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[KXVXII9X]

Was going to wait until my summer vacation before I started this game, but now I'm starting to feel a real itch to buy it. It's also going to be really hard to not be spoiled through osmosis.

Enjoy your summer vacation first, because this game gets its hooks into you, and it is MASSIVE.

 

[Jimmy_liv]

I really wish Nintendo didn't swap the buttons round compared to other consoles. Taking me forever to get my head around it, then stuck my PS5 on for ten minutes and completely confused again!!

 

[Halo2redvsblue]

I guess results may vary but I went to Costco today and they were selling tears of the Kingdom for $60

 

[DarthPutin]

Trying out my first ever Zelda for myself I guess. Don't expect to enjoy it much, but at least I'll have much better idea of what it's really like.
First impressions:
- Why would anyone want to save a woman with Zelda's voice? She's insufferable in English. I'd throw her into abyss myself.
- How cheap are they not to voice more lines? Hollow Knight I get, but it's guaranteed 30 mill sales at least right here.
- I am already sick of all the yellow. Some designs are very nice (like speaking robots) but basic environments are pretty unfortunate. I guess I need to get to earth first.
- Slowly walking/running around is all the main movement options will get, right? Falling apart constructs and such do not count. I hope at least horsey will be nice. I want my dash from Hogwarts Legacy at least...

 

[Bakkus]

WHY can't you fast travel to orange marked shrines like you could in BotW. WHY!!!??

 

[GigaBowser]

Wow I can't even it just keeps getting betters the more you play.

Maybe it will start to slow downs at 200-400 hours I don't know but right now it just keeps getting better.

Only just after second shrine and I’m already starting to get over the weapons breaking.
What a terrible system to keep.

Everything else has been good so far.

You still need the fuse abilities.

 

[Gambit2483]

This game...wow. My hats off to Nintendo. I could see myself spending 100 hrs and still barely seeing half there is to see...and with very few filler.

This (game) is why I play videogames.

 

[LordCBH]

Like two hours in. So far? It’s fun. Lots of fun. Weapon durability is still ass. But other than that I love it. Graphics are also ass, but that’s on the switch, not the game. Art style is nice. Wish Nintendo would dump the switch off a cliff and put something better out.

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I really wish Nintendo didn't swap the buttons round compared to other consoles. Taking me forever to get my head around it, then stuck my PS5 on for ten minutes and completely confused again!!

The X button is the most confusing button in all of gaming.

X is up position with Nintendo, X is down with Playstation, X is left with Xbox, X on PC is the center of SZDC plus the alt key and spacebar….of course if you use dvorak…

 

[LordCBH]

The X button is the most confusing button in all of gaming.

X is up position with Nintendo, X is down with playstation, X is left with Xbox, X on PC is the center of SZDC plus the alt key and spacebar….of course if you use dvorak…

I’m over here having to look down at the controller every time my brain says “press X” cause I’m so used to my Xbox controller for windows and my PS5 controller for tv gaming. Does anyone make a third party controller that has the buttons in the Xbox orientation? I’d spend money on that lol

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Link is broke. Think this one works:
https://kotaku.com/zelda-tears-kingdom-review-score-metacritic-opencritic-1850430540

I dunno man. Kotaku might have a point. BOTW was largely passed around as a perfect game. 10's and 9's across the board from a contingent of reviewers that seem to have lost all objectivity in regards to what is a HEAVILY flawed game. Look, it's fine. BOTW is a fine game. I bought it twice, even (WiiU first, Switch second), but I'd be lying if I said it was on par with most 9's and 10's out there. Now I get that, of course, taste is subjective, but such universally agreed upon taste gives me a lot of pause. If BOTW got such high praise regardless of how lacking much of it was, it's hard to look at TOTK's great reviews as an objectively positive thing. All it shows me is that TOTK either rights the wrongs of the similarly reviewed BOTW and delivers a borderline perfect experience OR... it's just as bad as BOTW and is being rated much higher than it actually deserves because reviewers are overlooking significant flaws. As it is, I can't see myself trusting the current reviews as it pertains to what my enjoyment of the game will be.

I'll play it at some point, but it'll be interesting to see a larger variety of impressions start to trickle in.

Botw broke new ground as an open world game. No other game had close to the amount of freedom. No other game let you look out over a vast landscape, see something interesting in the distance and head off on an adventure in search of it. It also broke some new ground in terms of physics puzzles. It looks really nice, plays well, and has great sound design. Highly polished for an open world game of that size. Much the same way Dark Souls influenced enough to spawn a new genre, so too did botw with games like Immortals and genshin impact.

I don't disagree that it has flaws but it's a fantastic game that probably gets extra review points for doing new things in the open world space. To act like it's "bad" as you say is to fail to understand what makes a good game.

