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[Raven117]

I walk around art museums looking at the pictures hanging on walls thinking "Does this actually move people on an emotional level? Or is it just weird people faking it so their friends think they're deep?"

My timeline with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom...

Hours 1 - 10: Engaged, moderately interested.
Hours 11 - 15: Is this it?
Hour 16: I'm done. Starting to feel like a chore to play.

On the one hand, the game is impressive. The art is pretty to look at. The sounds are nice. It has a level of polish and refinement you don't get from too many other developers. And yet, the longer I played it the more I felt I was in an art museum looking at a picture of a tree in a field with a lone apple on its branches. Like...who gives a #$%*?

There's no excitement to be had there. There's no stakes. No consequences. Link can die an infinite number of times and the player only has to respawn about 20 seconds back with his/her full loadout. The game gives you a ton of things to do and the order in which you do them means nothing. It kind of reminds me of that scene in The Matrix where Agent Smith tells Neo the first iteration of The Matrix was a utopia but the humans revolted. There are no high points. There are no low points. Nothing is challenging because 8 year old kids need to get through it. There's no tension, no release. The game world holds your hand and removes all the pain points so you can frolic around at your leisure. It's Avatar: The Way of the Water in a world where Whiplash exists. It's Yacht Rock when Punk Rock exists.




I've watched a number of glowing reviews about Tears of the Kingdom and they're all accurate in terms of specifics but they ignore the fundamental emotion that videogames can illicit. Do I have this wrong? Did Zelda TotK have exciting high moments for you? Was there anything about this game that got your heart rate going?

I’d rather talk about how you view museum art.

Until you learn how to look at art with your heart and not your eyes, it will never make sense to you. Usually it takes “the one that did it” piece of art that forces your heart to see it. All becomes easier after that.

 

[PonyStation4]

I felt it was boring and didn't enjoy the gameplay. I dropped it after 14 hours, felt like a chore after 8 or so. Nintendo needs to take what they've got in the last 2 Zeldas and combine them into a Majoras Mask type game

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I’d rather talk about how you view museum art.

Until you learn how to look at art with your heart and not your eyes, it will never make sense to you. Usually it takes “the one that did it” piece of art that forces your heart to see it. All becomes easier after that.

This is a Jackson Pollock painting...

My eyes, my heart, my soul, and my brain...all tell me one thing. This guy was a phenomenal grifter.

I don't mean to discredit a medium that's held such cultural importance to humanity for thousands of years. Obviously there's a degree of value here. I just don't see it and I don't think 99% of humanity sees it.

But again, Tears of the Kingdom is going to sell 50 million copies. What the hell do I know?

 

[Noxxera]

This is a Jackson Pollock painting...

My eyes, my heart, my soul, and my brain...all tell me one thing. This guy was a phenomenal grifter.

I don't mean to discredit a medium that's held such cultural importance to humanity for thousands of years. Obviously there's a degree of value here. I just don't see it and I don't think 99% of humanity sees it.

But again, Tears of the Kingdom is going to sell 50 million copies. What the hell do I know?

I thought that painting was referring to Hero's Path lol

 

[Raven117]

This is a Jackson Pollock painting...

I thought that painting was referring to Hero's Path lol

Lol! This was a great joke.

My eyes, my heart, my soul, and my brain...all tell me one thing. This guy was a phenomenal grifter.

I don't mean to discredit a medium that's held such cultural importance to humanity for thousands of years. Obviously there's a degree of value here. I just don't see it and I don't think 99% of humanity sees it.

But again, Tears of the Kingdom is going to sell 50 million copies. What the hell do I know?

I hear ya. For me, it was French impressionist paintings. Drunk on a bottle of wine, just finished up a smoke, late night opening at the museum d’orsay in Paris…. By myself among the monets and Renoirs… it all clicked… and I damn near cried….

From that point on, it became much easier. (But I’m with you…. Like with Jackson Pollock…. Sometimes…. It just doesn’t speak to you).

 

[mcjmetroid]

I mean look it's not going to be for everyone. There really isn't any other game like Tears of the Kingdom OR Breath of the Wild.

It does things no other games do and some things better:. The fusing and building mechanics, the ability to climb everything with ease, an actual open world you can mostly do in any order, it often doesn't hold your hand and dot where you need to go on a map immediately. It has 100s of brain teasing mini game puzzles within in.

It doesn't do things as well as other open world games: The combat although unique I can't say is the strongest, side quest stories are ok story wise - the average jrpg level I would say but a far cry from an elder scrolls or the Witcher.
Obviously the graphics arent as good as they could be but considering the system the best they probably can be.

