight. Most importantly, finding out what happened to Zelda.
Best Shrine: Orochium Shrine (Courage to Fall).
Worst Shrine: Timawak Shrine (Against the Flow).
Verdict:
Nintendo have done it again: Tears of the Kingdom improves on Breath of the Wild in almost every possible way, offering a bigger, more exciting world, more secrets to discover, and a more engaging narrative to experience over the course of dozens, if not hundreds of hours of playtime. While the fresh gameplay options offer new, never seen possibilities to interact with the surprisingly large but beautiful game world, its quests, and puzzles, the ultra hand system in particular is a technical marvel that invites players' creativity in more ways than quite possibly any other game ever created. Even though the game is not flawless and issues like the cumbersome controls and item management, simple and short shrines, barren depths, and reused main quest structure should not remain unmentioned, the practically endless amount of incredible design decisions and memorable moments that Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Eiji Aonuma and their team at Nintendo have created here is nothing short of spectacular.
It is almost unthinkable where else the series could even go in the future after a game this fully realized, and I certainly do not envy the Zelda team's responsibility to create a rival to Tears of the Kingdom. But even if this is the actual endpoint for the series in terms of scope and scale for the time being, we should be thankful and glad Nintendo took a chance on one of its most beloved franchises and created this duology for us to experience. What a time to be alive.
+ art design and visual style is one of the best ever created
+ incredibly realized, fully believable open world
+ size of the world has more than doubled from BOTW
+ movement through the world is a spectacle
+ important upgrades like the warp item are available early on
+ technical performance is mostly fine
+ untold amounts of things to do and secrets to discover
+ addition of caves noticeably enriches the game world
+ new abilities add a lot of new actions to the gameplay
+ ultra hand is an engineering marvel that works without issues
+ fuse system is easy to use and adds heaps of complexity to the combat
+ ascend mechanic is a helpful addition and just works
+ physics and chemistry systems have been much improved over BOTW
+ cooking system has been improved and many new modifiers affect the gameplay
+ Sages and their abilities are well-implemented and tied to the gameplay
+ Zelda's arc and plot revelations are highlights of the series
+ quests are more complex and varied compared to BOTW
+ story is better constructed and carries a greater urgency than in BOTW
+ Purrah is the best bae
Cons:
- controls are cluttered and take a lot of time to get used to
- ultra hand in particular feels cumbersome to use
- general game progression is copied from BOTW
- the depths are too empty and mostly disconnected from the overworld
- most shrines are too simple and too many are completely empty
- item management is time-consuming and needs more sorting options
- attaching items to arrows cannot be automated
- silver enemy variants are tedious damage sponges
- fights in the later game are zero-sum-games
- rewards for the bigger fetch quests are disappointing
- fuse system makes searching for treasure chests mostly obsolete
- shop prices are exceedingly high and rupees are tough to come by
- sensor is still difficult to handle
- musical direction is still great but mostly copies that of BOTW
- US dub is pretty rough (you should chose the Japanese voices instead)
- no accessability options
- final fight feels underwhelming compared to the size of the game
Playtime: 220 hours, 72% of in-game progress. Almost all quests finished, all armor acquired, all Bubbul gems acquired, all Sage's will acquired, all shrines and roots activated, 330 Korok seeds found.
Magic Moments: Entering the depths for the first time. Building a working flying machine and finding out I could control it. Entering the Korok forest again. Understanding the fuse system and using it to solve puzzles. The first finished Gleeok fight. Most importantly, finding out what happened to Zelda.
Best Shrine: Orochium Shrine (Courage to Fall).
Worst Shrine: Timawak Shrine (Against the Flow).
Verdict:
Nintendo have done it again: Tears of the Kingdom improves on Breath of the Wild in almost every possible way, offering a bigger, more exciting world, more secrets to discover, and a more engaging narrative to experience over the course of dozens, if not hundreds of hours of playtime. While the fresh gameplay options offer new, never seen possibilities to interact with the surprisingly large but beautiful game world, its quests, and puzzles, the ultra hand system in particular is a technical marvel that invites players' creativity in more ways than quite possibly any other game ever created. Even though the game is not flawless and issues like the cumbersome controls and item management, simple and short shrines, barren depths, and reused main quest structure should not remain unmentioned, the practically endless amount of incredible design decisions and memorable moments that Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Eiji Aonuma and their team at Nintendo have created here is nothing short of spectacular.
It is almost unthinkable where else the series could even go in the future after a game this fully realized, and I certainly do not envy the Zelda team's responsibility to create a rival to Tears of the Kingdom. But even if this is the actual endpoint for the series in terms of scope and scale for the time being, we should be thankful and glad Nintendo took a chance on one of its most beloved franchises and created this duology for us to experience. What a time to be alive.