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.
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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10 / 10.0
May 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.

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Tom Marks
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
May 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.

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10 / 10.0
May 11, 2023

Nintendo wanted to push on the accelerator and go all-in. Tears Of The Kingdom succeeds in a feat I thought impossible: improving, expanding, and in some ways overshadowing a production of the caliber of Breath Of The Wild. Explaining in words how this new chapter was able to consistently surprise someone who dissected the previous chapter for hundreds of hours was not easy but, if you are not part of those users who want to look for the rot where there is none, my only advice is to play it, enjoy every inch of it and hope that this new journey never ends. Nintendo has once again set standards for a genre, and never before will it be really hard to top it.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Recommended
May 11, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a worthwhile follow-up to Breath of the Wild because it builds on the world in several exciting ways. You’re encouraged to engage and tackle quests in a way that fits your playstyle while never feeling overburdened by the systems put in place.

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9 / 10.0
May 11, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a great sequel that doesn't revolutionize the series like the first game did, but is still an absolute must play. This new version of Hyrule is bigger than ever and the new powers of Link help revigorate the gameplay. Yes it has a few flaws, but I didn't want to put down my Switch and I had a big smile during the whole review process.

Review in French | Read full review

9.5 / 10.0
May 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.

Review in German | Read full review

10 / 10.0
May 11, 2023

We may not know if this is the Nintendo Switch's final AAA game, but it's the perfect way to cap off a highly successful run.

Review in Greek | Read full review

9.2 / 10.0
May 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.

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10 / 10.0
May 11, 2023

"Tears of the Kingdom is so much more than a sequel — it’s a total reimagining of what Nintendo did with Breath of the Wild in 2017. Sure, there are still some minor quibbles, like tedious cooking and clumsy horse controls. But all of that pales in the face of the many, things this game does right."

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May 11, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a worthy successor to Breath of the Wild and is easily a Game of the Year contender. In addition to making you fall in love with the world of Hyrule all over again, this game feels much more like a traditional Zelda game while retaining all of the charm and beauty of Breath of the Wild.

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10 / 10.0
May 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.

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9.5 / 10.0
May 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.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

9.8 / 10.0
May 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.

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95 / 100
May 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!

Review in Turkish | Read full review

May 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.

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May 11, 2023

Breath of the Wild reinvented The Legend of Zelda. Tears of the Kingdom reimagines it once more, as a somehow more ambitious, freeform and creative game, with even greater highs – literally and figuratively. It’s a staggeringly eye-opening game that expertly cultivates the joy of exploration, discovery and believing in your own abilities.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
10 / 10
May 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.

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VGC
Top Critic
May 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.

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Polygon
Top Critic
Unscored
May 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.

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