But no open world game does everything perfectly. The Witcher 3 had boring combat but amazing stories and unmatchable side quests.

Your ability to enjoy this game is going to depend on your ability to ignore certain aspects you know are not as good as other open world games because you know you cannot get EVERYTHING right in games this size. If you're in it for interesting side quests and story then... well... it's never been Zelda's or Nintendo's strong point.

 

[Calverz]

I pretty much dropped it after I finished 3 of the 4 dungeons (if you can call it that). It just feels like a slog and the story/dialogue is far too repetitive. It also just feels too similar to botw. It’s like retreading that game.

Initially I thought the vehicle building etc was cool. Now I just find it a complete chore to be honest. Il probably come back to it at one point but right now I have other stuff to play.

 

[Guilhermegrg]

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I mean look it's not going to be for everyone. There really isn't any other game like Tears of the Kingdom OR Breath of the Wild.

It does things no other games do and some things better:. The fusing and building mechanics, the ability to climb everything with ease, an actual open world you can mostly do in any order, it often doesn't hold your hand and dot where you need to go on a map immediately. It has 100s of brain teasing mini game puzzles within in.

It doesn't do things as well as other open world games: The combat although unique I can't say is the strongest, side quest stories are ok story wise - the average jrpg level I would say but a far cry from an elder scrolls or the Witcher.
Obviously the graphics arent as good as they could be but considering the system the best they probably can be.

But no open world game does everything perfectly. The Witcher 3 had boring combat but amazing stories and unmatchable side quests.

Your ability to enjoy this game is going to depend on your ability to ignore certain aspects you know are not as good as other open world games because you know you cannot get EVERYTHING right in games this size. If you're in it for interesting side quests and story then... well... it's never been Zelda's or Nintendo's strong point.

I'm probably just repeating myself but hear me out if you're bored.

When I think of "grand adventure stories", which Zelda: TotK is, I think of works like The Count of Monte Cristo, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones etc...

A core, fundamental aspect to these great stories is a sense of fear + consequences. Edmonds Dontes gets betrayed by his best friend, and he's sentenced to life in prison. We feel that. Faramir tries to earn his father's love with a suicide mission. We feel that. Danger is vital to the creation of these types of stories. Risk is fundamental.

Zelda: TotK tries to make you feel fear and danger with...wallpaper. At the end of one of the dungeons, they force you to fight this giant flying centipede with fantastic visuals and a breathtaking score...and yet...the player intrinsically knows there's no danger present. It's easy to beat. If you do die to it, you can restart and certainly beat it now that you know its 3 attack patterns. The centipede boss looks terrifying but the mechanics and game design run completely counter to what they're trying to achieve.

The feeling it gives you is being at a campfire, at night, and having a grown @$$ man try to convince you that a lizard man lives in the forest and takes people in tents....as an adult. It's lame.

At age 8, terrifying. As an adult, corny.

I think videogames have the ability, probably more than any other medium, to get you to feel things. Zelda has some of the best ingredients on earth, but the cake comes out of the oven tasting like nothing.

 

[mcjmetroid]

I'm probably just repeating myself but hear me out if you're bored.

When I think of "grand adventure stories", which Zelda: TotK is, I think of works like The Count of Monte Cristo, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones etc...

A core, fundamental aspect to these great stories is a sense of fear + consequences. Edmonds Dontes gets betrayed by his best friend, and he's sentenced to life in prison. We feel that. Faramir tries to earn his father's love with a suicide mission. We feel that. Danger is vital to the creation of these types of stories. Risk is fundamental.

Zelda: TotK tries to make you feel fear and danger with...wallpaper. At the end of one of the dungeons, they force you to fight this giant flying centipede with fantastic visuals and a breathtaking score...and yet...the player intrinsically knows there's no danger present. It's easy to beat. If you do die to it, you can restart and certainly beat it now that you know its 3 attack patterns. The centipede boss looks terrifying but the mechanics and game design run completely counter to what they're trying to achieve.

The feeling it gives you is being at a campfire, at night, and having a grown @$$ man try to convince you that a lizard man lives in the forest and takes people in tents....as an adult. It's lame.

At age 8, terrifying. As an adult, corny.

I think videogames have the ability, probably more than any other medium, to get you to feel things. Zelda has some of the best ingredients on earth, but the cake comes out of the oven tasting like nothing.

