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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Critics Consensus (Play It)
Tears of the Kingdom is a triumph, building upon and refining the achievements of its predecessor in practically every way.
Game Info
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is coming to Nintendo Switch on May 12th, 2023. In this sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the setting for Link’s adventure has been expanded to include the skies above the vast lands of Hyrule.
0%
Recommended
0%
Average Score
Total Reviews: 98
Best Action Adventure (2023), Best Switch Game (2023), Editors' Choice
Platinum TIER
53% of scored reviews were perfect scores
RELEASE DATES:
GENRES:
- RPG, Adventure
DEVELOPER(S):
- Nintendo
PUBLISHER(S):
- Nintendo
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- The Legend of Zelda
GAME MODES:
- Single player
Where to Play
WHERE TO PLAY
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RATING & REVIEWS
Ratings & Reviews
98
Critic Reviews
95
Average Critic Score
Where to Play
CRITIC REVIEWS
All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.
High Score
100%
Median Score
100%
Low Score
60%
What did you think of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
Player Reviews0 Votes
0
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell (Eurogamer)
May 11, 2023
4/5 stars
A terrific Breath of the Wild follow-up with some brilliant new systems, amazing views and more dungeon-type spaces, plus a slightly deadening emphasis on gathering resources.
Tom Marks (IGN)
May 11, 2023
10/10
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.
Kyle Hilliard (Game Informer)
May 11, 2023
9.8/10
Nearly every encounter, whether puzzle, traversal, or combat, must be reconsidered. It makes you think in new ways. I didn’t get the same goosebumps exploring Hyrule as I did in the past, but I did experience new emotions both on a granular level from solving individual puzzles and on a larger scale by going back to one of my favorite video game locations. They say you can never go home again, but I adored returning to Hyrule with all new tools.
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Score Ranges
Read the Reviews (98 total)
| Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Areajugones | Gerard Carrera | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is crowned as the best installment of the saga, embracing both the old and the new. One of the best open world video games and the purest form of a legendary adventure. | Read review |
| Atomix | Alberto Desfassiaux | 100 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one the greatest games of all time. The wait was long, bur definitely worth it. Nintendo has created another truly special experience that should be recommended to everyone that feels a little love for gaming. | Read review |
| AusGamers | Steve Farrelly | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | This is both a true sequel and a hoisted flagpole on what this series is and where it’s going into the future. | Read review |
| BaziCenter | Bahram Bigharaz | 10 / 10 | 05-23-2023 | After the release of Breath of the Wild back in 2017, the hype for the sequel was so extraordinarily high that many expected that Nintendo might fail to deliver; but those people were brutally proven wrong by the release of Tears of the Kingdom. At this point, Tears of the Kingdom is not just a video game; it’s more of a benchmark or platform for other developers to look at and get inspiration and then probably fail to come even close to it. | Read review |
| But Why Tho? | Charles Hartford | 7 / 10 | 05-16-2023 | For the right kind of player, someone who just wishes to explore and live in a gorgeously designed fantasy setting, this game will offer countless hours of enjoyment. However, if you are like me and when you are presented with a quest to undertake you simply wish to follow that quest in a way that feels fluid and rewarding, this game has some huge hurdles to overcome. | Read review |
| Cerealkillerz | Julian Bieder | 9.5 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Link is back, and better than ever! The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes the excellent foundation of its predecessor and adds to it: the new abilities allow for much more experimentation and puzzle solving, plus the islands in the sky offer a change from the earthbound world of Hyrule, inviting you to explore much more, putting the saying “The sky’s the limit!” to new use. Nintendo has managed to outdo itself once again after Breath of the Wild. | Read review |
| CGMagazine | Preston Dozsa | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is easily the greatest open world game ever made, and may well be Nintendo’s finest achievement. | Read review |
| Checkpoint Gaming | Luke Mitchell | 10 / 10 | 05-10-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom finds a way to improve upon its predecessor in almost every way, remixing the format and forcing you to rewire your brain in genius ways to solve devilish puzzles, take on challenging bosses, and explore a dense, captivating open world absolutely chock-full of distractions and secrets. Like Breath of the Wild before it, Tears of the Kingdom is an incredible accomplishment in video games that is set to stay in our collective conscience for the next several years and beyond, and it’s completely deserving of that honour. | Read review |
