Tears of the Kingdom: Reinventing the wheel for the second time

The game seamlessly combines a beautifully simple gameplay structure with a meticulously detailed world, offering numerous possibilities for players’ journeys as Link

Tears of the Kingdom (ToTK) is highly likely to be the best game you play this year. It not only serves as a worthy sequel to the fantastic Breath of the Wild but also brings transformative changes to the RPG genre.

The game seamlessly combines a beautifully simple gameplay structure with a meticulously detailed world, offering numerous possibilities for players’ journeys as Link. Through Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo demonstrates that games can remain at the forefront of development practice, defying the perception of being limited by “outdated” hardware. The game’s optimization provides such a smooth experience that benchmarks and specifications become irrelevant.

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I write this review after spending over 40 hours with ToTK, nearly ten of which were spent in transit. From the moment I “undocked” my console (at the beginning of the journey) to the moment I “redocked” it (once I reached my destination) my experience was both uninterrupted and synchronized.

In terms of gameplay, there is a lot that is similar here to Breath of the Wild but the execution is very different. There are new abilities and skills here and you explore the world horizontally but also vertically, an experience is not just new but alters the way we understand space in video games.

Similarly, the game offers a unique approach to crafting where you are not just following preset recipes (as is the case with most games) but are provided with items that can be combined with each other in myriad ways for unique outcomes and you are only held back by your imagination. I absolutely enjoyed crafting, attaching, and fusing as they allowed me to push ToTK to its boundaries.

In terms of the plot, there is a new enemy here and you encounter an ancient race called the Zonai. Once again, Zelda and Link find themselves separated and must reunite to save Hyrule. With ToTK, the epic saga continues unhindered as Nintendo poses thought-provoking questions to both players and developers alike.

A must-play this summer for Switch owners, ToTK emerges as a strong contender for Game of the Year, leaving Hogwarts Legacy and Jedi Survivor behind.