PS- it's not my favorite Zelda. Ocarina is and I think Ocarina was better for its time than Botw was in 2017. I prefer the classic Zelda style of game. That's the thing tho botw and totk are a totally different style of game than ocarina/wind waker/twighlight. I can see though why people playing Zelda for the first time in 2017 and 2023 will consider the new ones their favorites.

What do u think makes botw bad? Weapons, combat, lack of dungeons?

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I’m over here having to look down at the controller every time my brain says “press X” cause I’m so used to my Xbox controller for windows and my PS5 controller for tv gaming. Does anyone make a third party controller that has the buttons in the Xbox orientation? I’d spend money on that lol

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Just finished shrine 3 on the great sky island. Honestly very underwhelmed so far, but hopefully it gets better. I am so done with the crafting and fusing already, the menus are so cumbersome and slow. I think they went too far with great plateau 2, but I have faith it will improve soon when I get into the world.

 

[LordCBH]

Oh sick! I had no idea it could do that! I’ll have to play around with it and see what feels right for zelda but hell yeah!’

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

once again I´m tempted to buy a switch... But I just can´t bring myself to do it. The hardware is garbage and needs a refresh asap.... man this sucks.

Enjoy it guys! This looks special

The problem is you waited so long and now we're a year or two away from a new Nintendo system. If you just consider Switch a handheld it doesn't feel like a garbage system.

It's the best place to play pixel art games because they 99% if the time are 60 fps and look amazing on the oled. Best for shmups too unless your hardcore and bothered by the 1 extra frame of lag the switch has.

Aside from that just use it as your Nintendo exclusives device. Play 3rd party games on a better system. If Zelda is the ONLY game you want it for than yeah, don't buy it but if you are into Mario, metroid, xenoblade, pikmin etc than it's a no brainer.

You could still get it and then trade it in when the successor comes (if Nintendo fails on backwards compatibility tho that would SUCK)

 

[BlackTron]

Trying out my first ever Zelda for myself I guess. Don't expect to enjoy it much, but at least I'll have much better idea of what it's really like.
First impressions:
- Why would anyone want to save a woman with Zelda's voice? She's insufferable in English. I'd throw her into abyss myself.
- How cheap are they not to voice more lines? Hollow Knight I get, but it's guaranteed 30 mill sales at least right here.
- I am already sick of all the yellow. Some designs are very nice (like speaking robots) but basic environments are pretty unfortunate. I guess I need to get to earth first.
- Slowly walking/running around is all the main movement options will get, right? Falling apart constructs and such do not count. I hope at least horsey will be nice. I want my dash from Hogwarts Legacy at least...

Yeah I thought Zelda's voice was bad in BOTW and I actually feel like the VA is doing a better job here. That's how bad it was last time, lol

Yes, they made the sky environment yellow to differentiate it from all the green everywhere else. Also makes it feel a bit more like a sequel in the first area by making it a different color.

You get a horse and also more stamina so you can keep running longer.

 

[AddiF]

I really wish Nintendo didn't swap the buttons round compared to other consoles. Taking me forever to get my head around it, then stuck my PS5 on for ten minutes and completely confused again!!

Thing is, Nintendo didn't swap buttons compared to others - B A has been like this since the NES and Y X were added (along with R and L bumpers) for the SNES. So, it's been like this since the beginning.

The others swapped their buttons.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

ACTUALLY, the X button on PlayStation is “cross”, not the letter X.

 

[Agent_Nobody]

ACTUALLY, the X button on PlayStation is “cross”, not the letter X.

 

[Draxon Gamer]

Lots of non-corporate reviews have the game a notch lower then the original for some reason.

Are there any issues in this game that weren't in the first?

 

[-Zelda-]

I hope this is not the last of the Zelda games for the Switch. I really wish that Twilight Princess HD, and Wind Waker HD were on the Switch. make the Nintendo Switch the ultimate source for Zelda games.

 

[-Zelda-]

 

[Rockondevil]

You still need the fuse abilities.

You get it during that shrine.

Neat mechanic, but ruined by ridiculous weapon durability.

 

[Shifty1897]

Dude... This game is incredible. I just finished the tutorial. These puzzles don't fuck around, I could see a lot of kids never get out of the tutorial area.

 

[Balducci30]

I feel like the abilities make this a very different game than botw actually. It’s not blowing me away yet in terms of the first time I saw a dragon in BOTW or like Elden Ring - exploration wise. But I just solved a puzzle in a way I’m honestly not sure a lot of people have - at least not in the exact way I just did… and it feels like that’s happening pretty frequently. A lot of games give the illusion of player choice and like “look you can get into this place through multiple pathways” - but this it feels like there are a million ways to approach any situation. I’m not sure any game does that to this level - I can only think the next step is some type of environmental destruction

 

[rabbity-thing]

What do u think makes botw bad? Weapons, combat, lack of dungeons?