| Chicas Gamers | Álvaro Bustío | Recommended | 05-19-2023 | It was difficult, but Nintendo has managed to offer us again an outstanding adventure of The Legend of Zelda. Without shaking his pulse, he has taken his previous installment and they have polished the defects that he had to offer us a wonderful experience and an essential title for any player, even if he is not a fan of the saga. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom expands the Breath of the Wild universe and more, offering us tens of hours of fun that increases exponentially if we are curious people and/or completionists, the title being able to extend from the 55 hours that the central plot can take us ( yes, without deviating too much), until 150-200 if we seek to do everything. | Read review |
| COGconnected | Oliver Ferguson | 100 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most unique and creative games I have ever played. There is a lot to do and the world design is a perfect symbiosis between using Link’s abilities and your own smarts to reach your goals. One of the best games ever on Nintendo Switch and a must-buy. | Read review |
| Cubed3 | Jorge Ba-oh | 10 / 10 | 05-14-2023 | To answer the question | Read review |
| DASHGAMER.com | Dan Rizzo | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | There’s a tale told with great ambition and aspiration behind its lore, its successes and how it will act as a defiant moment in Nintendo’s growth, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a set to be 2023’s landmark achievement in gaming – nothing short of extraordinary. | Read review |
| Destructoid | Chris Carter | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | I loved nearly every minute of Tears of the Kingdom. From zooming up into the sky to spelunking in the depths, there’s way more to explore here, and I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface outside of the main story and some key sidequests. But the real kicker that helps separate Tears from Breath of the Wild is its big swing power set. I felt like I was in control at all times, and had the ability to create my own path. For a series known for sequence-breaking that’s not just a perk; it’s a strong argument for why Tears of the Kingdom will be talked about for years on end, and may even top some favorite Zelda lists. | Read review |
| Dexerto | James Busby | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | Overcoming Breath of the Wild’s exceptional quality was never going to be an easy feat, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has achieved a small miracle. There is more creativity and choice than ever before, which will undoubtedly have a long-lasting influence on both the series and the wider gaming industry. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is not so much a tearful goodbye from its historic past, but a fresh new beginning – one that embraces the building blocks set down by its predecessor, and transforms them to further push this beloved action-adventure series ever forward. | Read review |
| Digital Spy | Ali Griffiths | 5 / 5 stars | 06-14-2023 | Pushing the limits of interaction allows Hyrule to move beyond just being an incredibly beautiful puzzle box setting into something entirely grander. A truly living, breathing world. | Read review |
| Digital Trends | Giovanni Colantonio | 4.5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | So long as you’re willing to meticulously survey Hyrule like an archaeologist digging for fossils, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an engrossing sequel full of mysteries to solve and experiments to conduct. It’s a digital laboratory that I imagine will still be producing unbelievable discoveries 10 years from now. | Read review |
| Digitally Downloaded | Matt Sainsbury | 4.5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | Still, Tears of the Kingdom is a resounding success. The sheer scale and scope of it ought to be a reminder to the games industry that creativity doesn’t need the most powerful hardware, and the playful approach to gameplay makes this a rare open world game that’s a pleasure to explore and rewarding to immerse yourself within. I hope Nintendo understands that this can’t be the Zelda formula forevermore, and the next one will be an all-new and transformative experience again, but I also don’t begrudge the company the desire to take a second crack at what made Breath of the Wild so special to so many people. | Read review |
| DualShockers | Jeffrey David Brooks | 10 / 10 | 05-24-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a remarkable sequel, expanding on the mechanics, characters, and setting introduced in 2017’s Breath of the Wild. DualShockers was provided a copy of the game for review purposes. | Read review |
| Easy Allies | Brad Ellis | 4.75 / 5 stars | 05-30-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is a fantastic sequel that improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way. | Read review |
| Eurogamer | Edwin Evans-Thirlwell | Recommended | 05-11-2023 | A terrific Breath of the Wild follow-up with some brilliant new systems, amazing views and more dungeon-type spaces, plus a slightly deadening emphasis on gathering resources. | Read review |
