DON'T CRY FOR ME
Is 'Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom' A Worthwhile Swansong For The Switch? Here's What The Reviews Say
We've all been biting our nails, anxiously biding our time to see if Nintendo can catch lightning in a bottle all over again. The previous installment in the Zelda series had enormous design ramifications for the video game industry, so following that up is a big challenge — not to mention the issues around making a video game during a pandemic.
Thankfully, the wait is over, and it seems that it was worth the six years of pining away. With over 50 reviews in the database, "Tears of the Kingdom" has a "Mighty" rating of 97/100 on OpenCritic. Its predecessor earned a similar 96/100, so we can calibrate our expectations thusly.
Want to even further your excitement as we all impatiently wait for the game to unlock? Immerse yourself in the reviews below.
It's even better than 'Breath of the Wild' in every way
"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" is an unfathomable follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made, somehow improving upon it in nearly every way — be that with simple quality-of-life improvements, a genuinely exciting story, or wildly creative new building mechanics that make you rethink what is possible. It both revamps old ground and introduces vast new areas so immense it somehow makes me wonder if "Breath of the Wild" was actually all that big, with an almost alarming number of tasks to complete, mysteries to discover, and delightful distractions to keep you from ever reaching that place you naively thought you were headed.
Somehow, "Tears of the Kingdom" does the impossible and makes "Breath of the Wild" feel like a proof of concept; it takes everything its predecessor does, improves upon every single aspect, and gives you even more freedom, an even bigger world, and tons more secrets to uncover. It's frankly staggering and makes for an absolutely incredible experience.
It's nice having better dungeons
The major dungeons are elaborate and enjoyable, though perhaps more of a step sideways than forward from those of Breath of the Wild. First, there's the process of getting to them - tracking down a key face and navigating some intervening scenario, which has its own distinct theme and mechanics. The Zora quest, for example, has you flapping around in floating water bubbles, while the Gerudo quest involves a touch of base defence, positioning the troops and setting up lightning traps for desert ghouls. The dungeons themselves look and feel very different, but they all consist of activating a series of fiendishly obstructed mechanisms using a companion's abilities, before taking down a boss.
There are a few additional twists on that formula that stand out, bringing some of the series' DNA back into the mix. While it doesn't mark the return of traditional Zelda dungeons, "Tears of the Kingdom's" puzzle temples get a touch closer to that formula than "Breath of the Wild's" Divine Beasts. A new companion system gives Link permanent powers, like the ability to call down lightning on enemies, bringing back some of the series' older approach to progression. Though the most welcome change of all is a return to classic Zelda boss design, with wackier monsters that hinge around a specific gimmick.
The story is actually worthwhile this time
But more than the Sages or even Link, this story truly belongs to Zelda. Your main quest, both in terms of the story and literally in your quest log, is to find Zelda. There's a throughline of mystery to the whole affair, with scattered reports of Zelda sightings across the kingdom. Discovering where she's gone is told in a non-sequential manner, with the mystery slowly unraveling toward an incredible, stirring revelation. There is a specific moment in this story that will go down as one of the most memorable in all of Zelda canon.
It’s also important to know that unlike in "Breath," the story of "Tears" isn't mainly told through flashbacks. The residents and villains of Hyrule all take a direct, active role in your quests. In fact, it's almost as if every speaking creature in the land has some role to play in the narrative, whether providing interesting new history or having their own character arcs. The side quests aren't just "go here, fetch this." Instead, they are full stories with complicated relationships and are often drenched with consequence. These side stories range from becoming a literal newspaper journalist to meddling in a small-town election. Some of these stories feed into the main questline, adding important context and oftentimes giving hints to solving the game's largest mysteries, including the location of the missing Princess Zelda.
"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" launches on Friday, May 12 for Nintendo Switch.
