Better sequel… Tears of the Kingdom or Death Stranding 2?

What game is a better sequel?


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I only played a bit of TotK, and am ~80% through DS2, but even I think TotK is the better sequel. TotK added so much to BotW and refined what was already there.

I was expecting a similar leap from DS1 to DS2. But it's more like the iterative sequel that Uncharted 3 was to Uncharted 2--versus the huge leap that Uncharted 2 was from Uncharted 1.
 
Haven't played DS2 yet (didn't really love the first one, so I'm waiting for a sale).
Personally I found TOTK a bit disappointing. The building stuff is really cool but the way it's applied is basically the "make your own fun" kind of way, which I'm not that into. And the rest of the game still had many of my issues with BOTW (weapon durability, bland side content, unrewarding exploration, boring story). Still had a lot of fun with it, but around the mid point I got tired of the extra stuff and basically just mainlined the story.
 
I sure hope they put more effort in the next Zelda game, TOTK has been the laziest entry in the series by far.
I'd rather they give us a OoT/MM/TP style Zelda on the level of Dragon's Dogma or I guess Zelda 2/CV2: Simon's Quest. Semi-linear sandbox world with a main questline progression but lots of sidequests/subquests to flesh out the world with atmospheric dungeons with great puzzle design that are seamlessly part of the game world.

An issue I have with Zelda Fallout Edition besides Weapon Durability and Ultrahand/Autobuilder is item upgrades(which is mostly HP/Stamina) to me are not meaningful when relegated to instanced puzzle rooms which is for 90% of them. And the sad fact that most of your power comes from food and limited time gear from powerful enemies like Lynels or finding powerful items to attach items to weapons that have limited use.

Twilight Princess is probably my favorite 3D Zelda and Minish Cap my favorite top-down Zelda.

I'd probably enjoy BotW/TotK more if they just let us play the whole game with a Age of Calamity/Imprisonment battle system instead of what we got.

At the end of the day BotW/TotK is a 2 parter I'd only ever play once and can't see myself playing ever again. It's a long slow burn and the game world and lore just isn't that interesting.

Piecing together the story was alright in BotW but how they handled repeating story beats in TotK was very lazy.

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I have no interest in Death Stranding so Zelda gets my vote by default.
 
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Semi-linear sandbox world with a main questline progression but lots of sidequests/subquests to flesh out the world with atmospheric dungeons with great puzzle design that are seamlessly part of the game world.
Damn, that would be perfect! Sadly, they've already tasted the bliss of low effort success with TOTK so I don't know if that's possible.

Maybe in a few years if there's a change of direction or management. But honestly, I would be pleasantly surprised if the next Zelda isn't yet another rehash of the same formula.

An issue I have with Zelda Fallout Edition besides Weapon Durability and Ultrahand/Autobuilder is item upgrades to me are not meaningful when relegated to instanced puzzle rooms which is for 90% of them. And the sad fact that most of your power comes from food and limited time gear from powerful enemies like Lynels or finding powerful items to attach items to weapons that have limited use.

Twilight Princess is probably my favorite 3D Zelda and Minish Cap my favorite top-down Zelda.

I'd probably enjoy BotW/TotK more if they just let us play the whole game with a Age of Calamity/Imprisonment battle system instead of what we got.

At the end of the day BotW/TotK is a 2 parter I'd only ever play once and can't see myself playing ever again. It's a long slow burn and the game world and lore just isn't that interesting.

Piecing together the story was alright in BotW but how they handled repeating story beats in TotK was very lazy.
I enjoyed BOTW for what it was, but soon after leaving the tutorial plateau I realized I had already seen most of what the game had to offer. TOTK could have fixed that thanks to having more variety but they fucked it up with the ultrahand and how silly the weapon combinations look.

They didn't even manage to fix the piss easy combat either. Nintendo, my dudes, just add a "stomach meter" to limit the ammount of healing the player is able to get in a set period of time, it's not that hard.
 
Damn, that would be perfect! Sadly, they've already tasted the bliss of low effort success with TOTK so I don't know if that's possible.

Maybe in a few years if there's a change of direction or management. But honestly, I would be pleasantly surprised if the next Zelda isn't yet another rehash of the same formula.
If the next mainline Zelda is BotW 3 it'll be an easy skip. That's for sure. At least the Musou's are fun enough and are condensed in a pick up and play format.

I have this feeling Metroid Prime 4 is going to have a better progression since all the Prime's are standard acquire stuff to go do more stuff.

Even Donkey Kong is going all in on RPG systems in Bananza with skill trees.
 
Zelda games are always just mid in my eyes. I get some of the hype but it always just makes me think that most of the people playing those games just dont have access to the other systems and that is like some of the best that nintendo has to offer sadly.

In other words, DS2
 
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TOTK, of course. It's not for everybody, but it comes with tons of new ideas and gameplay possibilities. It shifts the perspective on how to play.
DS2 is just an improvement with new content.
And to judge it fairly, don't ask this question right away when DS2 releases. Let the dust settle a bit. Ask it after a year or two.
 
I could think of at least 4 Zelda games that are way above TOTK, let alone games in general.
I ranked TotK as a bottom 5 Zelda a long time ago but as I think about it I'm not sure isn't just the worst flat out. Like I would have thought I'd at least like it better than botw since it had so much time to address that game's problems but it really only puts bandaids on things while wholesale recycling BotW's entire structure in ways that feel so incredibly contrived and lazy that I can't really see the game as being a better experience.
 
Just started with TOTK after not really getting BOTW.

Immediately it feels much better.

Starting area is well designed. When I reach Hyrule, its packed with stuff.

BOTW in comparison felt too empty. Though I also feel it was a better designed game in terms of map design and exploration. But at some point it just becomes too empty and not really as much fun.

In the end

BOTW : better designed game
TOTK : more fun

DS 2 doesn't seem very appealing. Cannot do any comparison. Sorry.
 
Not really a contest for me personally as I'm not a fan of Kojima's 'style' of games.

Both seem like outstanding sequels for anyone who enjoyed the previous instalment though.
 
Personally for me it's hard to pick because it depends on what I want from each game at the time.
TOTK is constant gratification between each task and the travel between each is just that but DS is all about the travel experience between each destination, it either appeals to you or it doesn't. But for me, I love it.
I find Nintendo games in the last ten years are like gacha games, it's not about the story or journey, it's all about that dopamine hit and that is why Mario Odyssey has so many moons.
They have done it to Mario Kart World, multiple P Switches, Peach coins and Question marks that all offer the same reward as a sticker. I already see the same game design in DK Bananza.
 
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I am going to be an outliner here and say BOTW is a better game then tears of the kingdom :/

BOTW did hit hard when it landed. TOTK ? Amazing game but didn't hit as hard
 
Haven't played DS2 yet, but Tears is absolutely not lame. It's a constant fun generator.
It really is not. The payoff for doing anything is bupkis. The level design is remedial. Traversal is slow as molasses. The unrewarding combat and lack of challenge make some indies look like masterpieces. The narrative is practically nonexistent. But herpa derpa its Legend of Zelda by Midtendo so 10/10.
 
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