| Everyeye.it | Giuseppe Arace | 9.5 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | One of the best adventure games that have ever been made. A playful and artistic titan, who swallows the hours in one bite, in a sumptuous banquet of possibilities, creativity, imagination. | Read review |
| Forbes | Ollie Barder | 9 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Overall, Tears of the Kingdom is a genuine improvement and evolution over Breath of the Wild. | Read review |
| Game Informer | Kyle Hilliard | 9.8 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Nearly every encounter, whether puzzle, traversal, or combat, must be reconsidered. It makes you think in new ways. I didn’t get the same goosebumps exploring Hyrule as I did in the past, but I did experience new emotions both on a granular level from solving individual puzzles and on a larger scale by going back to one of my favorite video game locations. They say you can never go home again, but I adored returning to Hyrule with all new tools. | Read review |
| Gameblog | Unknown | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is indeed the masterclass we have been waiting for. | Read review |
| GameCrate | Derek Swinhart | 10 / 10 | 05-24-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is the game that everyone made BOTW out to be and then some. The NES was released in 1983 in Japan, and since then, Nintendo has been a standard-setter in the gaming industry, and Tears of the Kingdom shows that even forty years later, nobody can do it better. | Read review |
| Gamefa | Mohammad Reza Nowroozi | 10 / 10 | 05-16-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is a one-of-a-kind open world and sandbox experience that vastly improves upon its predecessor in addition to introducing new features. This is an experience that relies on creativity and leaves you free to explore its world by building structures and using new strategies. trust me, you won’t get tired of this game even after spending hundreds of hours exploring its world. | Read review |
| GameGrin | Jon Wilson | 8.5 / 10 | 07-08-2023 | The level of interactivity in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, its puzzles, and the feelings you get while playing it are beyond compare. It’s not perfect, but you shouldn’t miss out on it because this is a fantastic game. | Read review |
| GamePro | Tobias Veltin | 93 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | Gigantic open world adventure crammed with tasks and secrets, but lacking the new magic of its predecessor. | Read review |
| Gamerheadquarters | Jason Stettner | 9 / 10 | 05-25-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is expansive, lengthy and filled with creative challenges for those that want to use the environment to their advantage. | Read review |
| Gamersky | 心灵奇兵 | 10 / 10 | 05-15-2023 | I wouldn’t say The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the kingdom is a perfect game, but it’s definitely a game that puts fun first from start to finish. It does have some imperfections, but they don’t detract from its outstanding multi-dimensional gameplay and innovative design concepts that set the industry standard. | Read review |
| GAMES.CH | Benjamin Braun | 95 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t clear up all the potential flaws of its predecessor, but the game succeeds in doing much more | Read review |
| GameSkinny | Will Borger | 10 / 10 | 05-31-2023 | In my opinion, the answer is yes. I’ve dumped dozens of hours into Tears of the Kingdom, and I am still in awe of it. It shouldn’t exist, and it certainly shouldn’t be this good. It transcends its hardware, the genre in which it operates, and the series that spawned it. It’s a masterpiece. It’s Zelda. And I can’t wait to see how Nintendo tries to top it. | Read review |
| GameSpot | Steve Watts | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is a triumph of open-ended game design that pays homage to the best parts of the Zelda franchise’s own storied history–and sometimes exceeds them. | Read review |
| GamesRadar+ | Joel Franey | 4.5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom sets a standard for immersive gameplay that most major games don’t even try to achieve, let alone match | Read review |
| GamingBolt | Pramath | 10 / 10 | 05-16-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom ups the ante on its predecessor, and follows up on one of the greatest games ever made by exceeding it in every possible regard to a thorough, comprehensive degree. If you are a fan of the medium, you owe it to yourself to play this game. | Read review |
| GamingTrend | David Flynn | Recommended | 05-19-2023 | That said, Tears of the Kingdom is a gorgeous game with a wonderful art style that’s able to convey the beautiful, pastoral hills of Central Hyrule, the serene yet sad calm of the sky islands, and the dark, oppressive gloom of the Depths at the same time. It’s incredibly impressive that you’re able to seamlessly dive from the sky, through a canyon, and into the Depths with no loading screens. I did encounter a single loading hitch for about two seconds when sky diving at full speed into Kakariko Village, but everything else is perfectly smooth. Just remember to pull out your paraglider before you hit the ground. | Read review |
