The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

About The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Nintendo EPD released The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on May 12, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch. This sequel to Breath of the Wild expands the open world of Hyrule by adding massive sky islands and deep underground caverns. Players control Link as he seeks Princess Zelda after she vanishes during an attack that shatters the Master Sword. The story involves ancient Zonai ruins, a mysterious spirit named Rauru, and a new arm given to Link that grants supernatural powers. It is a single player adventure focused on exploration and puzzle solving across three distinct layers of terrain.

Gameplay

You cross Hyrule on foot or by vehicle you build yourself. The core loop involves using Ultrahand to assemble objects from raw materials, Fuse to attach items to weapons, Ascend to pass through ceilings, and Recall to reverse time for specific mechanisms. Sessions often start with scanning a new area to spot potential puzzles before gathering resources. Combat feels weighty since you must manage weapon durability while fusing tips to swords or arrows. You explore temples to unlock abilities and solve complex spatial challenges. The game lets you construct flying machines or cars to reach distant locations without following a strict path.

What Players Think

Critics and players rate this title exceptionally high with an IGDB score of 94.2 based on 815 ratings. Community members describe the experience as Story-Driven or Mind-Bending more often than other categories. Casual play styles also appear frequently among voters. Users spend significant time in these vertical layers, often exceeding standard completion expectations for open world titles. Review snippets highlight how the building mechanics change how people approach every problem. The mood remains positive even after hundreds of hours because the puzzle variety stays fresh. No other site tracks these specific community moods or detailed rating counts so precisely.

PlayPile's Take

This game suits players who enjoy physics puzzles and non-linear exploration over tight combat encounters. The price reflects a full retail release on Switch, which is standard for major first party titles. You will unlock many achievements as you master the new building tools and clear all shrines. Some might find the lack of co-op limiting since the community data shows only two votes for Cooperative vibes. If you want a game that respects your time by letting you build solutions instead of forcing them, this is it.

Storyline

While exploring the caves underneath Hyrule Castle to investigate the origins of the gloom (a dangerous substance which appeared all over the kingdom), Link and Zelda not only find old archeological remains of the Zonai, an ancient race said to have descended from the sky, but also an maleficent mummy held by a bodiless arm, who suddenly reanimates, defeats Link, breaks the Master Sword and rise large structures, once found underground, to the skies above Hyrule, with Zelda vanishing with a spark from a strange amulet found on the site. Some time later, Link awakens in an unknown place on a floating sky island and meets a mysterious spirit called Rauru, which transplanted his arm (the same arm which was holding the mummy) onto Link, since his right arm was beyond saving. Guided by this new ally, Link sets out in an adventure to protect Hyrule, find Princess Zelda and uncover the mysteries of the Zonai.