But you see the thing that's difficult here is that Zelda is a true open world game. Those dungeons can be done in any order so you thinking they're all easy.. is because they have to be balanced for any scenario the player might be in.

maybe you are someone that hasn't explored every area in the game and just want to just do the dungeons and get to the end.and fight Ganon (who IS an amazing challenge as he should be). Then game has to be balanced for those gamers.
It has to be balanced for gamers going into it with 4 hearts as well as gamers with 10 hearts. Yes they end up being easy but they had no choice here I feel. If gerudos dungeons was more challenging than rito... Then you are setting the player on a path you want them to go on.

Every other open world game out there isn't true open world with the main quests well most modern games anyway. Yes with side quests but not with main.The downside to totks approach is the story is hard to pull off when you can beat the dungeons in any order. It needs to be kept general.

I do think overall they did a very good job with the main story overall. Certainly better than botw.

What did stike me good at totk though is the characters seem to be mostly aware of what you've done already. It'll just add im an extra line here and there that adds to be immersiveness or the characters know they're in the rain and react to things around them.

 

[MMaRsu]

The game is mostly about exploration

 

[kunonabi]

I was exaggerating on the actual loadout but my point remains that you can create as challenging of a game as you want.

And honestly even with the strongest loadout, killing a Lynel (esp a silver) or a single Gleeok is NOT what I would call "easy". I'm just calling out bs saying the game is not at all challenging.

Lynels are not hard since deflects and flurry rush are a thing. As long as you have the resources they go down just as easily as anything else. Haven't fought a gleeok yet but I still don't expect much out of it.

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

I don’t really care how narrative focused a Zelda game is or isn’t (I mean Twilight Princess is one of my favorites and has a big emphasis on linear storytelling; also I enjoyed BotW), but TotK gave me fatigue more than BotW did.

BotW was praised for not being a “checklist” open world, and the way the game limited your movement options at first (stamina) made exploring at a slower pace more necessary, which in hand worked with making the exploration and variety of quests feel more natural, since you’ll probably just want to do everything as you find it instead of save it for later.

TotK makes it so easy to do anything whenever you want, that it ends up going against that philosophy I feel. And to that end it ends up feeling checklisty:
-Open the towers
-Do the Tears Sidequest
-Do the Penn Sidequests
-Find all the Lightroots, which is either boring as fuck and slow on foot, or trivialized by using a hover bike
-Do all the shrines (even more than BotW, with even more pointless ones too), which you want to do all the Lightroots first to mark where shrines will be above ground
-grind crafting items for upgrading your outfit(s) of choice
-maybe do main quests

I tried playing like BotW where I just walked around combing areas for stuff, but it’s really hard for that to feel fulfilling when I already played BotW and remember all these areas already, so I lost interest and went back to just using towers to skydive to where my checklists bid me to go.

The sky islands are the most fun to explore and there should’ve been more of that and less of the depths.

The lack of real dungeons still just makes me apathetic to the main quest. I was really hoping the dungeons would be actual Zelda dungeons this time. But they probably still didn’t want to put too much time into the main quest dungeons since they’re still not mandatory.

I took a break from the game because what I have left just feels like a checklist. Sure I could just rush to the end and skip the rest of the stuff, but then I’m skipping what’s supposed to be the meat of the game, so if I’m tired of it, I may as well just stop playing.

 

[Gambit2483]

Lynels are not hard since deflects and flurry rush are a thing. As long as you have the resources they go down just as easily as anything else. Haven't fought a gleeok yet but I still don't expect much out of it.

Lynels can be a challenge if you aren't particularly good at pulling off those maneuvers, especially silver Lynels.

I took out my first Gleeok (at the coliseum) the other day and while not impossible, let's just say I had to cheese the HELL out of it...with 3 different sages "helping" out. It was anything but "easy".

 

[semiconscious]

The game is mostly about exploration

well, yeah, but with the understanding that, to a great extent, you're actually re-exploring the world you already explored in the previous game. which's a very different thing...

 

[Punished Miku]

Lynels are not hard since deflects and flurry rush are a thing. As long as you have the resources they go down just as easily as anything else. Haven't fought a gleeok yet but I still don't expect much out of it.

I just took out 5 Lynels in a locked pit and it was a bit challenging. If they didn't save after each one, it would've been harder. Some of the last ones were destroying my shield in 1-2 hits. I finished the fight with 0 shields. Zelda is never about challenging combat though, so this was actually pushing it pretty hard for the series.

 

[ADiTAR]

well, yeah, but with the understanding that, to a great extent, you're actually re-exploring the world you already explored in the previous game. which's a very different thing...