| GBAtemp | Scarlet Bell | 9 / 10 | 05-21-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is the natural evolution of Breath of the Wild, and builds upon the foundations laid six years ago magnificently. Featuring an open world full of life and gameplay mechanics limited only by your creativity, it is a gem I can wholeheartedly recommend. | Read review |
| God is a Geek | Adam Cook | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of Kingdom could end being one of the best games ever made, with unparalleled exploration that offers freedom and creativity on a scale never before seen. | Read review |
| GRYOnline.pl | Olga Fiszer | 9.5 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s truly open world, player’s freedom and openness to experiment make it a true showstopper. Since Breath of the Wild, there was no open world game that made me so happy. But if you don’t share my love for the previous game, you have nothing to look for here. | Read review |
| Guardian | Keza MacDonald | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | Occasionally a game comes along that makes you look at life in a whole new way. This glorious, hilarious, utterly absorbing Zelda instalment is one of them | Read review |
| Hardcore Gamer | Kirstin Swalley | 4.5 / 5 stars | 05-18-2023 | It’s easy to say without hesitation that Tears of the Kingdom is better than Breath of the Wild. It improves and adds to what was already a great title. | Read review |
| Hey Poor Player | Andrew Thornton | 5 / 5 stars | 06-20-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a complete triumph and an instant contender for Game of the Year. While no game is truly perfect, it follows up a title that many of us would consider one of the very best ever made and manages to improve on it in nearly every way. Believe the hype. If you have any way to play Tears of the Kingdom, you owe it to yourself to do so as soon as possible. | Read review |
| Hobby Consolas | Álvaro Alonso | 98 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom brings together the power of adventure, the wisdom of freedom and the value of creativity, never forgetting what makes The Legend of Zelda so special: epic moments and the ability to thrill. They were not wrong to say that the title is a spoiler: we have shed tears of joy. | Read review |
| IGN | Tom Marks | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds. | Read review |
| IGN Italy | Fabio Bortolotti | 9.8 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is what happens when a triple A studio with a triple A budget can take its time to develop a game, focussing on polish and gameplay instead of graphics. The result is so powerful that it puts to shame many contemporary games. This is a masterpiece. | Read review |
| IGN Spain | David Oña | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses the formula proposed by its predecessor to build a proposal that improves each of its sections. The result is a game that not only looks one of the most influential titles of the last 10 years in the face, but, as if it were looking for the sky that populates its illustrations, it has managed to rise above it. | Read review |
| Impulsegamer | Daniel | 4.8 / 5 stars | 05-19-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom captures and improves upon everything it’s predecessor was. The sky was they limit and they certainly reached it! | Read review |
| INDIANTVCZ | Jan Kalný | 10 / 10 | 05-26-2023 | If nothing else, Tears of the Kingdom proves how revolutionary Breath of the Wild was six years ago. The new installment doesn’t attempt to redefine the series further or revolutionize game design. It both threads the path of its predecessor and improves upon it. And as it also proves, that sometimes you don’t need anything more than that. | Read review |
| Kotaku | Carolyn Petit | Recommended | 06-23-2023 | Like a great novel might, this game made me feel more connected to the world around me, and it put me in touch with feelings of wonder that I haven’t felt in a long time. I’ve often felt that too much is made of the anecdote that Shigeru Miyamoto was inspired to create The Legend of Zelda by his childhood explorations of Japanese countryside. For so long, the series had lacked, in my view, any recognizable shred of real exploration, real play. But then, along comes a game like Tears of the Kingdom, which gives you both a wonderful world to explore and thrilling, imaginative new ways to explore it, and I get it. Playing this, I feel like a kid again, alive to the wondrous nature of the world, imagining myself on all kinds of incredible adventures. | Read review |
| LevelUp | Luis Sánchez | 9 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom builds on its strengths, offering an unmatched adventure with expanded content and improved systems, while still retaining some of its predecessor’s flaws. Definetily, don’t miss out on this redefined adventure. | Read review |
| Luis Alamilla | Luis Alamilla | 10 / 10 | 05-20-2023 | The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is a masterfully done sequel to one of the greatest video games of all time. The fact that I’m sitting here writing this review and just itching to go back to playing speaks volumes of its grip both in terms of story and gameplay. | Read review |
