The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is ranked in the 100th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
May 21, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is indeed a game with two faces - one welcoming and the other viciously hostile. While it features a wealth of content, brilliant innovation, and genuine incentives to play with its toys, the spectre of its predecessor’s pernicious encroachment on fun is dispiriting in its ubiquity.

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10 / 10.0
May 11, 2023

Tears of the Kingdom is as imaginative, delightful and empowering as Breath of the Wild and a paradigm for emergent sandbox play.

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Unscored
May 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.

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May 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

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Telegraph
Top Critic
May 11, 2023

The long awaited follow-up to the seminal Breath of the Wild is an expected, inventive triumph for Nintendo's famous series

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GameMAG
Top Critic
10 / 10
Nov 24, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a title great enough to unite the whole industry. A game to celebrate the past and find the best in the most innovative future Nintendo can offer.

Review in Russian | Read full review

Jun 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.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Jun 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.

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9.8 / 10.0
May 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.

Review in Italian | Read full review

100 / 100
May 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.

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9 / 10.0
May 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.

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Will Greenwald
Top Critic
Apr 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.

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5 / 5.0
Jun 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.

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10 / 10.0
May 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.

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Jun 1, 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.

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9.5 / 10.0
May 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.

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10 / 10.0
May 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.

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May 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.

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100 / 100
May 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.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Gameblog
Top Critic
10 / 10
May 11, 2023

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is indeed the masterclass we have been waiting for.

Review in French | Read full review