Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom [Review]
My mostly spoiler-free review of the latest Zelda title.
It’s finally here; a little over six years after ‘Breath of the Wild’ redefined not only the Zelda franchise, but open-world gaming in general.
Is Nintendo capable of one-upping a game considered by many to be perfect, or the closest thing to perfection that a game may achieve? Developers, from major studios to smaller indie companies, have been copying and pasting gameplay elements from ‘Breath of the Wild’ since its 2017 release.
The expectations are sky high, the hype is off the charts, and I don’t envy Nintendo for having to produce a sequel with fans demanding something new and better than ever.
No pressure, Nintendo.
I published ‘How Paper Pixels Rates Video Games,’ which is my method for creating transparent, easy-to-understand, and consistent reviews for every game I play.
Gone are the days that a game receives a perfect 10/10 and no one knows how that title earned a perfect score while other great games fell short.
There are seven categories: the first five combined are worth 70%, and the other three are worth 30% combined of the total score.
I aim to keep this review fairly spoiler free. All screenshots, videos, and descriptions are from the very first section of the game, which acts as a tutorial much like the early part of ‘Breath of the Wild.’
Without further ado, let’s do this…
Story
My favorite Zelda storyline is from the SNES title, A Link to the Past, and my second favorite is Breath of the Wild. Other Zelda titles have been either good or at worst, forgettable.
I am very impressed so far with the story, at least the parts I can discuss without spoiling it for you.
It’s a Zelda title, so you know Ganon or Ganondorf is involved. I was let down by the Ganon in Breath of the Wild, but Tears of the Kingdom is getting it right.
Ganon, Ganondorf, or whoever that is that’s introduced at the beginning is downright scary. It is the most mature Ganon(dorf) design Nintendo has ever produced, and I can see it frightening small children or the most sensitive amongst us.
The Tears of the Kingdom story does a wonderful job of expanding the Zelda universe. A new race (or potentially races??) long hinted at in Zelda lore is revealed, which sheds light on Hyrule’s founding.
Anyone that has watched any gameplay videos knows that much of this game takes place in the sky, but what about other locations? Nintendo takes us to other areas, further increasing the size of the explorable area. New locations mean new characters, adding more layers to the story and Zelda lore.
My only complaints is that important characters from Breath of the Wild are not further developed. They were leaders of entire regions and now what are they doing? Hanging out in balloons? Seems odd.
Second, and this is a small one, it’s a Zelda game which means we get the gist of the story as all titles follow the same basic premise. How will Nintendo surprise us?
YES! —> Expanded universe, mature story, terrifying antagonist.
STORY: 8.5 / 10
Play Mechanics
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? This may be the most difficult area for Nintendo to live up to fans’ expectations. Breath of the Wild’s gameplay was revolutionary and it would take a miracle for Nintendo to improve upon Breath of the Wild.
Did they do it? They knocked it out of the park.
The most fun new abilities are Fuse and Ultrahand, allowing you create vehicles, tools, weapons, and more. YouTube is filled with crazy examples and it’s easy to spend an hour trying to get a flying car to work or seeing the effects of combining different items with arrows.
The unlimited possibilities are perhaps my only complaint. It is easy to get lost as you try to piece together a new tool or solve a puzzle.
YES! —> Fuse and Ultrahand are wonderful, you are limited only by your imagination.
PLAY MECHANICS: 10 / 10
Control
The controls are good, but I wish it was easier to pull off certain defensive moves while in combat. Why do I have to smash several buttons in perfect order while in the middle of combat? Although satisfying when pulled off correctly, it’s also incredibly frustrating when you feel KNOW you've done it correctly, but instead you’re dead.
Swimming has become a slog and almost a death sentence if you fall in the water far from shore. You have a choice of either dying or using all of your stamina restoring food.
Zelda is also the only modern and more recent third-person adventure game that doesn’t have a dedicated dodge or roll button. There are plenty of buttons on the Switch controller, so I don’t see why not.
YES & NO —> Some moves are difficult to pull off in a pinch, swimming is somehow worse than ever, and why can’t we get a roll button?