| Merlin’in Kazanı | Ersin Kılıç | 96 / 100 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom manages to offer you another unforgettable adventure with its new features and layered map structure. Even after spending hours in the game, it’s exciting to find new details to discover! | Read review |
| Metro GameCentral | GameCentral | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | An excellent sequel and one of the best Zelda games ever made. A follow-up that builds upon and refines the achievements of the original, while adding many new and equally innovative ideas of its own. | Read review |
| New Game Network | Eric Hall | 88 / 100 | 05-26-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom improves and expands upon its fantastic predecessor in several ways. Link’s new abilities provide significant, and excellent, changes to the core gameplay. Even the narrative offers an interesting backstory the land of Hyrule, while also giving Zelda time to shine. It’s one of the best titles that the Nintendo Switch has to offer. | Read review |
| Niche Gamer | Fingal Belmont | 7 / 10 | 05-24-2023 | If you liked Breath of the Wild, then you will be pleased that Tears of the Kingdom is more of it, but refined and with more impressive physics and systems to mess around with. Breath of the Wild was missing something and that something was Ultrahand. It has a transformative effect on how players look at the world and how they can improvise solutions by tapping into their inner engineer. | Read review |
| Nintendo Life | Alana Hagues | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | It’s impossible to talk about everything that makes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom so incredible, and making many of those discoveries yourselves is part of the magic. It’s also impossible to overstate just how much there is to do in Hyrule this time around. Much like its predecessor, this is your playground for the next however many years to come, with a little sprinkling of that older Zelda fairy dust mixed into Breath of the Wild’s formula. It’s a glorious, triumphant sequel to one of the best video games of all time; absolute unfiltered bliss to lose yourself in for hundreds of hours. We can’t wait to see what the world will do with the game. | Read review |
| NintendoWorldReport | John Rairdin | 9.5 / 10 | 05-28-2023 | This is a game that shows the value of a game being given time to cook and of a studio that has supported a consistent group of developers working on the same series for decades. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is not a game anyone else could make. This is why you bought your Switch, even if you didn’t know it at the time. | Read review |
| NoobFeed | Jacob Cowsert | 100 / 100 | 05-17-2023 | While Breath of the Wild created a new feeling for the entire gaming world, its sequel Tears of the Kingdom, turned it up a notch and made it that much better. There are a good number of people who are disappointed that Breath of the Wild seemingly killed off what was known before as the traditional Zelda format, but with Tears of the Kingdom, they brought back so many of the elements that made those games feel wonderful. | Read review |
| Oyungezer Online | Ömer Akdağ | 9.5 / 10 | 05-29-2023 | You can bet we’ll see Tears of the Kingdom at the top of every “best games” list for the next few centuries. | Read review |
| PCMag | Will Greenwald | 5 / 5 stars | 04-26-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece of a sequel that instantly joins the ranks of the best Zelda games of all time. | Read review |
| Polygon | Mike Mahardy | Recommended | 05-11-2023 | These are moments where I’m gently reminded that true player freedom is, of course, a fallacy. Nintendo created this world, and I inhabit it. Weeks, months, or years from now, I may affect it in ways its creators didn’t intend, but still — I will be using the tools they provided. The brilliance of Tears of the Kingdom lies in how well it imparts the fantasy of player freedom. Sure, Nintendo shakes me out of the daydream every now and then, and in those moments, I see flashes of its old rigid self. But no matter: At some point, I’ll fully escape its watchful gaze. | Read review |
| Post Arcade (National Post) | Chad Sapieha | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is as imaginative, delightful and empowering as Breath of the Wild and a paradigm for emergent sandbox play. | Read review |
| Press Start | James Mitchell | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild’s robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might’ve missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild’s debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you’ll ever have. | Read review |
| Reno Gazette-Journal | Jason Hidalgo | 9.5 / 10 | 05-25-2023 | Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes the incredible blueprint of Breath of the Wild and further hones it to craft a better, more polished rendition. The crafting and building can honestly be its own game and its open world continues to be a treat that encourages exploration. The action also remains top notch and the game overall is a testament to what can still be possible on the Nintendo Switch. Granted, it has its share of issues and won’t feel as new or groundbreaking for folks who already played BOTW. That being said, other games coming out this year definitely have their work cut out for them to supplant Tears of the Kingdom as the best game of 2023. | Read review |
