Deep beneath Hyrule Castle, the events of the 2017 game “Breath of the Wild” have brought an ancient evil to life. Evil tears and toils in the landscape. Large islands float high in the air. Red-black abysses. Terrorizing monsters. Thus begins a new, epic journey for the hero Link. EXPLORE: A huge world awaits you in “Tears of the Kingdom” (if the video does not play, you can try turning off the power saving mode).Nintendo Together with Princess Zelda (who is incredibly important to the story, but unfortunately not a playable character) must he stops the evil Ganondorf and saves the whole kingdom. “Breath of the Wild” set a new standard for this almost 40-year-old series. It also set a new standard for open world games, a standard only “Elden Ring” has managed to live up to in retrospect. VARIED TASKS: There’s an incredible amount of different things to come up with in “Tears of the Kingdom”.Nintendo Full freedom “Breath of the Wild” was my world. Big, beautiful, interesting and completely open areas that you could explore as you wanted. Playability that encouraged experimentation. A map almost cleared of icons. I felt as if I had discovered all the sides of the game all by myself. Many of us felt that way. The game has sold an incredible 30 million copies. WELL GROWN: The Zelda series is approaching 40 years, and is perhaps bigger than ever. Here from the considerably more pixelated “The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks” for the Nintendo DS from 2009. Photo: Nintendo That’s three or four times more than the Zelda games “Ocarina of Time” and “Twilight Princess”. How on earth is Nintendo going to manage to follow up on something like that? The answer to that is almost incomprehensible: by making an even better game. Better story “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” feels like volume two of a good fantasy series. The two games are now one whole, in the same way that the Lord of the Rings books are. The story is even better. FLY DETERMINATION: “Tears of the Kingdom” offers plenty of floating islands to explore. Nintendo Learn about the origins of Hyrule and the mysterious Zonai people, who are behind the magical technology you can play with. Plus, Zelda series villain Ganondorf is back, cooler, meaner and, excuse me, hotter than ever. He stands here for some of the absolute highlights of the game. ARCH ENEMY: Ganondorf is the great boss villain of the Zelda series, an eternal evil that resurfaces in different guises from game to game. In Tears of the Kingdom, he is meaner, cooler and better realized than ever.Nintendo All worries about being back on the same map as in the previous game can also be buried. There are small and large changes everywhere on the ground level and you have a whole bunch of floating islands to explore. Bottomless Darkness Nintendo has also hinted at a third side of the game in trailers, so I’ll allow myself to do the same here, as cautiously as possible. The Kingdom of Hyrule also has an element with parallels to the wonderful book “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski. A bottomless, attractive and deeply fascinating darkness. I get sore in the knees thinking back on it. EPIC ADVENTURE: A long, long series of incredible experiences await you in Tears of the Kingdom.Nintendo In other words, it’s huge. A delicious recognition factor lies at the bottom, but the feeling is overshadowed by lots and lots of new things. You also get a bunch of new features that in practice change the gaming experience dramatically. You can now build a huge range of constructions – from the practical to the wild – where only your imagination sets the limit. Then you can use these constructions for task solving, monster slaughter and as a means of getting around on land, on water and in the air. NEW: The game allows you to build structures in new ways. Among other things, you can build various means of transportation. Facsimile: Nintendo BEAUTIFUL: “Tears of the Kingdom” is also an aesthetic journey. Photo: Nintendo THE PRINCESS: Once again, Princess Zelda asks for help from Link. Facsimile: Nintendo Tasks in a row The game is jam-packed with small and large tasks and stories, which are almost without exception fun, exciting and rewarding. Admittedly, digressions and temptations are everywhere. You wander into a huge fantasy theme park and have all the time in the world to do what you want, when you want. To take an example: I found a huge brutalist maze in the mountains and was just going to stick and buy more arrows before exploring it. EPIC ADVENTURE: A long, long series of incredible experiences await you in Tears of the Kingdom.Nintendo At the stable I traveled to, I received an exciting assignment for the country’s newspaper. During the mission, I accidentally discovered the cave “Breath of the Wild” started in, I had to explore it. And so on, and so on, and so on. That’s how “Tears of the Kingdom” is all the way through. A potential nightmare for people with pathological FOMO, perhaps. But I love, love, love it. I’m riding a shapeless wave of coziness, interrupted only by the game’s many – and very well-crafted – directed moments. Many of the very best experiences in this game are also completely optional. HOT?: Many Zelda fans have responded enthusiastically to main villain Ganondorf’s physical appearance in the new game. Photo: Nintendo MODERN LINK: Link has gone from being a pixelated little figure to the modern hero you see here throughout the Zelda series’ 37-year evolution. Facsimile: Nintendo POWERS: In the game you will learn more about the magical technology you can play with. Freedom under responsibility Having said that, the experience is not entirely without frustration. There is some gnashing of teeth when I get lost, even if it is my own fault. I’m still a bit annoyed by the fact that weapons, shields and bows are destroyed over time, a system I wasn’t entirely friends with in “Breath of the Wild” either. But it is out of the question to draw for any of this. These minuses are a direct consequence of the basic and wonderful game design. Fear of death At the weekend I stood in line with my daughter to ride the Speed Monster roller coaster. I hate roller coasters. Especially Speed Monster. The irrational fear of death grew every time the line moved forward. And an unpleasant thought crashed into my head: If I die now, I won’t know how “Tears of the Kingdom” ends. Because it really is that kind of game. An adventurous, beautiful, creative and captivating journey that never ceases to surprise or excite. It’s a game you must get before you die. news reviews Photo: Nintendo Title: “The Legend of Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom” Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Date: 12 May 2023 Age limit: 12+ Hello, game friends! I am a freelancer and write about games for news. On a daily basis, I work at Level Up Norway. All my other game reviews can be found here.
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Tears of the Kingdom” – Reviews and recommendations
