Do you ever eat something that’s so delicious you crave another portion, despite feeling ready to burst? Do you worry that your next experience with this meal won’t be as satisfying? When you take that next bite, do you find yourself elated to learn the meal is every bit as joyful as before?
That experience is how I would sum up Tears of the Kingdom. The sequel to Breath of the Wild was released on the Switch in 2023, having spent years in development. Like with Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom was meticulously developed, and without limitations from the Wii U’s hardware to influence proceedings, Nintendo could focus on exploiting the Switch’s hardware to the highest possible standard. Even then, what Nintendo produced was remarkable, considering the Switch is not in the same league as the consoles of Sony and Microsoft. Tears of the Kingdom is a game that manages to retain all the gorgeous elements of its predecessor, whilst adding new depths (in more ways than one).
Link has new skillsets, new allies, and some new enemies to face in Tears of the Kingdom, which makes good use of virtually the same map from Breath of the Wild. Somehow, the landscape feels new, even though it’s not. In fact, revisiting important locations from Breath of the Wild serves up some great rewards and some nice, nostalgic moments. The open-world concept remains from the previous game, so you can once again explore Hyrule in whatever manner you deem fit.
If Breath of the Wild had a weakness, it would be that the final boss was somewhat lacklustre, at least compared to previous Zelda games. Tears of the Kingdom has a number of quirky boss fights (at least one of which was horribly frustrating), but overall manages to deliver more imagination than Breath of the Wild managed here. The quest to reach the final boss is a tremendous thrill, and a challenge all its own, and the confrontation with Ganon is as memorable as any of the best fights from past games. Everything builds to a formidable showdown, but before you even get there, before you even contemplate the final fight, there is so much to see and explore. Tears of the Kingdom has a great many interesting side-quests, and some of these unlock detailed story lore.
Lightening doesn’t usually strike twice, but with Tears of the Kingdom it most certainly did. Nintendo did not rest on their laurels with this sequel, and instead built an even bigger, more detailed world, and rendered it fresh. This was a stupendous effort, worthy of every accolade. 9.5/10.