Board 8 > The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

For the first time in over 6 years and brand new mainline entry in the Zelda series is upon us. No longer held back by the Wii U hardware is the direct sequel to Breath of the Wild just more of the same or does it add enough new elements and surprises to stand toe to toe with the best of the them? Is Thicc Daddy Ganondorf just the boost the game needs to put it over the top? Are there actual dungeons this time? Does the Triforce show up?! Is 30FPS and 900p on Switch games still as acceptable in 2023 as it was in 2017, especially in a world where we have things like the Steam Deck? Maybe some of the these reviews will answer those questions.maybe not!

Early on we got a 97% average through just 56 reviews so far. Well see how it evolves as more pour in, but wanted to get the topic up early since its destined to be a huge release.

IGN 10/10
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. Nintendo has followed up a triumph with a triumph, expanding and evolving a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.

Gamespot 10/10
When I think of the Legend of Zelda series, I've always thought about transcendent, mythic moments: pulling the Master Sword from the pedestal in A Link to the Past, waking the Wind Fish in Link's Awakening, the three major characters representing aspects of the Triforce in Ocarina of Time. Tears of the Kingdom has a moment that matches each of those, and I felt the scope and power of it so strongly that I shed my own tears. As much as I loved each of those pieces in Zelda's past, I'm not sure if it's ever evoked that level of emotion from me before.
And then, of course, there is the story you write yourself through gameplay--when you built a clever machine to cross a chasm, explored a dark cavern with only your wits and a handful of arrows, raced through a thunderstorm on horseback to find shelter. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a canvas for your own creativity, a book to write your own stories, a world to create your own legends. It gives you back as much as you put into it, and beckons you to soar, burrow, engineer, solve, adventure, and explore.

Destructoid 10/10
I loved nearly every minute of Tears of the Kingdom. From zooming up into the sky to spelunking in the depths, theres way more to explore here, and I feel like I havent even scratched the surface outside of the main story and some key sidequests. But the real kicker that helps separate Tears from Breath of the Wild is its big swing power set. I felt like I was in control at all times, and had the ability to create my own path. For a series known for sequence-breaking thats not just a perk; its a strong argument for why Tears of the Kingdom will be talked about for years on end, and may even top some favorite Zelda lists.

Game Informer 9.8/10
Nearly every encounter, whether puzzle, traversal, or combat, must be reconsidered. It makes you think in new ways. I didnt get the same goosebumps exploring Hyrule as I did in the past, but I did experience new emotions both on a granular level from solving individual puzzles and on a larger scale by going back to one of my favorite video game locations. They say you can never go home again, but I adored returning to Hyrule with all new tools.

Digitally Downloaded 9/10
Still, Tears of the Kingdom is a resounding success. The sheer scale and scope of it ought to be a reminder to the games industry that creativity doesnt need the most powerful hardware, and the playful approach to gameplay makes this a rare open world game thats a pleasure to explore and rewarding to immerse yourself within. I hope Nintendo understands that this cant be the Zelda formula forevermore, and the next one will be an all-new and transformative experience again, but I also dont begrudge the company the desire to take a second crack at what made Breath of the Wild so special to so many people.

Screen Rant 5/5 Stars
If it's time to move on from the Tears of the Kingdom Hyrule that's now spanned two games, it hasn't overstayed its welcome. The memories this game is capable of creating just

Dang I was making this. No surprise to see it reviewing so well after the leak but still incredible reviews that only RDR2 and Elden Ring have gotten close to since BOTW released. Wild that they managed to top it.

Gamers rejoice!

Hyyyype

LightningStrikes posted...

Dang I was making this. No surprise to see it reviewing so well after the leak but still incredible reviews that only RDR2 and Elden Ring have gotten close to since BOTW released. Wild that they managed to top it.

Even though I was at work I came prepared lmao

Digital Foundry breakdown:

https://www.eurogamer.net/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-the-digital-foundry-verdict

Looks and runs better than the previous game with only some slowdowns when the physics really get going. Very, very impressive given the age of the Switch.

fuck yeah 97

No Zelda for me, thank you

It's 96 in Metacritic now...BOTW is 97
And this is supposed to be a sequel that improves it in every way? what a fucking joke

(I am kidding)

Cant wait for the years of discourse on whether this game is good or not

Very very hyped

LiquidOshawott posted...

