The perfect launch title
Millions of players have spent hundreds of hours on the opulent adventure playground called Breath of the Wild since 2017, exploring the greatest Hyrule of all time down to the last unturned stone (and the last hidden krog). In my opinion, the Switch launch title was the perfect game for the console launch: A gigantic, extensive world full of big and small secrets, enriched with strange natural phenomena, garnished with cute villages and mysterious ruins – all of this was tempting
Combine zipline with clothes hanger: In the first few hours of play, Link is on the move on islands in the sky and learns to build with the ultra hand.
one to not wanting to put the new hardware down for weeks. In no time there was a bond, linking this great feel-good adventure to this little new console. As early as 2017, many technology foxes commented on the manageable graphic splendor of the Switch title, but in the all-encompassing flood of praise and declarations of love from critics and players, that was only a small flash in the pan. In 2023, things are a bit different: more than ever we’ve gotten used to graphical opulence, with many players barely making it below 60 fps. How Tear of the Kingdom actually performs from a technical point of view, we will also clarify in the course of the test…
Bad Weather, Bad Views: There are moments in Tears of the Kingdom where you get really angry about the gray rainy weather.
Story-wise, of course, I’ll only give the bare essentials: Tears of the Kingdom takes place a few years after the events of Breath of the Wild. The warriors are no longer at Link’s side, instead the blond boy is shown at the start of the game exploring underground ruins with Zelda. Then everything happens very quickly: A nasty mummy wakes up, ominous red-hot goo – called “Miasma” in the game – comes out of every crack, robs Link of his additional hearts and also damages the master sword. Well bravo! When Link wakes up in the overworld, Zelda is gone too. But black holes gape in Hyrule, the royal castle has risen to the sky together with the earth, more floating islands complete the confusion – what is it with these structures? Fortunately, our hero has no time to mourn: not only does he have to track down Zelda and enlist active hero support in the four main regions of the country, but he also has to find out what the shimmering geoglyphs are – these are gigantic drawings on the Floors reminiscent of the Nazca Lines from Peru. Are they the key to a mysterious progenitor race and did Zelda even travel through time? Questions upon questions that I will find answers to over the next 30 to 300 hours. Of course, knowledge of the story from Breath of the Wild is useful for understanding all the details, but those who have left out the direct predecessor or perhaps never played a Zelda can still follow the plot.
Hyrule is Hyrule
Synthesis in practical text: Link builds a combination blade from two individual weapons in just a few simple steps.
If you browse FAQs about the new Zelda on the Internet or inquire about the game with a certain search engine, then one question always comes up – because it concerns the fans: Is the world of Tears of the Kingdom the same as in Breath of the Wild? The answer to that is (unfortunately): yes. While there are the additional islands of sky – some big and exciting, others small and mundane – many new caves and one more “level” in the game, the general overworld map of Hyrule is already familiar from its predecessor. Weather phenomena, destruction & co. ensure that many areas appear a bit different, but basically you are exploring the same world for the second time. As far as I know, this is a first for a “big 3D game”. And even after tens of hours, I can’t hide my great disappointment: Exploring the imaginative, mysterious and diverse game world was the best thing about Breath of the Wild. And because you’ve done it before, it’s just not that great the second time.
Great map: The zoomable map is a big plus, at some point in the game – like in BotW – a function is added that shows exactly where Link has already been.
I can think of dozens of places where I was excited, delighted, surprised six years ago – and this time I thought: Oh yes, exactly – now I know it again. Over there Hateno with the research institute on the mountain and here the Orni tower. Kakariko has gotten a few new sights – enigmatic ring-shaped ruins – and the geoglyphs are also puzzling in places. But the big wow is missing. Parasail down the Akkala cliffs and discover the headland shaped like the Dreamcast logo. Enter the Roman coliseum-like battle arena with trembling hands. Travel across the hot desert sands to the land of the Gerudo and as a Vooi find access to the women’s town. Facing a Hinox or being flattened by a Leunen somewhere in the mountains for the first time. It’s all cool, no question – but it’s not new anymore!
I could go on like this forever because I’ve sunk over 200 hours into BotW – including the DLCs – and with the help of the (great) trace path function I’ve really been everywhere I happened to walk past. So I can honestly only guess what it might be like to play Tears of the Kingdom without this prior knowledge. But I strongly suspect that it is far more fun than if, like me, you already know the predecessor very well.