| Rice Digital | Trent Cannon | Recommended | 05-26-2023 | ust ten hours in and I am in love with Tears of the Kingdom’s grand experiment. It is chaotic and silly and easily the most fun I’ve had with a game in years. While the graphics and the story are both near copies of Breath of the Wild, it makes up for it by trusting its players to entertain themselves. It is the best implementation of the sandbox game design philosophy I have ever seen, leaving me constantly itching to find out what is over the next hill. | Read review |
| RPGamer | Alex Fuller | 5 / 5 stars | 06-15-2023 | Creating something with a greater draw than the Breath of the Wild was always going to be a challenge, but Nintendo has taken lessons learned from and systems established in it to create a glorious follow-up that fully deserves the plaudits that have already come its way. | Read review |
| Saudi Gamer | Unknown | 8 / 10 | 05-15-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is a great game that rewards your imagination and creativity more so than the original, but ultimately it is the same game down to its faults and barely brings anything substantially new to the table. | Read review |
| Screen Rant | Cody Gravelle | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | If it’s time to move on from the Tears of the Kingdom Hyrule that’s now spanned two games, it hasn’t overstayed its welcome. The memories this game is capable of creating just because of its ambitious systems mean that no two players will ever have the same experience | Read review |
| SECTOR.sk | Matúš Štrba | 9.5 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The game has all the necessary qualities to be a great, massive, intelligent, and creative gaming experience that surpasses Breath of the Wild. However, it lacks a “wow factor” and feels like an improved version of its predecessor rather than a completely new experience. Despite its higher quality, the game relies too much on its predecessor, and the main world map is essentially the same. | Read review |
| Skill Up | Ralph Panebianco | Recommended | 05-11-2023 | Video Review | Read review |
| Slant Magazine | Paul Attard | 3 / 5 stars | 06-01-2023 | It’s easy to wonder if this game’s sequel will be even more grandiose, if it will have Link go the cosmic route of Nintendo’s plumber mascot Mario and end up in outer space. Maybe we’ll get to see him jump off of the moon before gradually descending upon Hyrule yet again. If so, one can only hope that more than just the path back down to Zelda’s kingdom will be littered with truly novel, go-for-broke creative highs of the sort that not just Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel rode, but earlier Legend of Zelda games as well. Because balancing tradition with innovation doesn’t make a game like Tears of the Kingdom, or any other for that matter, soar if the most transparent thing about it is how it chooses to ride in on another’s coattails. | Read review |
| Softpedia | Cosmin Vasile | 9.5 / 10 | 05-22-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is without a doubt the best Zelda game to date. Although it offers a pure sandbox experience, the world is bustling with secrets to discover, treasure to loot, and puzzles to solve. It’s one of the few games that encourages exploration and rewards those who do it in full. It only takes a few hours to learn that there’s something new and exciting to discover just around the corner. | Read review |
| SomHráč.sk | Vojtech Florko | 85 / 100 | 05-22-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is an excellent, polished and bug-free Zelda game, but compared to Breath of the Wild, it doesn’t have as many surprises in store. | Read review |
| SpazioGames | Valentino Cinefra | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the perfect sequel and the best game of the Nintendo Switch generation. | Read review |
| Stevivor | Ben Salter | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most creative, satisfying and rewarding games I’ve ever played, all within a familiar and greatly expanded Hyrule. | Read review |
| TechRaptor | Andrew Stretch | 10 / 10 | 05-23-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom manages to maintain the sense of adventure that Breath of the Wild instilled but elevate it even further with the implementation of deep new crafting mechanics and abilities while specifically addressing and improving the weapon system, difficulty, and story. (Review Policy) | Read review |
| Telegraph | Jack Rear | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | The long awaited follow-up to the seminal Breath of the Wild is an expected, inventive triumph for Nintendo’s famous series | Read review |
