Prevent the destruction of ‘Hyrule’ once again in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK), the direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BOTW).
You play as Link, the hero of ‘Hyrule’, as you venture through a world overtaken by conflict and malice. As ‘Hyrule’ falls into the clutches of Ganon yet again, it is up to the player to save everyone from complete annihilation.
Like its predecessor, the game takes on an open-world setup, allowing players to explore freely. While the game retains much of the features found in Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom introduces new maps, mechanics, enemies, and abilities.
The storytelling, in my opinion, is pretty mediocre. The game is not narrative-driven, and while the storyline is quite intriguing, the execution pales in comparison to previous Zelda games.
In addition to the standard land map, TOTK also added a sky map and an underground map. Most of the land map is the same, save for a few areas due to the time skip between the two games, but the other two maps are completely new. The underground map, also called the Depths, is ultimately a mirrored version of Hyrule. While the majority of the Depths seems dark and empty, there are plenty of rare, exclusive treasures to find down there.
What really makes TOTK an interesting game is its mechanics. TOTK added new abilities such as Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall. Ultrahand adds a brand-new “building” aspect to the game, allowing players to create devices and tools to assist them throughout their gameplay.
Retaining the same art style as BOTW, TOTK blends realism and a more cartoon-like art style. The graphics are relatively good considering it’s a Switch game, however, the textures and lighting are not very great compared to other Switch games such as Super Mario Odyssey or Splatoon 3.
Compared to previous Zelda games, TOTK’s soundtrack may seem lacking. Being a direct sequel, the game reuses many tracks from BOTW. The simplistic, ambient piano tracks are what you’d hear throughout a lot of your gameplay, but the many character, battle, and village themes make up for it.
TOTK can be a pretty lengthy game, taking around 60 hours to complete the main story. If you’re looking to complete it 100%, around 300 hours would be a reasonable estimate.
In terms of difficulty, TOTK can be pretty challenging, especially early on. There are no difficulty settings, and players will have to find creative ways to combat enemies. The puzzles and labyrinths can be quite challenging, but everything is pretty doable.
The critically acclaimed 2023 action-adventure game, developed by Nintendo, won “Best Action/Adventure Game” and received an impressive five nominations at The Game Awards.
In conclusion, TOTK is in no way a bad game. Despite it lacking a bit in comparison to BOTW and other Zelda games, it is an enjoyable game that I didn’t regret playing.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch for $69.99.
