Just like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom starts off strong. When you're thrown into a huge, unexplored world, what can you do besides run around exploring EVERYTHING?
Gameplay: The new powers are a substantial improvement when compared to BoTW's. I don't want to spoil anything, but they're very unique and fun to play around with.
Graphics: The game looks good for a Switch game, but unlike BoTW it can be compared to PS5 graphics... and the comparison is not flattering.
Combat: It's really fun at first, but honestly gets very boring fast. The enemies scale as you defeat more. Once you reach late game enemies, they're just thick damage sponges that one-shot you if they sneeze on you. I wish there was more enemy variety and less artificial "difficulty." Combat goes from feeling fresh and unique in the beginning (though arguably too easy) to tedious and pointless.
World/Exploration: There's a LOT of new ground to cover in Tears of the Kingdom. Besides Hyrule, you have Sky Islands and the Depths. Unfortunately, this hype also goes away pretty quickly. There aren't that many unique things you can find, and it ends up just being more and more of the same.
Story: The Memories in this game seem really interesting. I haven't collected many yet, but they seem promising. It's nice to have a bit more story. The main quest thus far has been pretty predictable, but not unenjoyable.
Portability: Since this is a Switch game after all, this is a great point for TotK. I ended up playing it during my recent travels, since my PC and PS5 games couldn't be brought with me. Combat feels impossible in handheld, but it's fun to bring my Switch, a stand, and my Pro controller to play on the go.
Even though I complained a lot about how combat and exploring got old, I still got a hefty amount of time and fun out of the game. I think that's worth the $70 sticker price. I'm not sure if I'll end up finishing TotK, but it was fun while it lasted.
Gameplay: The new powers are a substantial improvement when compared to BoTW's. I don't want to spoil anything, but they're very unique and fun to play around with.
Graphics: The game looks good for a Switch game, but unlike BoTW it can be compared to PS5 graphics... and the comparison is not flattering.
Combat: It's really fun at first, but honestly gets very boring fast. The enemies scale as you defeat more. Once you reach late game enemies, they're just thick damage sponges that one-shot you if they sneeze on you. I wish there was more enemy variety and less artificial "difficulty." Combat goes from feeling fresh and unique in the beginning (though arguably too easy) to tedious and pointless.
World/Exploration: There's a LOT of new ground to cover in Tears of the Kingdom. Besides Hyrule, you have Sky Islands and the Depths. Unfortunately, this hype also goes away pretty quickly. There aren't that many unique things you can find, and it ends up just being more and more of the same.
Story: The Memories in this game seem really interesting. I haven't collected many yet, but they seem promising. It's nice to have a bit more story. The main quest thus far has been pretty predictable, but not unenjoyable.
Portability: Since this is a Switch game after all, this is a great point for TotK. I ended up playing it during my recent travels, since my PC and PS5 games couldn't be brought with me. Combat feels impossible in handheld, but it's fun to bring my Switch, a stand, and my Pro controller to play on the go.
Even though I complained a lot about how combat and exploring got old, I still got a hefty amount of time and fun out of the game. I think that's worth the $70 sticker price. I'm not sure if I'll end up finishing TotK, but it was fun while it lasted.