The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch in 2017, and it was quickly praised as one of the most innovative games ever made. It broke the traditional formula established by titles like Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess and presented a massive open world to explore at whichever pace you preferred.
A direct sequel to Breath of the Wild was announced in 2019, and after multiple delays, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom finally launched on May 12, 2023. Set several years after the events of its predecessor, the long-awaited title includes vast areas to explore, fascinating new gameplay mechanics, and so many subtle changes that the Hyrule you were once familiar with will feel completely different from before. If you didn't like Breath of the Wild or have never played a Legend of Zelda game before, this guide will hopefully help you decide if Tears of the Kingdom is worth checking out.
Review
While many speculated whether Tears of the Kingdom should have just been DLC for Breath of the Wild, it turns out that the game is far more expansive and refreshing than anyone could have imagined. Though the world of Hyrule is incredibly familiar, Tears of the Kingdom provides countless new methods to experience every inch of it yet again.
In Jade King's piece, "The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Review - Take To The Skies," she praises the game's scope, rich narrative, and the new gameplay mechanics — Fuse, Ultrahand, Recall, and Ascend — that encourage you to test the limits of your creativity and beyond.
You’re bombarded by curiosity at every turn, wondering how far the limits can be pushed before Zelda’s open arms spread forward to smother them. I had little faith in lightning striking twice, and I couldn’t be more delighted to be proven wrong.
You might be upset when you discover that all of Link's old powers from Breath of the Wild are gone, but that feeling goes away after playing around with the new abilities in the tutorial area. King even mentions in her review that "None of your previous powers are here, but none of them need to be, with Tears of the Kingdom iterating upon them in ways I now consider irreplaceable. It will be hard, and almost constraining, to go back [to Breath of the Wild] after this."
One of the biggest compliments in King's review is how these new powers are simply tools that allow you to use your imagination to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and explore dangerous areas. There are no correct answers in Tears of the Kingdom, and each dilemma can be approached in a variety of ways. "I felt like the smartest person on the planet by ignoring the clear instructions I was given to build a fancy boat, and instead I constructed the longest log bridge in the world and waltzed across it. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the intention, but I was still rewarded for thinking outside the box."
There aren't many direct sequels in the long-running Zelda series, and one of Tears of the Kingdom's most compelling features is how it expands on the characters and locations from Breath of the Wild. Things have changed significantly since Calamity Ganon's defeat, and re-discovering old friends and places to see how they've changed over time is consistently delightful.
A common complaint against Breath of the Wild was how empty and aimless it felt. Tears of the Kingdom fixes this issue by filling towns, stables, and everything in between with more stuff than you'll know what to do with. Link is no longer alone on his journey to save Hyrule, and seeing the inspired locals doing their best establishes how motivated everyone is to rebuild their fractured world. King mentions that there are still plenty of moments of solitude littered throughout the journey, but it's nice to have friends to call for help if you need it.
If there is anything to complain about with Tears of the Kingdom, King believes that the temples are fairly formulaic and feel counter-intuitive to the game's philosophy of endless possibilities. Though exploring these locations can be fun, she felt that "It is classic Zelda, and guides us around in ways that don’t always gel with the game’s freestyle identity."
Tears of the Kingdom's greatest accomplishment is how it miraculously creates a new masterpiece from the foundation of another. King concludes her review by stating "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece that not only equals what came before, it does everything in its power to surpass it." Breath of the Wild helped redefine what an open world could feel like, and Tears of the Kingdom found a way to make its predecessor feel like a demo compared to its unlimited potential.
Time Expenditure
If you want to save Hyrule by avoiding side quests and optional content, it will still take you roughly 50 hours to complete the main quest. At about the same length as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom could be finished after a few lengthy sessions, but there are so many tasks around every corner that you'll likely get sidetracked a few times along the way.