| The Game Crater | Milo Stown | 8 / 10 | 05-18-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a near-perfect game and a technical marvel that’s only slightly overshadowed by its fiddly controls, unintuitive UI and gameplay mechanics that can require too much from the player. Its ambitious and impressive approach to freeform sandbox open-world gameplay is commendable and is executed with the unique specificity only Nintendo could create. The scale of both the world and the content within it is overwhelmingly engrossing and makes for a genuinely immersive experience. Were it not for the occasionally poor execution of some of its most core concepts, Tears of the Kingdom would surely be a 10/10. | Read review |
| The Games Machine | Danilo Dellafrana | 9.8 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom manages to surpass the perfection previously achieved by Breath of the Wild, an incredible accomplishment. I’m very happy for the other software houses, who will now be able to have a carefree summer, sparing themselves endless work sessions in an attempt to create a contender for the title of game of the year: right now, the current generation of game designers sadly lacks that spark with which to create a product that can come close to Tears of the Kingdom. | Read review |
| The Jimquisition | James Stephanie Sterling | 7 / 10 | 05-21-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is indeed a game with two faces | Read review |
| The Outerhaven Productions | Todd Black | 4.5 / 5 stars | 05-27-2023 | The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is a near-perfect title with everything feeling fresh, fun, and new. Even the places you’ve been too before have been reborn in some ways. You’ll spend dozens of hours in the game without breaking a sweat and love pretty much all of it. | Read review |
| TheSixthAxis | Stefan L | 9 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | As if it was really in doubt, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is another sublime entry in this series. It’s not as thoroughly refreshing as Breath of the Wild was six years ago, but as a direct sequel, it takes the same world and manages to transform it with a new over and under world, while Link’s powerful new abilities foster ever-more creative play, and a new epic tragedy unfolds before you. As we head into the Nintendo Switch’s twilight years, this is practically essential. | Read review |
| Too Much Gaming | Joseph Choi | 9 / 10 | 07-03-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom accomplishes its lofty goals, improving upon the masterful Breath of the Wild in nearly every key aspect; Tears may not be my favorite Zelda, but for millions of fans, it might be one of the greatest gaming experiences of their lives. | Read review |
| TrustedReviews | Ryan Jones | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t stray too far away from the hugely successful template of Breath of the Wild. But by reinforcing its predecessor’s strength for experimentation with the new building mechanics, while also telling an engaging story and opening up new locations to explore, this is a perfect sequel to the greatest game to ever grace the Nintendo Switch. | Read review |
| Twinfinite | Rebecca Stone | 5 / 5 stars | 06-13-2023 | Overall, Tears of the Kingdom stands tall as a sequel that transcends the great achievements of its predecessor. It takes players on yet another unforgettable journey through the enchanting world of Hyrule. While the temple puzzles may not reach the heights of older Zelda games and the complex controls require a learning curve, these minor setbacks pale in comparison to the grandeur and excitement that Tears of the Kingdom has to offer. It is a testament to the prowess of the developers and a must-play title for any fan of the Zelda franchise. | Read review |
| Unboxholics | Γιώργος Πρίτσκας | Recommended | 06-22-2023 | Overloaded, exuberant, grandiose, insanely ambitious. Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel that spectacularly expands the palette of Breath of the Wild and creates an environment in which player expression is encouraged and celebrated as an end in itself. Its “fluid” moulds create an unprecedented, more vivid relationship with the virtual world, in which its true beauty is neither emphasised nor offered as a ready-made dish, but is gradually discovered. A work of tremendous confidence and skill from Nintendo’s development teams. The only question that remains now is: where do you go from here? | Read review |
| VG247 | James Billcliffe | Recommended | 05-11-2023 | Although it takes place on the same map as Breath of the Wild (with a few key changes owing to the time-skip and Upheaval, of course), Tears of the Kingdom feels different enough from its predecessor thanks to the new powers and mechanics to stand all on its own. It’s a massive open world that feels dense and exciting without getting clogged up with icon fatigue, since so much of the play is based around physics interactions with the core mechanics, rather than rigid systems | Read review |
| VGC | Jordan Middler | 5 / 5 stars | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom reinterprets Breath of the Wild for the better. Instead of removing all the aches and pains of that game, it completes the circle by adding gameplay-based solutions to annoyances and encourages you to let your imagination run free. Easily one of the very best games on Nintendo Switch. | Read review |
| VGChartz | Evan Norris | 9.5 / 10 | 06-11-2023 | Regardless of whether it’s superior or inferior to its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom is a staggering achievement in video game design and programming, and one of the very best games of the generation. | Read review |