I think that's the interesting about it, how the world you know changed. It's like going back to a place you visited abroad, and finding out it changed and what didn't change.

 

[nikos]

I did the first shrine and never played it again. Wasn't engaging at all for me.

 

[semiconscious]

I think that's the interesting about it, how the world you know changed. It's like going back to a place you visited abroad, and finding out it changed and what didn't change.

well, i'm glad you enjoyed it. me? as someone who loved/replayed botw, not so much...

 

[Gambit2483]

I did the first shrine and never played it again. Wasn't engaging at all for me.

 

[Sid Of Bee]

165 hours in and it's still a blast to play. I don't agree with your sentiment at all, but to each their own. It took about 30 years, but Chrono Trigger finally got pushed to my 2nd favorite game of all time.

I don't want this game to end. That's an emotion no other game has quite elicited from me.

 

[hussar16]

Idk but all Zelda games have been like this to me .maybe wind waker wasn't because it had adventure charm. Thts how all Zelda games are

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

I see a lot of complaining post-BOTW that people want a heavy story, front-and-center set-pieces or cutscenes, etc... but BOTW/TOTK feel much more in line with the original NES Zelda to me. It's hardly a betrayal of the franchise, more of a course correction and return to its roots.

I spent so, so many hours on the first Zelda as a kid just exploring that weird world without the slightest idea how anything worked, until one discovery after another gradually added up. There was zero "story momentum" pushing you, the story was just a prop to give you a weird world full of secrets.

 

[ADiTAR]

well, i'm glad you enjoyed it. me? as someone who loved/replayed botw, not so much...

Last I played BOTW was 4-5 years ago when I finished getting all the Korok seeds.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I see a lot of complaining post-BOTW that people want a heavy story, front-and-center set-pieces or cutscenes, etc... but BOTW/TOTK feel much more in line with the original NES Zelda to me. It's hardly a betrayal of the franchise, more of a course correction and return to its roots.

I don't think anyone is claiming it's a betrayal of the franchise, moreso that some just prefer the LTTP approach than the original NES Zelda.

 

[Drake]

I liked BOTW and I'll play this eventually, but its weird. I thought this game was hugely popular for about a week or so and then I hardly hear anything about it anymore.

 

[InterMusketeer]

After completing a dungeon, Link and his comrade meet an ancient sage who tells them about their promise to help Link. The descendant then takes their power and pledges to Link to assist him. He stands there with no facial expression. He's not happy, he's not grateful, he's not honored. He thinks nothing of it. When you meet characters from the previous game there is no heartfelt reunion. It's all just business.

Compare that to Wind Waker, or even Skyward Sword where Link showed emotion and reacted to events in the game. TotK Link doesn't seem to care about anything, so why should I?

I also think people too easily dismiss the stories in these games as if they're unimportant. It's a Legend. I expect twists and turns, heartfelt emotions and an epic journey. No one would tell stories about some bloke trotting about, exploring some woods and caves. Sure, maybe that's what inspired Zelda on NES, but decades have passed and we can and should expect more.

TotK certainly lacks in this area. You're not wrong OP.

 

[Mozzarella]

Well, everyone experience is different, for me i'd say you are wrong cause i got all that which you didnt get.

 

[Northeastmonk]

For the first couple weeks I thought I was going to go on vacation with TotK. After finishing it, I feel like I got my money’s worth and that was it. Idk if I’m not creative enough to enjoy crafting besides the crazy stuff I made to get from the beginning to the end of the game. I see people online enjoy those things well beyond the main quest.

I also feel like the formula is getting better, but they still have some mundane tasks/objectives in the mix. Half the stuff was cool for the first playthrough. It’s like the perfect Zelda game, but I feel like I have fonder memories of playing OOT on N64.

 

[Dream-Knife]

I quit after 15 hours maybe? I used mods to get rid of breakable weapons. I got bored for two main reasons:
1. Its basically the same game as BOTW. New stuff added does nothing for me, and its fundamentally the same gameplay that I've already done. I enjoyed BOTW until I beat it and went shrine hunting.

When the game is the environment, and the environment is the same, where is the fun in that? The sky islands were nothing basically and the depths were incredibly bland and boring.

2. Like Mario Odyssey, the amount of things to discover ultimately make them worthless. It's just a collectathon without the fun challenges.

