The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

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Rating

Graphics and Sound

Controls

Gameplay

Lasting Appeal

Unparalleled Player Freedom and Creativity: The new Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall abilities revolutionize gameplay, allowing for truly emergent solutions to puzzles, combat, and traversal.
Vastly Expanded World: The addition of the Sky Islands and the Depths creates three distinct, massive layers of Hyrule to explore, making even familiar areas feel new and exciting.
Deep and Engaging Gameplay Loop: The constant cycle of exploration, discovery, problem-solving, and creative construction is incredibly addictive and rewarding.
Masterful Open-World Design: The world is dense with secrets, shrines, side quests, and environmental storytelling that encourages natural exploration without feeling overwhelming.
Compelling Narrative and Lore Expansion: The story delves deeper into Hyrule’s ancient history, the Zonai civilization, and the origins of Ganondorf, providing satisfying answers while maintaining mystery.
Exceptional Art Direction and Music: The game’s distinct art style is beautiful and timeless, and the orchestral soundtrack is a magnificent accompaniment to the adventure.
Robust Progression System: Shrines and Light of Blessings provide a clear path for Link’s growth, rewarding exploration.
Intuitive Controls: The new abilities are seamlessly integrated into a fluid and responsive control scheme.
High Replayability: The sheer breadth of content and the freedom to approach challenges differently ensure immense replay value.

Performance Occasional Dips: While generally stable, some busy areas or complex constructions can lead to minor frame rate drops on the Switch.
Weapon Durability Still a Factor: While the Fuse ability mitigates it, weapons still break, which some players found frustrating in Breath of the Wild and continues here.
Learning Curve for New Abilities: While intuitive once learned, mastering the intricacies of Ultrahand and Fuse can take time, especially for less creatively inclined players.
Environmental Familiarity (Minor): Despite the additions, the core Hyrule surface map might feel too familiar for players who extensively explored Breath of the Wild, though it is significantly changed.
Hint System Can Be Overt: Sometimes companion characters or tutorial prompts might give away puzzle solutions too quickly for players who prefer to figure things out independently.
Lack of Traditional Dungeons (Still): While the dungeons are improved over Breath of the Wild, they still don’t fully replicate the classic, sprawling dungeon designs of older Zelda titles, which some fans missed.