I said it was a fine game. As for what I think doesn't work, you nailed two of them for sure.

• The weapons breaking is a really dumb idea. Weapon fragility is nothing new and it's been done before without being as awful as it is in BOTW. The fact that a weapon can break in one hit is ridiculous.
• The divine beasts are interesting enough, but there are too few of them and they are stylistically boring. On the opposite end, there are the shrines of which there are far too many. They are also boring. Seems like they could have just eliminated the shrines and taken the saved time to develop some actual dungeons.

The dungeon/shrine issue and weapon breaking issue are both related to my biggest problem with the game. There simply isn't enough of a reason to explore the world. There is this go-anywhere do-anything framework but there is very little reward in doing so. What point is there in finding new shrines if the shrines are dull? And what point is there in exploring the world if most of my rewards for doing so are so temporary? The gameplay loop is just not my cup of tea. The risk/reward system is utterly broken and to its credit, play for the sake of play is fun to a degree, but it doesn't consistently hold my attention.

I remember the exact moment I realized that BOTW had a serious problem. I opened a chest and was greeted with a ton of rupees. I was elated. I was beyond elated. And that elation was depressing. I was happy because with those rupees, I could go and buy something that wasn't going to break after 2 enemy encounters. Never, in a Zelda game, had I ever been happy to get rupees. It was always the most mundane thing to find in a chest and in BOTW, it was the best reward I could hope for.

 

[-Zelda-]

Dude... This game is incredible. I just finished the tutorial. These puzzles don't fuck around, I could see a lot of kids never get out of the tutorial area.

Thank Hylia for Collectors edition Strategy Guides! Gonna have to wait to play it for my own sanity. Got it in the mail today, but still working through BoTW.

 

[Laieon]

I said it was a fine game. As for what I think doesn't work, you nailed two of them for sure.

• 
  I remember the exact moment I realized that BOTW had a serious problem.

I feel the same way about BOTW, and I do too. For me, it was when I realized the end of each divine beast didn't have a unique boss, but yet another Ganon.

I'm trying to go into TOTK with a fresh mindset, but man do I miss the traditional 3D formula.

 

[GigaBowser]

You get it during that shrine.

Neat mechanic, but ruined by ridiculous weapon durability.

You can makes as many strong weapons as you wants with fuse but you's are early so your inventory is weak.

Lotsa people posting seems like they barely played and don't understand the game yet but this is understandable because of my early copy of the game my friends.

 

[DragoonKain]

I’m in the tutorial area and in the area where it’s cold and it damages your health. I went into this area without adequate clothing and the only thing I’ve found to keep warm are those hot peppers which don’t seem to do anything at all or carrying around burning wood. So basically I’m stuck in a gameplay loop of progressing a tiny bit, dying, respawning with full heart, progressing a tiny bit, dying respawning with full hearts. It’s insufferable. There has to be something here to keep me warm. I can only go a tiny bit at a time before I die from the cold.

 

[Danjin44]

I’m in the tutorial area and in the area where it’s cold and it damages your health. I went into this area without adequate clothing and the only thing I’ve found to keep warm are those hot peppers which don’t seem to do anything at all or carrying around burning wood. So basically I’m stuck in a gameplay loop of progressing a tiny bit, dying, respawning with full heart, progressing a tiny bit, dying respawning with full hearts. It’s insufferable. There has to be something here to keep me warm. I can only go a tiny bit at a time before I die from the cold.

You need to use those ingredient for making food that lets you endure cold, even simple recipe like mixing mushroom and hot peppers.

 

[Lasha]

I was actually just thinking it was funny that both are scored the same despite TotK apparently being better in every way. But yes I am someone who wasn’t blown away by BotW when it released. It’s strengths and flaws were very apparent to me from the get go. It was a 7.5/10 experience for me, but if I were a professional critic I’d have given it probably a 9/10.

I do understand the difference between taste and quality. I don’t like TLOU2 but I recognize it as a very well designed game.

I don't get why you think that your score would be different if you were a professional critic. Reviewers at gaming publications have no more qualifications than you have. The game is a 7.5/10 if you think it's a 7.5/10. That number is meaningless to me since I don't know your scale.

 

[DragoonKain]

You need to use those ingredient for making food that lets endure cold, even simple recipe like mixing mushroom and hot peppers.

Im all out of ingredients and healing items and wood to burn and I’m kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere and I can only make it so far before I die. If I have to restart I’m going to be pissed.

 

[Rac3r]

You can makes as many strong weapons as you wants with fuse but you's are early so your inventory is weak.

Lotsa people posting seems like they barely played and don't understand the game yet but this is understandable because of my early copy of the game my friends.

