today, I finally beat tears of the kingdom
Breath of the Wild left me wanting more, but it wasn’t a craving that would be remedied by simply starting a new save file. I wanted that feeling of discovery and the encouragement to solve problems my way. 6 years later and we’ve finally got Tears of the Kingdom. They say it’s a sequel to BOTW, but this game often feels like it’s existing in its own continuity, both narratively and mechanically. After spending 100+ hours with the game, it never felt like I was playing “Breath of the Wild 2”. Tears is a far more expansive package that allows the player more freedom and creativity that will potentially make future BOTW revisits feel bare bones.
Tears of the Kingdom takes a game famously known for its unrestricted sense of freedom and somehow one-ups it by giving the player more world, more abilities, and more possibilities to play around with in this Zelda-themed sandbox.
I’ve been a fan of Zelda since I was 11 and to discover a goldmine of a franchise like this at a relatively young age meant Zelda games consumed me from that point on, and in return, I consumed them. But weirdly enough, I was not as hyped for Tears of the Kingdom as much as my peers. I did not have the game pre-installed or anything like that. I wasn’t counting down the seconds nor did I watch much of the pre-release content showing off the new stuff to come. Mostly because I was stupidly skeptical of Nintendo setting out to make a sequel to what many already to be consider to be the “Greatest Game of All Time”. I was not sure if it was possible for a game set in the same world as Breath of the Wild to wow me in the same way- but I should also clarify, not every Zelda game has to of course. I just weirdly wasn’t in the mood to hype myself up for a massive open world exploration game leading up to the release of Tears of the Kingdom. Also, I thought I was too cool to play the new Zelda and wanted to do another playthrough of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The morning the game came out, I stopped trying to persuade myself to NOT play the new Zelda game.
It’s been about 6 weeks since the game came out and I’ve finally beat it. For the past 6 weeks, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. For the past 6 weeks, my Switch has not left my side. 6 weeks of leaving it on my night stand for me to pick up first thing in the morning. The day I was helping my girlfriend move into her new apartment was the day I got the Master Sword. On my breaks at work, I resume building new vehicles to make traversing the world a little easier. And this morning might be the last morning where I hog up the living room TV at 7am. But even though I have rolled credits, it is silly to talk about this game like it’s over because there’s way more to this game than the objective marker telling you where to go next (because there’s probably very few of us who followed it). I just felt ready to close the book on my playthrough because I felt ready to think about other things that aren’t related to Tears of the Kingdom. After staring at my Switch for a 100+ hours, I feel like I need to read a book or something.
Those who have played BOTW and TOTK will know that the best parts of the game are the in-between moments where you, the player, venture off towards some distraction until you save a korok where you then come across a cave that leads underground into the Depths where a Zonaite-hoarding boss is waiting for you- but then you plunge a meat-infused-sword straight into its skull enough times and suddenly have enough Zonaite to upgrade your vehicle batteries so you can ride your hoverbike a little longer… I realize that last paragraph only makes sense for those playing the game but all I’m trying to say is that it’s the best and worst game for people with ADHD. I never felt like I had to Google anything throughout my playthrough because whether it was seconds or hours later, the design of the game would always gently nudge me towards the solution.
The best moments of traversing this Zelda-themed sandbox are not necessarily related to finding all the shrines or having max hearts or beating the main story- It’s when you finally build a Batmobile that runs properly or trust your gut to follow that weird pointing statue in the distance. Because even if you saw a spoiler for the final boss or that sick pair of pants you didn’t know was gonna be in the game- there’s nothing that can rob the player of making their own discoveries, their own creations, and trusting their instincts.
I beat Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom today, but I highly doubt I am done with it. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for being here while I figure out how to articulate the past month of thoughts I’ve accumulated about a game I like very much. I’m going to drink some water now.
