The long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has arrived in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Developed and published by Nintendo, Tears of the Kingdom was initially planned for release in 2022 before being delayed to May 2023.
The new chapter of Zelda offers a dramatically expanded open world, and if you’re someone who enjoys the opportunity to explore a stunning virtual world, then like Nintendo’s other big IP Mario, Zelda is another great platformer.
As Link, your success in the game depends on your ability to successfully navigate the sky islands, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies. The fun of the game really lies in the ability to explore, try, fail, learn, then retry and succeed on tasks, offering a sense of accomplishment when you can solve the puzzle or defeat an enemy.
In the first 3 days after its launch, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold over 10 million units worldwide, becoming the fastest-selling game in the Legend of Zelda series.
We have been blown away by the support of fans for this record-breaking launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Managing Director of Nintendo Australia, Takuro Horie.
Nintendo Switch continues to deliver engaging experiences anytime, anywhere, and we look forward to seeing players’ adventures and creations as they journey through Hyrule.
Features
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offers a range of new features which helps attack new fans to the existing and loyal Zelda fan base.
- A new grappling hook that allows Link to swing across gaps and scale cliffs.
- A new ability to climb up walls.
- A new cooking system that allows Link to create food items with different effects.
- A new weather system that affects Link’s movement and abilities.
- A new story that takes place 100 years after the events of Breath of the Wild.
Gameplay
The game world is designed with a focus on verticality, with players often having to climb up and down cliffs, towers, and other structures. Featuring a variety of platforming challenges, such as jumping across gaps, climbing walls, and swinging on vines.
There are a variety of weapons and abilities to use, and you’ll need to learn how to use them effectively in order to defeat your enemies. The game also features a variety of boss battles that are both challenging and satisfying to defeat.
The story of Tears of the Kingdom is engaging and well-told. It’s a classic Zelda story, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. The game also features a cast of memorable characters, including Link, Zelda, and the new villain, Ganondorf.
The game features a survival element, as players must manage their health, temperature, and other resources.
Graphics
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features stunning graphics and there were many times where I’d stop just to look around in amazement at how good the environment looked.
The cel-shaded art style delivers a unique look and I was constantly impressed with how incredibly detailed the environments were, with lush forests, towering mountains, and generally vast in their scale, matched by great draw distances.
The character models are also very well-done, with Link and Zelda looking their best yet.
The game’s lighting is also very impressive. The sun and moon cast realistic shadows, and the weather effects are stunning. The game also features a dynamic time-of-day system, which means that the world changes as the sun rises and sets.
Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a visual masterpiece. The game’s graphics are sure to amaze and delight players of all ages.
Issues
The criticisms are quite small for this game, overall it’s a great experience. If I had to pick a couple of items to improve on, it would be:
- Occasional frame rate drops experienced more on the original Switch than the new OLED model.
- Some of the side quests are a bit repetitive
Price & Availability
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now from a range of retailers – Amazon, JB Hi-fi, BigW, Target and Catch.com.au.
The cheapest we’ve seen is Catch.com.au at A$68.95, with BigW a close second at $69.00.
Nintendo also offers a special edition of the Nintendo Switch OLED Model, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Edition Console for A$548.00. This includes a Zelda-branded Switch dock, along with Zelda-themed joy-cons.
The game is also available as a digital download from the Switch store for A$89.95. Interestingly the previous title, Breath of the Wild is still priced at $89.95 despite being released many years ago.
Overall
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging game. The ability to immerse yourself in a new Zelda world for dozens of hours is really appreciated. The mix of challenge and reward is solid and should encourage gamers to keep coming back for more.
For fans of Zelda, it’s an absolute no-brainer, you should and probably already have got this game. If you didn’t grow up with Zelda and have never played before, then this is equally a great title to get your teeth into.
The visuals are regularly stunning which makes those many hours in the game all the more enjoyable. Personally, I really appreciate playing on the vertical axis, being able to wall climb (for a limited period of time) is a really welcome, challenging aspect of this game.
The diversity of enemies and weapons makes for a really nice set of challenges that you feel great after overcoming. Of course, there are elements that feel a little repetitive, but that’s a pretty small criticism of what really is a great game.
If you know someone who owns a Switch and doesn’t have this game, it’d make for a great gift for a birthday.
Playing on the OLED Switch is honestly a really great experience. I spent time in both docked and portable modes and there’s no doubt, that the new OLED display is larger, has better colours, brighter and generally a better experience than the original Switch.
