In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, developed by Nintendo, players are thrown into an immersive adventure in a massive open world of Hyrule. The game promises to absorb you in a mystical journey on the way to saving the world. In this review, I’ll focus on the story, gameplay mechanics, and visuals that captivated me during my playthrough.
Story
Tears of the Kingdom begins as a continuation of the last game in the series, Breath of the Wild. You play as Link, the hero of Hyrule, accompanying Princess Zelda as she investigates the ruins falling from the sky. An ancient evil is unearthed and you are separated from Zelda, thrust into a new environment. You are relieved of your gear, given a strange new mystical arm to create tools for your journey. The familiar landscape of Breath of the Wild is forever changed, adding new dangers and powers for you to discover on the way to defeating the Demon King, Ganondorf.
The story is wildly compelling, pulling on your interactions and feelings from the characters you met in your previous outing in Hyrule. The new characters introduced offer a fun new spin on the powers you’re familiar with. While Tears of the Kingdom does have a set goal, it handles the open-world environment very well. It provides nearly 200 side goals for you to accomplish on your way between missions, exploring the vast new landscape of Hyrule after this new calamity—numerous fun events to see before being pulled back into a marvelous story.
Gameplay
The core gameplay in Tears of the Kingdom revolves around its open-world structure. You can store weapons, shields, and other materials you find in the wilderness to use later in crafting and battle. Some of these items are rarer than others, so they produce much more powerful attacks or benefits. The combat in this game mimics the previous. Swinging swords, shooting arrows, shield jumps and dodges are all integral to survival against Link’s many enemies. The time-slowing quick dodge makes for an excellent attack frame.
The real seller for Tears of the Kingdom is the new right arm Link gains at the beginning of the game. It provides the game with fabulous new powers to explore: Ultrahand, Fuse, and Ascend. The Ultrahand allows Link to manipulate the world around him, building structures and moving heavy objects to advance puzzles. I’ve made a few cars to help traverse the fields myself. The Fuse function gives Link the ability to combine his weapons with different materials he’s gathered on his journey to increase their firepower. A boulder sword really packs a punch. Ascend allows Link to fly up through solid rock, making climbing a thing of the past.
In terms of replayability, the vast world of Hyrule makes finding every little thing in one playthrough very difficult. So you’ll have to come back and explore as many times as you want. Try out some new Fuse weapon combinations, build some fantastical devices out of the parts around. There’s always something new to find when you load back in.
Visuals & Audio
The visuals in Tears of the Kingdom are absolutely amazing. They have an almost realistic texture to them while staying whimsical and magical. The game beautifully contrasts the vast skies filled with ancient ruins with the sprawling landscapes below. The animals running around in the tall grass are a magnificent touch. The animations run smoothly throughout the game, the framerate staying in a great balance. The lighting excels, as the passing of day and night is a big part of the action in Tears of the Kingdom. The day brings a vibrant atmosphere, while the night makes things ominous and spooky. The fog and rain that passes through the map adds more to the tone and atmosphere of the game, appearing randomly throughout your gameplay.
The soundtrack of the game is quite memorable, with each part of the map having its own theme. It creates powerful emotions during certain scenes that capture the heart of the player. And with the combat music, you’ll always know when an enemy is close by. When the most powerful moments play with the iconic Legend of Zelda theme, it’s enough to bring a tear to the nostalgic player. The voice acting is nothing to discard either. The cast is filled with professionals who do the job right, bringing the characters to life with their performances. All in all, the atmosphere of Tears of the Kingdom does not disappoint. It truly creates a memorable experience.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Tears of the Kingdom is a massively enjoyable experience that excels in sandbox gaming, utilizing fun new abilities for creation and combat alike, storytelling, and a beautiful environment to boot. The only downside, I would say, is how spread out everything is, meaning much more game time to devote to it. Although as stated before, that just makes the game much more replayable. Leveling up and completing missions is challenging and well worth the effort the player puts in. Fans of adventure, puzzles, and the creative types will find plenty to enjoy in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
