The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a better Breath of the Wild, as crazy as that is
“Tears of the kingdom takes everything Breath of the wild built and simply makes it better.”
I still remember the first time I booted up my Nintendo Switch.
I had never adopted a console on day one; I would wait a few months or even until the next holiday. The Switch was my exception. I pre-ordered both my console and a copy of the biggest Nintendo launch in years: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Come the fateful day, I practically sped over to collect my prize, then sat enthralled on my couch as I heard that tell-tale “click” of the boot-up sequence. Breath of the Wild stole countless hours from me: after classes, before bed, sometimes during meals. I couldn’t escape it, and I didn’t want to. I’ve been a lifelong Zelda fan, with Wind Waker and Link to the Past holding a special place in my heart. Breath of the Wild was another masterpiece in my mind. It was a nearly perfect game. As I devoted hours upon hours to uncovering the massive world of Hyrule, one thought lurked in the back of my mind: “How are they gonna top this?”
Tears of the Kingdom is finally out, and it’s come pretty darn close.
In my review of last month’s Jedi: Survivor, I coined the term “DLC-quel”: a sequel that could pass as DLC of its previous game. Whether running in the same engine, reusing assets, or building upon mechanics, the DLC-quel is not a bad thing, but a growing trend nonetheless. It’s obvious now that the DLC-quel is here to stay as Tears of the Kingdom takes everything Breath of the Wild built and simply makes it better. It runs in the same engine, but everything fans loved about its predecessor is improved upon, and everything they hated is axed.
Loved making wacky structures and playing with physics? The game’s core toolbox is built around construction, technology, and physics.
Hated the Divine Beasts and missed the unique dungeons and bosses? The dungeons are now closer in line to classic 3D Zelda games like Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess (they still have that Breath of the Wild design, though—more on that later).
Loved the amount of exploring and the ginormous open-world? Not only does Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule return in full, but now there’s the addition of both Sky Islands and the underground sprawl of land of the Depths.
Allow me to be crystal clear: Tears of the Kingdom feels like Breath of the Wild. In fact, I would say that they’re remarkably similar games in terms of gameplay loop, story, characters, and overall feel. But in a rare move, the folks over at Nintendo saw something that wasn’t broken and didn’t try to fix it. They kept it all and improved it exponentially. It’s Breath of the Wild 2.0. And that works in its favor.
“Replaying the hits of Breath of the wild works wonders for the vast majority of the game, but not here.”
Tears of the Kingdom picks up a short time after the first game, with Zelda and Link exploring underneath Hyrule Castle. They happen across a mummy with a hand keeping it in place, accidentally awaking Ganondorf, who was deep in slumber. Zelda disappears, Link is reset back to three hearts and no equipment, Ganondorf begins screwing things up, you get the gist. The story is incredibly close to Breath of the Wild, to the point where I skipped some cutscenes because I’d seen it before. You open in an isolated section of map and complete shrines to unlock abilities, then are set loose on Hyrule proper. You must enlist the help of the four different cultures of Hyrule—Gerudo, Rito, Goron, and Zora—then defeat Ganondorf with them by your side. Or, as in the first game, you could go straight there and get your butt whooped by eighty Moblins. The choice is yours. There’s an ancient, mysterious society with advanced technology called the Zonai, just like the Sheikah. In fact, the Sheikah are gone from the game almost entirely, almost like Nintendo wants you to forget they’re treading the same ground here. It’s overly familiar territory and one of the few detriments I would throw Tears of the Kingdom’s way. Replaying the hits of Breath of the Wild works wonders for the vast majority of the game, but not here. The story is overall predictable. There are a few unexpected beats (Zelda and the Light Dragon, namely) but it plays out how you’d expect. It’s a small, personal gripe, but a gripe nonetheless.