Completing all the side quests before ending the game takes under 80 hours, almost doubling the amount of time it takes to finish Tears of the Kingdom. If you want to see and do everything the game has to offer, expect to spend just under 200 hours, though you can easily go over that number by experimenting with new creations and ideas.
These numbers are all rough estimates, and some people have already discovered ways to complete the game in less than two hours. There are ways to wrap up the game in a single sitting, but it's more than likely that you might spend close to 30 hours playing Tears of the Kingdom without even advancing the story even a tiny bit.
Cost
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the first Nintendo-published game to retail at $69.99. The company has stated that this won't be the case for all first-party games, but the sheer scale of Tears of the Kingdom easily justifies the price. Even if you only play through the story and skip everything else, all of that content is worth the price of admission.
There is also a collector's edition of the game that launched at $129.99 and includes an Art Book, SteelBook, Pin Set, and a Poster. For those seeking to save some cash, acquiring a digital copy of Tears of the Kingdom and another game of their choosing is possible for under $100 through the Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers program, exclusively offered to members of Nintendo Switch Online.
What People Are Saying
The Best Zelda Game To Date - Jacqueline Zalace
The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is completely worth it, and is one of the best games on the Switch. For years, I considered Breath of the Wild as the best game and wondered how a game could surpass it. Tears of the Kingdom did just that.
The game brings back familiar faces and mechanics, while somehow creating a new experience that doesn't feel redundant. Every play session in Tears of the Kingdom is filled with new discoveries, painful deaths, and a beautiful storyline.
A Sequel So Confident In Its Ideas - Hilton Webster
Full disclosure, I'm still playing Tears of the Kingdom, but from the very get-go it hits you with everything that is new about the game. If Breath of the Wild was about surviving the world, Tears of the Kingdom is about the world surviving you. Everything is a weapon, just about anything you can think of you can create, and it all works. Somehow all these pieces will make sense no matter what and the game survives it all. There's something so surreal in playing a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, trimming where it needs and adding where it wants. It's just pure joy.
Where Breath Of The Wild Walks, Tears Of The Kingdom Soars - Sam Hallahan
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom brings all of the childlike wonder of Breath of the Wild, and turns absolutely everything up to 11. The new powers, tools, and drastically altered world makes everything feel fresh beyond measure, and the dark story compels you to continue the adventure for dozens upon dozens of hours. Where Breath of the Wild felt distanced from the overall Zelda series, this title brings it back to blend together both formulas, while adding a sprinkle of plentiful surprises — and the result is easily the best game of all time. I love you Breath of the Wild, but your time has passed already.
Hero Of Hyrule, Agent Of Chaos - Gabrielle Castania
As a lifelong Zelda fan, some of the new Zonai tech in the trailers had me nervous for what kind of major overhaul this would bring to the series that I've been playing for decades, and I've never been so excited to be wrong. Traditionalists still have every opportunity to do things the old-fashioned puzzle-solving way, while others have been given new ways to bring delightful, unbelievable mayhem to Hyrule with their uses of Ultrahand that most likely go against the Geneva Conventions. Tears of the Kingdom is a wonderful blend of where the series has been and where it's going to go from here, with a rich story and an even richer cast of vibrant characters to keep newcomers and lifelong Zelda lovers alike all satisfied for dozens of hours.
Past And Present Merge - Keitha Sims-Korba
I’ve been a Zelda fan since before I could read, back in the days of the N64. Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask were compelling, terrifying, and inspiring. I grew up on these games, with this series — they have never been far from my heart. Tears of the Kingdom is everything I wanted it to be and more, balancing nostalgia and novelty with enviable ease. It uses Breath of the Wild’s renowned peaceful atmosphere to its advantage — this is a world torn asunder, with creepy elements that transport me back to my childhood, hiding behind a pillow while my brother beat the Shadow Temple. Of course, the game itself is phenomenal, but, for me, its strength lies in how it makes me feel like a little kid again — that same nervous energy, that same yearning for adventure. It’s perfect, even though I have to hype myself up to enter a cave.