Cant wait for the years of discourse on whether this game is good or not

Another eternity of "waaaah my weapon still break :(" incoming, I'm sure

Lets be real, if this somehow was not a 10/10 game (even an 8/10) it would also be just as entertaining as a 10/10 game. Ive been waiting for another mass-scale Nintendo fanbase meltdown since Twilight Princess

snake_5036 posted...

Another eternity of "waaaah my weapon still break :(" incoming, I'm sure

there are a lot more valid criticisms than that

some people dont like the game, some people do. Everyone needs to get over it

pezzicle posted...

some people dont like the game

Fucked up if true

Holy crap. They did it again

96 my something something

97 right now

https://opencritic.com/browse/all

freefallin

Sounds like it's still an incredible experience for people who think open world games are valid, glad they'll be able to enjoy it!

Apparently a Day 1 patch solves some FPS issues the reviewers with a Day 0 build were struggling with

Not that it seemed to affect their scores anyway

I believe the Day 1 patch was issued a little while back for reviewers. Yes though it is extremely good news about performance, especially in light of how most AAA games have run lately.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Sounds like it's still an incredible experience for people who think open world games are valid, glad they'll be able to enjoy it!

I'm not even a fan of open world games in general and I think it's great

Reviews were literally never going to be below 90s regardless

I do wonder if this game will work more as a linear Zelda experience than Breath of the Wild did. Signs are yes.

LightningStrikes posted...

I do wonder if this game will work more as a linear Zelda experience than Breath of the Wild did. Signs are yes.

If I can play this game in a straight line and not feel like I'm getting a bunk experience, I'll be more than happy to try it.

I went back to the helicopter after every single mission in MGSV, there are no limits to my depravity.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

If I can play this game in a straight line and not feel like I'm getting a bunk experience, I'll be more than happy to try it.

I went back to the helicopter after every single mission in MGSV, there are no limits to my depravity.

So you're the guy Kojima made 50 opening credits for

And proud of it.

My body is ready.

Nanis23 posted...

It's 96 in Metacritic now...BOTW is 97
And this is supposed to be a sequel that improves it in every way? what a fucking joke

(I am kidding)

The industry is still struggling to make a game as good as OoT after all these years

people need to get over ocarina of time already

Yes there will never be a game as good again, but that's alright. It's a shame how close they got with chrono cross only two years later though.

Chrono Cross... Well, it's no Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.

Im hearing this game is based and epic???

pjbasis posted...

people need to get over ocarina of time already

Yes there will never be a game as good again, but that's alright. It's a shame how close they got with chrono cross only two years later though.

more like crappo craps

colliding posted...

more like crappo craps

calling the police

Meh

ten more reviews and still 97 lets go

SkillUp was very complimentary. Here's his review (spoilers at one point, but he makes it very clear when it will happen):

https://youtu.be/BQFImTqvW8E

Everyone else in this receipt line is a kid

I have an entire week off work after today

Let's go

YoBlazer posted...

Everyone else in this receipt line is a kid

Ask them what their favorite Zelda game is

Been hearing a lot of people saying Wintendo lately

Ive started it.

The cutscene the first teaser showed part of is awesome.

I just checked and Skyward Sword Wii has a 93 on metacritic???

KamikazePotato posted...

I just checked and Skyward Sword Wii has a 93 on metacritic???

Skyward Sword came out at a weird time. It was made in response to TP's common criticism of having a giant empty world and reviewers got convinced that SS "solved" the problem by making overworld smaller but denser where random enemies can be puzzles (ignore the empty sky). I remember some reviewers got so impressed they thought other games are going to adopt this style.

Then Skyrim launched the same month and those takes started aging very badly very quickly.

I mean SS isn't a bad game, it's a polarizing one. Plenty of SS's dungeons are still among the best in the series. They were cooking, they just added way too much bad filler in place of the overworld and it turns out people really like big overworlds, go figure.

Also people were legitimately impressed by the motion control tech because it was one of the games that made a big deal about Wii Motion+. That's probably what aged the most poorly.

actually more than anything I would call SS annoying. it is like 70% great game and then 30% some of the most obnoxious shit you've ever seen. being an annoying game is way worse than being a bad one. but you can look past it too

My collectors edition did ship out this afternoon and fedex will deliver it tomorrow

yeah SS has a lot of great content but also a lot of dumb annoying decisions you have to look passed

and for me personally yeah I'm pretty used to looking passed flaws if the game still offers a lot of good. lots of my favourite games are ones I can't suggest to others

SS it the only 3D zelda that I never did a second playthrough of. Yeah, it was good, and had some great dungeons, but I don't want to wad through the mud to get there again.

SS metacritic score too low