A competent entry in the long running Ratchet&Clank series that spans 20 years.
From somewhat stiff but innovative beginnings to visually stunning system showcase, rift a part excels at being a fast paced thril ride that doesn't overstay it's welcome.

There are small sections that play out similar to insomniacs spiderman where you are watching a spectacle of environment details warp around you but it never dwells so much that it becomes fatiguing.

Rivet and kt are new characters introduced that play similarly to the original duo but this time instead of relying on clanks signature propeller or truster pack you are given boots that are somewhat of a massive boost compared to the hover boots from previous games.

Worth it on sale and a much better entry than the past few entries

A PS2 era-esque game in 2023.
A divisive entry in FF as it does away with nearly every aspect that makes it a Final Fantasy game while still being above par.

Solo protagonist, no elemental weaknesses, no vehicles bar ambrosia and a very FF12 world (A positive imo).
My initial playthrough took around 60 hours due to the lengthy side content that wasn't too involved. A majority of these result in speaking to npcs or killing a monster.

The combat system doesn't compare to devil may cry V's and seems as though it's held back due to the lingering elements that still make it a rpg.

The stagger system for tough enemies is much more simplified than that of FF7 remake as any attack will wittle it down.
Eikons are limited to three which means you'll tire of the same two before swapping in others to give them a go and then swapping back. I never removed phoenix as the abilities are far too useful such as the homing dash and ultimate to warrant removing it.

I'll be looking forward to replaying this on Fantasy mode as the normal difficulty did not prove challenging. I did all the hunting board but it begins to wain on you after hearing the main battle theme for the 10th time.

As many have stated before it has it's low points but many high points that make it feel close to a metal gear rising or Asuras wrath but sadly the length of the game feels bloated.
Had this gone for a shorter and more concise experience it would rank higher but sadly it's held back by elements of the rpg it's trying to desperately hold onto that it falls short of being an excellent action game.

The story could of done without the final stretch in waloed as that is the point I began feeling the game becoming more of a slog.

DLC hopefully will include a short sandbox of different gameplay elements now that the core experience is finished.
Until future playthroughs this remains my opinion of the game.

While traversal can be acomplished through the use of Ultra handed made vehicles of varying complexities, Tears of the Kingdom ends up feeling like a toybox demo than a fully fledged sequel.

The rejigged open world is welcome otherwise this would drag the game signficantly lower in anyones estimations.
In an odd way this game shares similarties with Banjo Tooie, a sequel with plenty of ideas but not fleshed out into a cohesive experience.

There's plenty to do and yet there's an air of uncertainty present that is apparent from the constructs left behind by it's predecesor breath of the wild.
I enjoyed my time playing however it gives off the impression that allowing anything to be a solution is not always the most rewarding experience.
Many shrines are solved in a matter of seconds due to the arsenal of abilities that serve to get you from point a to point b.

There's also sticking objects together like garrys mod which may confuse and irratate those who just want to progress without fiddling around with the finicky building mechanics.
A criticism that has been dug into the ground and levied at botw about the weapons is also not fixed here.

While you will never be in short supply of materials to craft weapons, it becomes tedious scrolling and sorting through a long list just to remake an effective weapon that you crafted before.

What's more confusing is that there is a favourite feature but it is only present for the contraptions menu and not the fuse weapons menu.
The tedium can be somewhat reduced by using an unlockable ability that auto-builds schematics or previously made creations but it ends up costing zonaite, and this is where there is a clash in design.

The sky is under utilised and less sprawling as imagined before it's debut in those trailers years ago. Skyward sword had character in it's approach to the sky section with unique buildings populated by npcs.
The sky being the main draw becomes the least developed compared to the depths which make up a majority of the terrain.

The depths are more challenging than the land or sky due to the blight condition which prevents you from replenishing hearts once you touch or are attacked by blight afflicted enemies.

Your reward for exploring the depths comes in way of easier ways to acquire zonaite to power batteries and collect what were previously amiibo locked outfits from botw in chests.
The cycle becomes this, Build 2 fan and 1 seat flying machine with a brightbloom seed to light the way; find lightroots, mine zonaite repeat.

There are a few bosses sprinkled around the depths as well as above but they suffer from copy and paste that you will get so sick of encountering the 6th hinox that you'll opt to skip it.

As for the regions they have seen a makeover in layout whick makes revisting interesting, there's a lot more thought put into what sidequests there are this time around.
At the same time there is a lot of repetition when it comes to some of these.
The travelling band requires you to find a band member, complete their task before hauling them all up a hill in a towed wagon to a great fairy that does the same thing as all the other great fairies which is upgrade your armour rating but only with the required number of materials for each piece.
Another involves seeking out caves and wells that are seperate to the depths to kill bubuulfrogs that drop buubul gems which can be traded in for items also present in botw.

The four dungeons in the game are a huge step up in comparision to botw and the bosses encountered also are improved but not as clever to solve like in previous zelda's prior to botw.
The champions also make a return with their abilities allowing you to do different types of attacks.

The least helpful one comes with sidons water barrier that will absorb one hit and if you attack it shoots a jetstream slice that clears muck which really only affects the zora domain and some parts of the depths.
Riju will use lighting if you shoot an arrow after it charges up, tulin shoots arrows and propels you forward with a gust of wind and yunobo barrells towards anything in the path designated. Yunobo's ability can be annoying as he will automatically cling to any vehicle you pilot, including tiny ones which blocks a lot of view.
Luckily you can disable any of these at any time, but a majority of the time these abilities are quick lackluster.
I would mention the additional ability but it is considerd a spoiler but even it is a let down when initially you think you can do a lot more with it than you actually can.

Overall Tears of the kingdom is a sequel to breath of the wild, if you enjoyed that then this is more of the same but with a different look. Does it break new ground and redefine the genre? Absolutely not.
It feels held back by what groundwork was laid before it that now it falls victim to the same formulaic curse that it tried to escape from.
Will I return to this years later who knows but it certainly isn't the best Zelda game