The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

My title holds some weight, I know.

Calling a game the "best game of all time" will always be subjective, but to call this game anything but a piece of art is criminal. I've seen a few reviews here that rate 6 and below, and I don't think I've agreed with almost anything they've said. Sure there are some minor story and performance issues, but neither effected me too much in my experience, not to mention the performance issues being a byproduct of this masterpiece being a switch title. And even then, if you have a good enough PC, just pick up a physical copy of TOTK and then play it on your PC, they deserve the money for this title.

This game is not only the sequel to what many considered one of the best games ever made, it is BETTER in every aspect. To call BOTW a better experience is near blasphemy on gaming, don't get me wrong, I love BOTW's setting and story elements as much as the next person, but this game expands on everything BOTW had and MORE, a better setting, a better more fleshed out story, quite literally everything is better.

Unique Mechanics, an Improved world from the previous game, a good story, an amazing score, incredible art direction, good combat, MANY enemies to fight, adding basically an entire maps worth of new area to explore, DUNGEONS ( I continue to hear "these aren't dungeons!" from people, but they are Dungeons. This is just like when people said BOTW wasn't a Zelda game back in 2017. ) and so much more I can't even list off the top of my head as I just did the aforementioned features.

Calling this game DLC shows that you fail to understand what a sequel is. I didn't see people crying over how God of War Ragnarok's map was reused, but because it's Nintendo, it's instantly bad. I'm not trying to defend Nintendo, as they do happen to produce half baked spin-offs quite often, but that's a topic for another review.

This game captivated me like no other, BOTW was a magical experience, and this game caught that feeling into an intricately wrapped gift and gave me the exact same feeling, but a new and fresh experience. I may as well treat this game's existence like the second coming of christ, because dear god have I never loved a game more.

I currently have 100 hours on the game, which may not seem like much at the moment, but I'm not even nearing the completion any time soon.

Tears of the Kingdom is truly something out of this world, and I don't think the gaming landscape is going to see anything like it until the next Zelda game releases, which I have high hopes for.

10 out of 10 - A Triumph Beyond Time and Sky

Overview:

Where Breath of the Wild shattered expectations and redefined the open-world genre, Tears of the Kingdom does the unthinkable - it elevates it. Literally and spiritually. This isn't a sequel that plays it safe. This is a bold, risky masterpiece that doubles down on exploration, expands the mythos, and gives players power, freedom, and tools so creative you could build a damn empire from scratch.

This game isn't just about saving Hyrule.

It's about reinventing how you interact with Hyrule.

Story & Scope:

The tone here is both ancient and urgent. An ominous force stirs beneath the surface - a hidden evil that feels deeply connected to Hyrule's long-lost past. The mystery runs deeper, the stakes are higher, and the emotional undercurrent? Heavier.

You're not just traversing land anymore.

You're flying through sky islands.

You're diving into depths that hide forgotten nightmares.

You're unlocking a timeline of legendary proportions.

And Zelda? She's no longer a passive figure. Her presence in this story - her choices - shape everything. You feel the weight of loss, legacy, and leadership all the way through.

Gameplay Innovation: Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, Recall

The abilities alone deserve their own throne: Ultrahand lets you build anything - gliders, mechs, traps, bridges - if you can dream it, you can build it. It's Minecraft meets MacGyver meets ancient Sheikah tech.

Fuse takes the combat sandbox to the next level. Slap a rock on a stick, a bomb on an arrow, or a ruby on your sword - now you're creating chaos, your way.

Ascend is a mind-blowing mechanic that flips traditional traversal on its head. Ceiling? More like shortcut.

Recall lets you reverse time on objects - part puzzle solver, part combat trick, part "wait, did I just do that?!" wizardry.

These powers don't just add spice.

They reshape how you think as a player.

World Design:

Hyrule is massive. But now, it's layered: Surface - Familiar but evolved, reshaped by upheaval. New towns, ruins, and mysteries everywhere.

Sky Islands - Ethereal, puzzle-filled paradises that test your creativity and timing.

The Depths - Vast, pitch-black, and terrifying. A forgotten underworld crawling with danger and discovery.

This isn't open-world fatigue. It's open-world finesse.

Combat & Gear:

Durability returns, but it matters less now - because your gear is yours to customize. The fuse system makes every encounter fresh. Enemy camps are no longer just trials - they're experiments. You approach each battle not just with weapons, but with ideas.

And yes - Link's moveset is as sharp and fluid as ever.

Bows, gliders, shields, slow-mo mid-air attacks - it's all here, all dialed in.

Tone & Presentation:

The soundtrack is haunting and gorgeous, often subdued until a piano or swell catches you off-guard and floors you. The visuals? Breathtaking. The skies feel endless. The lighting in the Depths is eerie and dreamlike. And the ancient iconography layered throughout? Pure worldbuilding bliss.

The tone is heavier, more mysterious. You're surrounded by echoes of a lost civilization and whispers of prophecy. And it all leads to one of the most cinematic, intense, and emotional conclusions the franchise has ever delivered.

(No spoilers - but the final act? Chills, brother. Chills.)

Why It's a 10:

Because this isn't just a game - it's a love letter to curiosity, innovation, and legacy.

It says: We trust you.

It says: Here's power. What will you do with it?

It says: Build, break, explore, fall, rise again.

Tears of the Kingdom challenges your imagination and rewards it with beauty, depth, and awe at every turn. It's not just a follow-up - it's a spiritual successor that closes the arc of Breath of the Wild with brilliance.

Final Thought:

Some games give you a sword and a path.

This one gives you a broken world and says, make it whole again - your way.

You don't just play Tears of the Kingdom.

You write your own legend inside it.

Definitely a great game I've played a lot of Zelda games and this is one of the best games I've played. I also really liked the game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's hard to say which one is better. There are other good Zelda games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and the legend of zelda: ocarina of time the legend of zelda is without a doubt an excellent game series every game feels like an amazing adventure The game was really good, the animation, the battles and the plot, in my opinion, one of the best games released this year

the legend of zelda tears of the kingdom:(10/10)

Tears of the kingdom is honestly a curse, there's so much to do. When I finally put the game away to go do schoolwork or sleep or something like that I'm always thinking about what I'm gonna do next. Those who say it's just 70 dollar dlc are just being critics to be critics at this point

Of course the graphics aren't going to blow you away and it's locked at 30 fps but that barely even takes away from the experience, and that's more of a switch problem than a tears of the kingdom problem. This game also shows how you don't need good graphics to make a good game.

Overall, don't let the 70 dollar price tag deter you. This game is absolutely worth it. If you own a switch and can afford this game I would say it's a must have.

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.