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!

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.

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.

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.

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.