Thoughts on the Story & Gameplay
I know I know, this post should have been done months ago, and in all fairness to me.... I don't really have an excuse but I'm doing it now so let's jump in shall we. In this sequel to Breath of the Wild we pick up some years later (I'm thinking somewhere in the vein of 5 - 7 years, the game doesn't specify exactly) with Zelda and Link investigating some ruins underneath Hyrule Castle and the "gloom" that has come about as a result. Down in the Depths of the Castle they meet the mummified corpse of Ganondorf who quickly infects Link's arm and breaks the Master Sword. This action causes a collapse which sends Zelda falling only to be enveloped by light and for Link to be saved by a mysterious arm. This opening sets the stage for things to come in this game. From the outset, I noticed a lot of horror-style elements in this game more so than in Breath of the Wild. The story itself is fairly straightforward Zelda finds herself trapped in the distant past where she learns of what transpired to Ancient Hyrule that was talked about in the previous game. We learn a little about the Zonai and the first King and Queen of Hyrule, King Rauru and Queen Sonia respectively. We also get to meet this game's incarnation of Ganondorf, this time with 70% more samurai motif. The story is setup much like they did in the previous game where the cutscenes are gleaned from "memories". Some people may find this frustrating but I don't think that is the case. Allow me to explain, this game is open-world and is setup very much like Choose Your Own Adventure. Which means there is no set path for the player to go. The player literally can go in any direction they so choose. For example, the game asks that you start in the Hebra region for the main questline, I went to the Gerudo region and did that questline first. The game being set up this way I think makes it difficult to tell a narrative in a traditional way because the developers would have to assume players are all going the same way. Another example is Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the game is open-world but chapter-based. The player has to follow the set path of the chapter once that chapter is complete they can go anywhere in that chapter and previously completed chapters but can't go anywhere that has not been uncovered yet. In Tears of the Kingdom, this is not the case.
From a gameplay standpoint, the action and fights still carry on the same as they were in Breath of the Wild. However, I will say that the timing is a little different especially when fighting Lynels and Hinoxes than they were previously. Adding to that is the new abilities Link has, which come in handy a lot. My most used are Fused, Ascension, and Ultrahand. This game has so many options for a variety of gameplay mechanics from building aerial and ground-based vehicles to death traps of various designs (trust me some people have way too much time on their hands). There are literally endless ways to play this game. The shrines are back but the thing that I like dungeons make a return and they are fun to play. Still no hookshot though which hurts me on an emotional level. There are new enemies, well new-ish depending on when you started playing the Zelda series. The new "run for your life until you find all of the fairies" enemy this time is the Gleeok, the three-headed dragon of various elements. I have noticed that the places where the Lynels were in Breath of the Wild all have Gleeoks there, just in case you're wondering. The other new additions to the gameplay are the Sky Islands and the Depths. The Depths can be appropriately creepy as they are shrouded in darkness until you reach a lightroot which will illuminate a certain portion of the map. By the way, there are 3 maps: 1 for the sky, 1 for the main area, and 1 for the Depths. Personally, I find the Depths to be the best place to get resources after a Blood Moon as well as a few other things that happen that I would rather not spoil.
Thoughts on the Good
There is so much to like in my opinion with this game. From the level design to the music to the combat. The sheer amount of things to do via side quests and side adventures. The fact they added in monster raids where the various races in Hyrule team up with Link to take out encampments was very welcome. I love those missions as it makes it seem like the different peoples of Hyrule are coming together to help instead of just waiting for Link to show up. I also like the fact that in Tears of the Kingdom, you may want to make sure you get good with each different weapon type and that shield parrying and dodges are important in a lot of enemy encounters. You can also find multiple different armors in the game even without the use of amiibo which can come in handy for those that don't have certain amiibos. In my opinion, this game has the most variety in regards to gameplay mechanics and things the player can do than a vast majority of open-world and open-world-ish games that are out.
Thoughts on the Bad
There isn't much that I don't like about this game but if there is one thing that I don't like and it's a holdover from Breath of the Wild. The Shrines. They make a return and they put more in the game this time. While they can be fun at first it gets to a point with me where it just becomes busy work and I really just don't care for it.
For Parents
This game is rated E10+ for violence and mild suggestive themes. To be fair if they played Breath of the Wild the little ones can play this one as well. The game is massive and will take a while to complete as it is meant to be a grand adventure type of game. There are also a lot of resources online if players get stuck at any particular point. While it is 69.99 I believe that the game is well worth the price and is a great value for your money.
Trailer
Images via SwitchShare