 

[GigaBowser]

Yes, 'Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' Probably *Is* the Best Game Ever

'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' builds on the world introduced in 'Breath of the Wild,' and it provides players with so much freedom they can play any way they want to.

www.lifewire.com

 

[Otre]

There's no excitement to be had there. There's no stakes. No consequences. Link can die an infinite number of times and the player only has to respawn about 20 seconds back with his/her full loadout. The game gives you a ton of things to do and the order in which you do them means nothing. It kind of reminds me of that scene in The Matrix where Agent Smith tells Neo the first iteration of The Matrix was a utopia but the humans revolted. There are no high points. There are no low points. Nothing is challenging because 8 year old kids need to get through it. There's no tension, no release. The game world holds your hand and removes all the pain points so you can frolic around at your leisure. It's Avatar: The Way of the Water in a world where Whiplash exists. It's Yacht Rock when Punk Rock exists.

Thats videogames in a nutshell. I play them because theyre fun and I can still be immersed in them. There being no stakes or consecuences could apply to everything in this medium. Even Diablo Hardcore runs, someone on Rust steals your shit or Extraction shooters are just a matter of I died here, ill do something else. Maybe you just need to live life, the realest game with consequences and find another hobby.


Im glad I felt something when I retrieved the master sword in TOTK and im happy the game still invoked a sense of wonder in its exploration with its altered terrain and new ways to do so. Im a jaded fuck and ive quit videogames many times because I thought the lack of consequences and real life benefits were missing. Then I just realized i was overthinking shit and decided to have fun. Games are a fun distraction while getting your real life shit toghether. If you dont find any enjoyment, theres plenty of more fruitful hobbies to partake. For me, nothing will ever beat the ability to control a character and exploring whatever the fuck some immensely talented people put together.

 

[Dragon_Rocks]

Lynels can be a challenge if you aren't particularly good at pulling off those maneuvers, especially silver Lynels.

I took out my first Gleeok (at the coliseum) the other day and while not impossible, let's just say I had to cheese the HELL out of it...with 3 different sages "helping" out. It was anything but "easy".

Arrows with eyes make them very easy. Then it just becomes a two step process on repeat until they die. They don't even get to attack that way.

 

[Soodanim]

Yes, 'Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' Probably *Is* the Best Game Ever

'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' builds on the world introduced in 'Breath of the Wild,' and it provides players with so much freedom they can play any way they want to.

www.lifewire.com

Is there something specific OP or anyone else is supposed to take from that with regards to the topic at hand? Or is it just a random positive piece posted by the resident megafan?

 

[Hunter 99]

It’s a good game but too easy and too similar to BotW. Liked the early game the best when resources and hearts/stamina were the most limited, especially when exploring the depths early on. Later on was basically on autopilot. I like BotW better in a lot of ways, had to engage with the core systems properly as you explore the world, nice power curve, more sense of discovery. Totk breaks everything early on with the new systems and reuses too much from the old systems.

100% agree too.i enjoyed botw more,I played totk for about 30-40 hours and got to the first ganon fight in the castle. Although I did enjoy the temples it was not as fresh experience like when I booted up botw for the first time.totk felt like I had already explored most of the areas (except depths and sky islands were nice but the depths all looked quite samey)
Botw was so fresh and new where totk, although they improved the formulas on many things lacked the magic of exploring for the first time.

 

[Majukun]

I would say on the emotional level offers more than your usual zelda, both because of the attachment to the world after botw, and because

Spoiler

of the whole zelda plotline

what is making the game feel a little flat to me is that it lost the uniqueness of botw and is now mainly just a normal open world rpg with physics puzzle and building.

not that i'm not enjoying my time with it, but botw left more of an impression at the time, especially in nterms of exploration, which is severely diminish in totk (although i understand why given the same exact map)

It’s a good game but too easy and too similar to BotW. Liked the early game the best when resources and hearts/stamina were the most limited, especially when exploring the depths early on. Later on was basically on autopilot. I like BotW better in a lot of ways, had to engage with the core systems properly as you explore the world, nice power curve, more sense of discovery. Totk breaks everything early on with the new systems and reuses too much from the old systems.

can't say i agree regarding the difficulty and power curve...botw difficulty fell apart much earlier than totk, which with the new attacks animation, the high damage and an enemy scaling that feels a little more steep keeps your attention engaged during combat.
I agree with the part taking advantage of core systems and exploration, botw was much better in that regard.

 

[Majukun]

The game is mostly about exploration

Is it? The exploration is kneecapped by the ability to just pump up your stamina find a tower to shoot yourself from and just plane anywhere without actually having to traverse or explore anything... My hero path is mainly straight lines from towers.