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Zelda Teras of the Kingdom Review Roundup
(Image via Nintendo)

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review roundup – A magical masterpiece

Tanay SharmaBy Updated:8 Mins Read Reviews

Back in 2017, Nintendo’s little magnum opus took over the world. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BOTW) was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air into the almost-saturated genre of open-world RPG games. Of course, our expectations from the sequel have been high. 

What more did we want from its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK)? The quirky enemy types, mystical dungeons, open-world mechanics, and beyond. Well, we’re happy to confirm that the new game thrives on its preexisting formula and brings in a lot of new charm to the franchise. Let’s take a look at the reviews.

“Smarter and more expansive”: IGN

The folks at IGN recommend the game without an ounce of doubt. According to them, the similarity between Zelda: BOTW and Tears of the Kingdom confidently guarantees enjoyment for fans of the first game. The basic layout is very well known: you begin in a skillfully designed tutorial where you pick up the basics and acquire a new set of potent skills, then launch into the open world with a main quest marker that quickly divides into four. You can do whatever you want after that point. If you know where to look, you can even skip right to the campaign’s conclusion, but it’s not quite as easy to try this time.

But since exploration is the soul of the modern Zeldas, going on adventures in Tears of the Kingdom is still a complete blast. Especially since the game’s new building system lets you construct unique vehicles like flying cars, boats, and ships that allow you explore the world however you like.

The variety of bosses is the other significant enhancement in Zelda: TOTK as a whole. You’re no longer battling four different iterations of the same Ganon-adjacent foe; instead, you’re up against unusual, frequently hysterical opponents who occasionally rank among the series’ greatest.

“A fluid loop of necessity, revelation, invention, and reward”: Polygon

Polygon seems to be in awe of the game’s new mechanics. According to them, you gain a basic understanding of Link’s new skills in a confined setting (similar to Breath of the Wild). For instance, one of those skills, Ascend, allows Link to swim through solid objects like earth, rock, and concrete before emerging from the ground.

The simplicity and joy with which you move through Tears of the Kingdom’s three levels is what sets it apart from other games. It’s not only a game where you can climb a mountain and ride a strong breeze down the other side. A jump from a floating piece of tundra, a 5,000 foot drop into a lake, a climb out of the water, a traverse through a lush field, a step up to yet another gaping abyss, and a skydive into the ground are all part of this adventure.

TOTK’s genius rests in how masterfully it conveys the notion of player freedom. Sure, Nintendo occasionally jolts me out of my reverie, and in those instances, I catch glimpses of its previous, rigid nature. But that doesn’t matter; I’ll eventually be free of its constant surveillance.

“Designed to be farmed”: Eurogamer

Eurogamer expresses their delight over how wonderfully weaved the environments in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are. Based on their review, the Chasms feel like a nod to both the expansive Blackreach undercity in Skyrim and the Nether in Minecraft, while the wells and smaller cave systems are reminiscent of the barrows in that game. It is a world of sweeping Hadean planes, sporing fungus, lava flows, and unsettling statues that are gesticulating.

Attacking camps in the Chasms is a very risky proposition. By devouring six mushroom skewers at once, you cannot damage-cancel your way out of danger. The Chasms are as oppressive and perplexing as the sky islands are gorgeous and thrilling. They are made of shockingly vivid, spiral-combed rock, dreamy yellow foliage, and the electric blue-green tones of the long-gone Zonai civilization. The Chasms come in all shapes and sizes; some of them are multi-level floating ruin communities guarded by shaky stone robots. Others have shrines, such as the puzzle dungeons in Breath of the Wild’s Tardis that reward orbs you can swap for greater maximum health and stamina.

Despite its alterations, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel, and Zelda often avoids these. The series used to start fresh every time, putting the baggage of the previous game aside and setting off for the horizon. I’d like the next Zelda to do that again. But that’s an issue for the future. For now, Tears of the Kingdom is an astonishing, quite literally top-to-bottom sequel, adding complexity and magnificence to the Breath of the Wild model without sacrificing its magic. 

“It is easy to forget how to find the fun in adult life. Games such as Zelda help to remind you that if you look at things the right way, it’s everywhere”: The Guardian

The game has clearly reciprocated the Guardian’s childlike charm and curiosity. Based on their experience, they would ride out from a stable to meet the village chief, but on the way they would see some people arguing outside a cave, so they would get off to look, and then go spelunking.

Then, after fighting off some monsters with a spontaneously created flame-throwing shield, they would emerge from the other side to see an undiscovered sky tower in the distance. They would then construct a makeshift go-kart out of parts they found nearby, riding it halfway up a mountain towards the building. There, they’d start a fire to burn up the thorny bushes blocking the entrance, climb the tower, launch themselves into the air, and then spot a glowing shrine. And, that’s just the beginning of things.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

 

Combined with Link’s weapons and skills, the environment provides you probably four or five ways to tackle practically any situation. Attempting to ascend a mountain to a shrine? You could:

  1. Climb it, heating up a few elixirs beforehand to keep your speed and stamina up.
  2. You could climb up on a platform with some balloons attached, start some fires, and ascend.
  3. You could attach a rocket to your shield, launch yourself into the air, and then glide to your goal.
  4. You could grab hold of a piece of rock that fell from the sky, turn back time, and send it hurtling back up towards the stars.

It is so creatively empowering and immensely satisfying to the intellect.

“A triumph of open-ended game design”: Gamespot

Gamespot elaborates on the well-designed gameplay and world of the game. According to them, Tears of the Kingdom is much more than the first game. While this newest entry in the Zelda franchise is most recognizably similar to the 2017 game, it builds upon the foundation in such a creatively transformative manner that it feels like a revelation.

This is The Legend of Zelda at its very best, combining the best elements and traits from throughout the franchise’s history to create a fresh experience that is emotionally impactful, captivating, and endlessly rewarding.

Your unique skills cannot be relied upon to stack on top of one another in an open structure, which is its one disadvantage. Since the dungeons were linearly ordered, older Zelda games could rely on you having the items from the fourth and fifth dungeons by the time you reached the sixth dungeon, which would eventually cause the puzzle difficulty to increase. Puzzles in Tears of the Kingdom can only be designed around one critical ability at a time, because you can play dungeons in any sequence. This is the trade-off for the open structure, and it’s a fine-enough compromise as the game gets enough mileage out of its dungeon puzzles regardless.

There is a narrative you create for yourself through the gameplay, such as when you devised a cunning device to cross a chasm, ventured into a pitch-black cavern using nothing but your wits and a few arrows, or galloped through a rainstorm on horseback in search of safety. With Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you can express your creativity by writing your own stories in the book and inventing your own legends for the world. It invites you to soar, burrow, engineer, solve, adventure, and explore, and it rewards you for your efforts in equal measure.

The Good and the Bad: What does the game deliver?

 

Positives

  • A lovely, tranquil open world with mysteries surrounding every corner
  • Core gameplay that focuses on experimentation and coming up with new design-based solutions for challenges
  • An emotionally stirring narrative that centers on a compelling mystery

Negatives

  • Occasionally, minor performance issues
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Tanay is a writer at GamesHorizon. He wears many hats - musician, gamer and interactive storyteller to name a few. He's pursuing a Master's in Behavioural Sciences and holds a Bachelor's in Human Centred Design. You'll often find him taking tough life decisions in unreal worlds. Some of his favourite game studios include Quantic Dream, Rockstar Games and Telltale Games.