| Video Chums | Alex Legard | 9.2 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an awesome and unforgettable adventure and I’m happy to say that the Zelda series is still killing it in 2023. With that being said; please, Nintendo: we really need to experience a brand new Hyrule in the next Zelda game. | Read review |
| VideoGamer | Alex Raisbeck | 10 / 10 | 05-26-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom is a tour de force. A consummate masterstroke of game design and worldbuilding, unrepentant in its pursuit of player freedom, well-deserving of a place among the greatest games of all time. | Read review |
| Washington Post | Gene Park | 100FALSE | 05-11-2023 | Ultimately, the lore isn’t the main attraction, and isn’t the reason the Zelda series has endured for almost half a century. What’s more compelling is the game’s nod to the collective story of how human imagination pushes us through our toughest challenges, and sometimes sends us soaring to heights unseen. | Read review |
| WayTooManyGames | Leonardo Faria | 9.5 / 10 | 05-18-2023 | Whatever gripes I may have faced during my dozens, perhaps hundreds of hours with Tears of the Kingdom, don’t make it any less engrossing and amazing. It’s not perfect, it’s not my favorite Zelda game of all time, it’s not even the best game we’ve played and reviewed in 2023. But does that really matter? At the end of the day, it’s an improvement over Breath of the Wild, a really impossible task that Eiji Aonuma managed to achieve. | Read review |
| Wccftech | Nathan Birch | 9 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sticks closely to the blueprint established by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it’s a richer, more rewarding game in most ways that count, offering a more intricate world, versatile suite of abilities, epic story, and satisfying dungeons. | Read review |
| We Got This Covered | David James | 5 / 5 stars | 05-18-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom refines and improves everything that was so great about Breath of the Wild, while adding a ludicrously complex, satisfying, and fun construction mechanic that radically expands what the player is capable of. The Legend of Zelda is one of the greatest franchises in gaming history and this is its best entry to date, automatically cementing it as one of the greatest games of all time. | Read review |
| WellPlayed | Ralph Panebianco | 10 / 10 | 05-11-2023 | Tears of the Kingdom will overawe you with its scale and its imagination. It will demand your creativity and ingenuity in a way that few games would dare demand. It pays tribute to the things that have made this series so timeless, while also innovating so relentlessly that it will be the better part of a decade before any game is able to follow in its wake. Nearly four decades after The Legend of Zelda series made its debut, its latest instalment is a breathtaking high-point for the Zelda franchise, for Nintendo and for video games. | Read review |
| Worth Playing | Chris “Atom” DeAngelus | 9.8 / 10 | 05-19-2023 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is almost the raw ideal of video games. It’s a giant exciting open world, and you’re given a huge amount of tools and puzzles to use in that world. It takes everything that was great about Breath of the Wild and improves upon it. It even takes some of the previous negatives (like weapon durability) and turns them into new strengths. The only weak part in the game is that the story isn’t any great shakes, but even that’s more of a minor annoyance than a serious complaint. Tears of the Kingdom is destined to be a modern classic, and it’s an absolute joy to play. Unless you disliked the Breath of the Wild formula, Tears of the Kingdom is a must-play for any Switch owner. | Read review |
| ZTGD | Ken McKown | 10 / 10 | 06-23-2023 | I could go on and on about this game. It has consumed my gaming time for the last two months and I have not wanted to play much else. I delayed doing the final mission for the longest time as I didn’t want it to end. There is still a ton for me to discover and unlock and I think I am going to keep going back for a long while. Rarely does a game that spans hundreds of hours keep me invested for even close to that long. Nintendo continues to keep this series fresh and while I do love what these new entries are doing, I would be remiss if I didn’t say I do kind of miss the classic design. Still Tears of the Kingdom is by far one of the best games of this generation and if you somehow haven’t played it yet, there is no excuse. | Read review |
Awards & Recognition
RECOGNITION
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Credits
CREDITS
DIRECTOR(S):
Hidemaro Fujibayashi
PRODUCER(S):
Eiji Aonuma
DESIGNER(S):
Yohei Fujino, Yasutaka Takeuchi
PROGRAMMER(S):
Takahiro Okuda
ARTIST(S):
Satoru Takizawa
WRITER(S):
n/a
COMPOSER(S):
Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui
Time to Beat
TIME TO BEAT
0
hrs MAIN STORY
0
hrs MAIN + EXTRAS
0
hrs COMPLETIONIST
0
hrs ALL PLAYSTYLES
* VSG’s best estimate for how long it will take you to complete the game. Learn more.
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