Ever since Breath of the Wild came out in 2017, I've been aching for a game to make me feel like that game did. When I popped in Tears of the Kingdom and started exploring Hyrule, a few tears rolled down my eyes as I finally felt the same butterflies I did back then.
Tears of the Kingdom makes Breath of the Wild feel like a demo. It feels like Tears of the Kingdom replaces its predecessor because it does everything the latter did and builds upon it.
My only real ick with this game is that the shrines really aren't as good as Breath of the Wild's. There are still too many "blessing" shrines (and even less of them feel justified) and they actually reduced the number of combat shrines despite making them wayyyyy better by making them mini "Eventide Island" type challenges. Also, the chests in the shrines feel more like a reward for spending time searching every nook and cranny of the shrine rather than one for besting a harder version of the shrine's challenge.
The cinematography is surprisingly good, I found the story to be really intriguing, the caves are a treat, the depths are really cool (though maybe a bit too big)... The game met my wildest expectations and made me want to explore Hyrule all other again just to see how they had tweaked the world I loved so much in Breath of the Wild.
Even though I do think I still prefer Breath of the Wild because of sentimental value alone, Tears of the Kingdom is absolutely a worthy and justified sequel that feels like the expanded and perfected version of Breath of the Wild.
Tears of the Kingdom makes Breath of the Wild feel like a demo. It feels like Tears of the Kingdom replaces its predecessor because it does everything the latter did and builds upon it.
My only real ick with this game is that the shrines really aren't as good as Breath of the Wild's. There are still too many "blessing" shrines (and even less of them feel justified) and they actually reduced the number of combat shrines despite making them wayyyyy better by making them mini "Eventide Island" type challenges. Also, the chests in the shrines feel more like a reward for spending time searching every nook and cranny of the shrine rather than one for besting a harder version of the shrine's challenge.
The cinematography is surprisingly good, I found the story to be really intriguing, the caves are a treat, the depths are really cool (though maybe a bit too big)... The game met my wildest expectations and made me want to explore Hyrule all other again just to see how they had tweaked the world I loved so much in Breath of the Wild.
Even though I do think I still prefer Breath of the Wild because of sentimental value alone, Tears of the Kingdom is absolutely a worthy and justified sequel that feels like the expanded and perfected version of Breath of the Wild.