The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I have spent over 120 hours playing this spectacular game. At first, I thought it was a bit overwhelming, but as I made my way through the map and unlocked this new world, I realized it was much more than just a simple DLC. It offers new stories, characters, and adventures. Don't pay attention to those people who say it's just a new DLC; for me, it's something new while still appreciating all the good things from the previous game! The gameplay mechanics are very different, which can make it seem complicated, but after playing it, you will once again immerse yourself in a fantasy world that only Nintendo can achieve!

Excellent game!

(I'll update my review as I play through the game). I love the sandbox elements of the game and the new abilities that Link has access to. They are much better than what we had in Botw because they interact and are integrated with world in a much more engaging and interesting way. I also love the new enemy variety and bosses. It is much more similar to what we would expect from a Zelda game. However, the dungeons are still not what I want from a Zelda game. And the game in general doesn't really feel like what I've grown to associate with Zelda. I know many people dislike linear games but I think a linear experience doesn't run the risk of ruining the experience for players who do things the "wrong" way. Additionally, the story and progression can be more potent and fun. I firmly believe that a linear experience is a more consistently powerful than an open world experience. I love the freedom but eventually since the story only ends when you want it to, by the time you finish the game it will have lost its appeal whereas a linear experience gets to end the game with a bang. My biggest issue though is still the dungeons. In older Zelda games you would slowly unlock parts of the dungeon making the whole process satisfying as you would go through the dungeon one door at a time. Then halfway through you would get a key item as a reward for a mini boss and would be forced to use the item as a sort of tutorial. As you went through the second half of the dungeon you would become more and more comfortable with the item and finally, as one last challenge you would be tested on your knowledge of the new item and the dungeon as a whole. It was a satisfying experience that left me hungry for more and excited for the next dungeon. That just isn't the case here. There's never the wonder of "what item am I getting here?" or "what cool puzzles will be featured?" It's just a slog to do dungeons. I love the game but I honestly wish that the dungeons were more linear. However, they are significantly better than Botw dungeons and are actually fun so that is a big step up. Additionally, and I don't know if I'm the only one who's noticed this, but the game looks noticeably better than Botw which was a high standard. The enemy variety is very refreshing after the repetitive enemies of Botw. The new bosses are also very appreciated. I remember heading into the depths and then getting jump scared by a giant Obsidian Frox that freaked me out. In general the exploration has gone up from a 9.5/10 in Botw to a very easy 11. Now every corner of the world is not just filled with things to find but meaningful and exciting things. I recently found the torse to the Twilight Princess set and let out an audible squeal of joy and excitement. Overall, I won't give the game a ten until I've finished it but it's getting there.

Just a heads up this review has no major spoilers.

From the moment this game starts you are in for an immersive experience. Anything from the story to the actual gameplay is phenomenal. The overall performance of the game will encounter very few flaws.(but yes they are there just not very noticeable) If you are a long time Zelda fan or you are a fan of open world type games you are in for an absolute treat! This game is not even close to what you consider just simply " Botw DLC" it's so much more than that and it really stands out not only as a direct sequel but as it's own title as well. There has been moments that were jaw dropping as well as moments that had my heart racing from excitement. Overall, the music, the graphics, the exploration, the story and game mechanics are to die for. Pick up this game immediately and ignore these people who claim this is just " DLC" it's so much more than that!

This yet another magnum opus from Nintendo. Breath of the Wild came and completely changed the way we gamers viewed and played open-world games. Now after 6 years, Tears of the Kingdom shows how Nintendo still had a lot of innovative ideas in the minds to improve the experience even further, a feat I didn't think was possible. So many new and incredible gameplay mechanics are introduced here which I haven't seen in any other game I've ever played. I would go on to say these gameplay mechanics are the most innovative and creative. They completely changed the way players will experience Hyrule again. The Hyrule itself although similar is quite different than before. We have the new Sky and Underground maps now that makes the exploration even more worthwhile. One thing I also appreciate about its gameplay is how it allows freedom but also test the player's creativity and problem-solving skills like no other. Having many tools at the disposal means nothing if the players can't exploit them according to their creativity and not something that was scripted by the developers. The physics engine in this game is also the best i've ever seen with Red Dead Redemption 2's physics engine at close second place. This time the game has a heavy emphasis on story, and the plot is very interesting with proper voice acting. There are also dungeons in this one for those missing them in Breath of the Wild. Last but not the least, the graphics although not ground-breaking by today's standard, are still very artistic. In fact, it looks and feels like a Studio Ghibli movie. Due to this art-style, this game will still look gorgeous even after 25 years whereas most photorealistic game of today will probably not age well in comparison. We've seen this in case of Wind Waker, which is a timeless piece of joyful art. In comparison Mass Effect, which came a few years later hasn't aged that well in looks department. Although, I do admit that there are a few performance drops in some instances due to Switch's hardware limitations. I believe this should have been a launch title for the Switch 2 and as a result should've made use of improved specification to run smoother and looked better. Nevertheless, the questions is that do I like it more than Breath of the Wild? Well, in some cases yes and in some cases no. Yes because it's clearly a more grander experience with vastly larger map, better gameplay mechanics and better story. But it doesn't compare with the experience of discovering Hyrule for the first time in Breath of the Wild. Although by comparison the experience of Breath of the Wild was a lot simpler; but that was where the true beauty of Breath of the Wild really was. It was after a very long time that I had some much fun, and a sense of nostalgic escapism; or maybe, feeling like a kid again playing a video-game. Nintendo clearly knows how to make the most memorable and joyful video-game experiences, and this alongside Breath of the Wild ranks topmost in my absolute best game of all time.

Tears of the Kingdom had to live up to the impossible expectations of being a sequel to one of the best games of all time. What is even more impossible is that it not only lived up to those expectations, it blew past them in every possible way.

My personal worry while waiting for this game was that it would be good, but it wouldn't capture the same magic of exploration that Breath of the Wild did. The game soon proved me wrong with it's sheer size and vastly changed Hyrule. The game world has been changed to a point where it's near unrecognizable apart from the huge landmarks, and the added layers of verticality expand upon the world to be more than double the size.

I was immediately lost and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff to do and explore, see how my favorite locations have changed etc. But in an absolutely good way. Really, the amount of times I was distracted from what I was doing only shows how magical exploring Hyrule again was.

The new abilities and mechanics are a joy to toy around with, and the physics engine is so in depth that the possibilities given to the player are almost truly limitless. There are countless ways to solve puzzles, and probably as many for straight up skipping them. The vehicle building was an unexpected but definitely welcome addition and I had way too much fun designing the worst and most cursed ways of traversal.

It is amazing how good the game looks even with the limitations of the Switch. The art direction is absolutely gorgeous and I would often stop and just enjoy the view, accompanied by the immaculate sound design. The atmosphere is so good that I enjoyed even just walking through the environment.

That being said there are also moments where the Switch doesn't pull through in the form of janky textures, very noticeable pop-in, and occasional frame drops. Even then the game was too good for these problems to hinder my overall experience.

The story is a simple but functional Zelda story so it is nothing amazing, but the high points and climaxes still hit extremely hard. Especially the finale was exceptionally good, one of the best videogame finales out there.

Everything I hoped for and more, a true masterpiece.