The game uses the same engine as Breath of the Wild, almost to the letter. The massive change to gameplay comes in the form of your abilities. Tears of the Kingdom replaces Cryonis, Magnesis, Stasis, and your remote bombs with Recall, Fuse, Ultrahand, and Ascend. Each ability encourages unique problem solving, much like the previous runes, but on a grander scale. Weapon durability problems are still present, as swords, shields, and bows are liable to break. But, with Fuse, not only can you enhance power and add effects, but durability naturally increases as a result. This is another example of Nintendo tackling a complaint from Breath of the Wild and turning it into a natural mechanic. Ascend plays into the game’s design theme of verticality; now you can instantly escape caves, teleport through ceilings, and traverse the floating islands with ease. Recall is a reverse of Stasis, rewinding an object through time. It ranks at the bottom of the abilities simply for its situational nature but is still neat when you find ways to manipulate it to your advantage. The biggest addition, however, is Ultrahand.
Ultrahand is like Magnesis—a telekinetic hand to move metal objects around—but instead applied to every object in the game. Not only can you move most objects with ease, but they can be attached to other objects to build larger structures. Coupled with the emphasis on technology in the forms of wheels, hot air balloons, sleds, and more machines, and Nintendo has basically given Link a driver’s license. Movement this way, using your new energy cells (batteries that can be upgraded to hold more juice) to create vehicles and transportation, is highly encouraged. Suddenly, swaths of land are cleared in an instant without the aid of fast travel. If Breath of the Wild’s staying power was the incredible creations of the fan community through breaking physics, Tears of the Kingdom counts on that as a mainstay of gameplay. Puzzles and shrines revolve around simple machines, dungeons are traversed via minecarts and hovering stones; it all adds a layer of possibility that has been unheard of in Zelda to this point. Imagination is the limit here, and it is by far the game’s strongest feature.
By all other accounts, though, this is an updated Breath of the Wild. The soundtrack dabbles a bit more in techno and reverb but stays true to the core design philosophies established by Breath of the Wild. Art style is the exact same, which both works for and against Tears of the Kingdom (God of War creator David Jaffe has spoken against the games underperformance and simplistic art direction). Returning characters litter the world, having changed slightly with time but remaining fundamentally the same. It feels like meeting up with an old friend after years of not seeing each other, and remembering their speech patterns, the way they dress, things you loved but forgot over time. As someone who loved the original and put over 100 hours into it, it’s lovely to come back for the first time since 2020.
“If Breath of the Wild’s staying power was the incredible creations of the fan community through breaking physics, tears of the Kingdom counts on that as a mainstay of gameplay.”
Despite the universal praise, a few criticisms have been leveled at Tears of the Kingdom for essentially being an updated Breath of the Wild. And the game does have some small issues. Performance can be lacking at points (though that’s to be expected from graphics-averse Nintendo), and the aforementioned weak story is a slight letdown personally. But I would be lying if I said the game wasn’t as good as Breath of the Wild, if not better. The weaknesses of the first game are removed and its strengths are amplified tenfold. Ultrahand and Fuse add countless possibilities for the player to navigate the world. And the amount of new content is frankly staggering, enough so that it warrants the hefty seventy dollar price tag.
Yes, Tears of the Kingdom is Breath of the Wild 2.0. It’s the same game, just better. But lest we forget, Breath of the Wild won Game of the Year from dozens of publications and a smattering of other accolades. It sits at a ninety-seven on Metacritic, revitalized the open world genre, and resuscitated Nintendo after the heart attack that was the Wii U. Do I hope that Nintendo goes in a new direction with its next entry in the Zelda franchise? Sure. I would love a new 2D Zelda game, in the vein of Link Between Worlds or The Minish Cap. Will I put another hundred hours into Tears of the Kingdom, gleefully running around the world, exploring every nook and cranny because the game’s just that good? Absolutely.
Nintendo struck gold with Breath of the Wild. When it comes to Tears of the Kingdom, it only makes sense that they’d keep mining.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is another modern classic from Nintendo, following in the metaphorical and literal footsteps of Breath of the Wild.
