Initial impressions of the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are live, and it seems overall, the hype is real.
With the highly anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just two weeks away, early reviews are already streaming in—and the consensus is overwhelmingly positive. Fans are calling this latest installment in the Zelda franchise a true masterpiece. Despite a slow and steady buildup of information leading up to the release, including the climactic reveal of Ganondorf’s return and casting choice in the final trailer, the excitement for this sequel to Breath of the Wild is palpable. As previews go live, anticipation continues to grow for the next thrilling chapter in the epic Hyrule saga.
The IGN preview applauds the outside-the-box use of new mechanic Ultrahand in one segment “I was able to use Ultrahand to pick him up, put him in a minecart, and get him back to his buddy, netting me two Korok seeds as a reward,” also giving the overall impression that this title has feels “the most fresh so far” in the series, despite being a sequel.
While all of the previews mention the seamless implementation of the new mechanics featured in Tears of the Kingdom, NPR pointed out how the game runs with “The visuals seem much improved — the colors are bright and when you look out into the distance, objects seem sharper and more detailed than in Breath of the Wild, and I encountered no stutters or rendering issues,” which is a heavy deviation from the initial reception of other Nintendo published Pokémon Scarlet and Violet which had heavy issues running on the Switch at launch.
Finally, TechCrunch mentions how the title deviates from its predecessor, by making dungeons feel necessary with “Tears of the Kingdom is a game about solving problems. Imagine all of those dungeon puzzles being a foundational part of BOTW. They played a role in the game, but they never felt like the game itself,” while also markedly comparing the title’s verticality to other Zelda title, Skyward Sword.
All in all, the hype continues to build surrounding Tears of the Kingdom, and all of the previews suggest the same message: Tears of the Kingdom is good Zelda.
