The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I put ONE HUNDRIT AND TWENTY HOURS into this game. That might be my most played single-player game ever? Or at least to beat the story?

So obviously if I played it that much, I really liked it. In fact, it is one of my favorite games I've ever played. However, much like Breath of the Wild before it, I started out thinking it might be the best game ever, but by the end I was either a little cooled off or maybe burnt out. 

This game has a million things going on, and although I'd like to comment on all of them, I'll try to limit myself cuz I know this is already going to be REALLY long. I feel like the important aspects of this game for me were exploration, combat, puzzles, quests, and then the story which kinda combines all of those, especially with the temples. In this game, I played the intro, explored for 80 hours, then finished the story. 

I think exploration is the strongest aspect of this game. I loved exploring every inch of this mammoth map (most of which I'd forgotten from BOTW) plus the sky and underground. There is so much in terms of reward, whether that be shrines, Koroks, towers, stables, fairy fountains, weapons, cool items, or just interesting little events, ruins, or beautiful landscapes. This game looks incredible, especially for Switch, so that was a reward in itself. However, this game does an even better job of rewarding exploration because everything can be used for something else, making fewer fruitless expeditions. My only nitpicks are that there were a few repeated elements (shrines, items, etc) and also I thought the underground was mostly a tedious, boring hellscape by the end. 

I think the combat is just okay. It's not Elden Ring, but it's pretty good, and although I'm not very creative in combat, I think the added element of attachments helped make things feel newer and fresher. I mostly just fight normally, albeit with cooler weapons I'd created. 

The puzzles were my other favorite part. I loved every Shrine (to the point where I'd be disappointed if a shrine was one of the ones where you automatically get the reward without a puzzle), and the new abilities make for endless possibilities and solutions. This is the true genius of the game. You can either try to find the intended solution, or slap together something workable, and you feel genius either way. This game is amazing in that regard. Even smaller puzzles like Koroks or hidden areas make you feel smart. Ultrahand felt a little finnicky, but I think it's one of gamings greatest creations. 

I didn't love the quests. I hated scrolling through dialogue, and the outcomes ranged from interesting to useless. There are some bigger, more involved quests at the end, but I didn't do them, so I guess I can't say. I don't even think the writing was terrible, often being cute or charming, but I think it speaks to the game's other elements that I was just itching for them to shut up so I could go climb mountains. 

Predictably, my thoughts on the story reflect all of this. There is little exploration, so whatever. The puzzles are weaker in the temple than the shrines, so while they were often fun, they were inferior. Plus I did them at the end of the game, so often I could cheese them through my stamina wheel or items I had. Instead of building railways across the mountain, I could climb up and glide to the intended location. These specifically didn't feel quite as rewarding as shrines. And then there is the story. I just thought it was bad. Instead of being funny like villagers, it was super serious, and features some lame writing and insufferable voice acting, specifically by Zelda. I won't utter the J or A word here, but I just don't connect with this kind of storytelling. Lots of over-the-top drama and weird, unearned climactic moments. Also, I will say the boss fights were mostly all disappointing in light of other Zelda bosses. 

So anyways, that's a lot of good and bad. However, in the grand scheme of things, this game is amazing. I feel like I've been spoiled and will have a hard time playing other games now any time they feature open worlds or puzzles or sword fighting. Plus the music is wildly good (the main theme is the highlight) and the visuals are stunning. This game is just amazing in every way, and where it isn't perfect, I'm willing to forgive it for being good in others. I didn't always love every minute of this game, but still there would be like, 90 perfect hours here which other games simply don't have. So it might not be on my Mount Rushmore, but it's a notch below with games like Elden Ring or Uncharted 4. So yeah. Recommended.