CONTROL: 8 / 10
World & Level Design
It is tough to fully review this category without a few spoilers, so I will try to keep a narrow focus.
The character design and overall art style are still top-notch, despite this category rehashing most of what made 2017’s Breath of the Wild so special. Many games may be dinged a point for recycling a previous title, but Tears of the Kingdom perfects what was already there.
In addition, they greatly expanded the size of the Zelda universe. There are new locations, such as in the skies above, that at least double the size of explorable areas.
The Hyrule that you are familiar with from Breath of the Wild is also different as giant fissures in the earth have opened up, creating further opportunities for exploration.
Dungeons make their triumphant return, and this reviewer couldn’t be happier.
Shrines from Breath of the Wild are also back, which I have mixed feelings about. They run the gamut from fun and challenging to downright boring and repetitive.
YES! —> Love the dungeons, size of the world, and character designs. Dungeons!
NO! —> Shrines are not of consistent quality and I wish Nintendo took a less is more approach to them.
WORLD & LEVEL DESIGN: 9 / 10
Fun Factor
It’s freaking Zelda! I love it, it’s fantastic, and any gamer will find a lot to enjoy. It is dinged a half point as there’s almost too much to do, and it can be overwhelming.
The Ultrahand ability can also be frustrating as subtle design changes to your created item, weapon, vehicle, or puzzle solution can take a lot of tweaking (more so than should be necessary).
FUN FACTOR: 9.5 / 10
Graphics
The graphics are improved over Breath of the Wild, but is it enough? They introduce new graphical effects, which can be impressive, but also show the Switch’s age.
Pop up is always a problem in Switch games, but now add slowdown in more demanding areas to the list of issues. It is most apparent when traveling lands in the sky as there are particle effects the Switch simply cannot handle.
Yes, it’s the best looking Switch game and the developers squeezed every bit of power out of hardware that wasn’t impressive when it was released, let alone in 2023.
To me, it reinforced that we need a Switch Pro or Switch 2. I love the Switch’s concept of a portable system that you can also plug into your TV. I don’t want to go back to being locked down to a television screen.
A beautiful game, but ultimately it’s held back by the hardware and leaves me wanting more.
NO! —> Where’s my Switch Pro?!
GRAPHICS: 8 / 10
Music
The score is marvelous and hits the high notes in emotional or action-packed scenes. Yet it’s hard to write enough music to fill such a huge world, so there is a lot of repetition or prolonged periods of silence.
I am not certain, but I feel a lot of the music is recycled from Breath of the Wild, or perhaps contains only minor modifications.
YES…NO? —> It’s glorious, but I can’t help feel we’ve heard it all before.
MUSIC: 8.5 / 10
Sound Design
Satisfying thuds, explosions, the clash of metal weapons, weather effects and more bring Hyrule to life. The sound design and FX are at the top of their game.
The voice acting is melodramatic at times, as was Breath of the Wild, but still high quality.
My only complaint, and this extends far beyond Hyrule and into the worlds of other Nintendo characters, are the many characters’ voice sound FX. The little sighs, the beeps, the “cute” gasps, the one syllable sounds that could be words but aren’t, and the emotional outbursts are all very annoying.
I would expect this from the heyday of the Super Nintendo, but we’re talking about much more powerful hardware now.
I don’t need, want, or desire my game characters to sound like Teletubbies. Am I the only one that’s fed up? I know Nintendo caters to a young audience as well, but not infants. It’s time for Nintendo to move beyond the silly childish voice effects.
SOUND DESIGN: 8.75 / 10
Let’s Wrap This Up
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an easy recommendation to all gamers as the epitome of what a third-person adventure game should be.
Should you play Breath of the Wild first? I think so, but if you’re familiar with the Zelda franchise, perhaps you could skip it, but why miss out on one of the greatest games ever created?
I can’t wait to stop typing and get lost once again exploring Hyrule.
Tears of the Kingdom receives my highest recommendation.
FINAL SCORE
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION
Video Review is Available Now!
I made a quick 90-second review video that quickly summarizes the above. Check it out below:
If you have a moment…
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