You didn't even read what they said. The weapon DURABILITY is SHIT. That's not debatable. Even with fusing it's still bad/annoying.

 

[Deerock71]

I really wish Nintendo didn't swap the buttons round compared to other consoles.

Seriously? Nintendo was there first, so who's swapping what buttons around again?

 

[Danjin44]

Im all out of ingredients and healing items and wood to burn and I’m kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere and I can only make it so far before I die. If I have to restart I’m going to be pissed.

In the cold areas I found pot and fire and they hot peppers near them.

 

[GigaBowser]

You didn't even read what they said. The weapon DURABILITY is SHIT. That's not debatable. Even with fusing it's still bad/annoying.

You can builds stronger weapons with fuse and millions of them when your inventory is bigger laters in the game when u've been playings a while so its way less annoying that in BOTW

 

[KXVXII9X]

Just finished shrine 3 on the great sky island. Honestly very underwhelmed so far, but hopefully it gets better. I am so done with the crafting and fusing already, the menus are so cumbersome and slow. I think they went too far with great plateau 2, but I have faith it will improve soon when I get into the world.

It does get a lot better when you are done with the tutorial island. The new mechanics started to feel fun after I started to clear the last two shrines on the Great Sky Island. There is a lot to do elsewhere.

 

[Balducci30]

I’m in the tutorial area and in the area where it’s cold and it damages your health. I went into this area without adequate clothing and the only thing I’ve found to keep warm are those hot peppers which don’t seem to do anything at all or carrying around burning wood. So basically I’m stuck in a gameplay loop of progressing a tiny bit, dying, respawning with full heart, progressing a tiny bit, dying respawning with full hearts. It’s insufferable. There has to be something here to keep me warm. I can only go a tiny bit at a time before I die from the cold.

Cook the peppers with something else - like three things will give you 10 minutes completely immune to cold - that whole area I think is to teach you how to do this

The whole plateau area in general just seems to be about learning how to do everything intuitively so you’re comfortable to do it later

 

[Madflavor]

I don't get why you think that your score would be different if you were a professional critic. Reviewers at gaming publications have no more qualifications than you have. The game is a 7.5/10 if you think it's a 7.5/10. That number is meaningless to me since I don't know your scale.

My enjoyment would be a 7.5, but I feel it would be important to recognize the games strengths and weaknesses despite my personal taste. An Open World Zelda is not my cup of tea, but I should recognize how well designed the Open World is.

 

[GigaBowser]

It does get a lot better when you are done with the tutorial island. The new mechanics started to feel fun after I started to clear the last two shrines on the Great Sky Island. There is a lot to do elsewhere.

Yes my friends game is like 200 hours of bliss.

People during the first couples of hours in the tutorial:

Week long TOTK OG'ers like me:

 

[Mozzarella]

Just finished the tutorial area, game is pretty great.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I get Target discounts and placed my order for a digital code 12 hours ago and am still waiting on the email. Thankfully I ordered a physical copy for my daughter. She is absolutely loving the game, while I’m still waiting.

 

[SlimySnake]

I grew to really dislike botw but this is pretty great so far. Fuse mechanic is a game changer.

 

[Salz01]

I’m in the beginning area still.The finicky ultra hand stuff is already starting to grate on me. I dropped shit off the cliff already trying to cross areas. I hope I can get better at it.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[LordCBH]

I wish I could fast travel to completed shrines. I don’t have any more food to resist cold and the game expects me to climb back down the mountain? Fuck…why…

 

[Doomtrain]

I’m in the beginning area still.The finicky ultra hand stuff is already starting to grate on me. I dropped shit off the cliff already trying to cross areas. I hope I can get better at it.

Same thing happened to me way more times than I care to admit. I ended up climbing on top of the wire and sloooooowly tiptoeing across to the other island.

 

[ManaByte]

I wish I could fast travel to completed shrines. I don’t have any more food to resist cold and the game expects me to climb back down the mountain? Fuck…why…

Keep playing.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

This is a fascinating question.

I'd absolutely say that people should play whatever way they want and let the cards fall where they may. There is nothing more satisfying than being out in the map exploring, and stumbling onto some weird event or area, and suddenly a quest pops up, and then you notice it - "MAIN Quest", and you're like.... what?!?

But on the other hand, everyone should do the first few quests at the first settlement to unlock the Camera. I didn't know that, and played half the game without it. It should be better signposted, as the camera and compendium are key features. Secondly, after about 10 hours I'd almost suggest looking up how to get the Autobuild feature as it's absolutely integral to saving time once building items loses its novelty. However it does kind of bring you to a place that would be better off found on your own. But playing 40+ hours without Autobuild was rough. Once you get it you use it constantly.

Good advice here, thanks. Is it possible to get the Autobuild earlier or is it locked out until you reach a certain point in the main quest?