2023-05-20 19:55:36
After playing the thirty hours necessary to complete the main story of Tears of the Kingdom, we realize that we have just scratched the surface of something huge in the history of video games, and in every sense. How is it possible that there is so much to do in a single title, and how can open world video games be the same from now on? As a direct sequel to Breath of the Wildreleased for Wii U and Switch in 2017, Tears of the Kingdom it somehow managed to have the same impact as its predecessor, which also set a standard in terms of what it is possible to allow the player to do in an interactive work. With six years of development available, Tears of the Kingdom expands every single aspect of its predecessor and to do so it acts by modifying and evolving only one key aspect: the gameplay. This episode of The Legend of Zelda it has the same graphical quality as the previous one, and somewhat the same structure for the protagonist’s power-ups. There are still the infamous shrines, familiar characters return, there are even dozens and dozens of new Korogu suits to find, and dungeons are once again four. The work done by the programmers on the map and game mechanics, however, can make the difference between a “simple” sequel and a new milestone.
As for the game map, the sky, in which floating islands arise, and the subsoil have been added to the vast Kingdom of Hyrule. These three levels of the map communicate with each other but differ in the method of exploration. The underground, in particular, is an unexplored world that must be literally illuminated by Link in order to continue hunting for treasures and mysterious places. The islands in the sky, on the other hand, give the possibility not only to discover new challenges, but also to launch towards the earth and use the means available to Link to move to remote points. Between the earth and the clouds the classic towers of Zelda, but this time they will shoot us directly into the air, allowing us to have a much wider view from above. As for Link’s powers, these include a key ability: combining elements to build anything we can think of, from means of transport to more powerful weapons to traps for enemies. Everything responds to the real laws of physics, reproduced flawlessly. Another fundamental skill is to reverse the movement of objects, to use them as a means of transport or a weapon. Finally, Link is able to “ascent” upwards by traversing surfaces that are within reach: a power functional to the exploration of the caves in the game, which in sheer size and variety are almost another half-layer of the world before the subsoil proper.
It is, most likely, the last great title for the Nintendo Switch, which precisely with Zelda it had debuted in 2017, but it can be played completely unrelated to the previous one and, in many respects, it is even more refined and fun. Above all, it is surprising how six years later Switch is able to run such a vast world at an almost fixed 30 frames per second, with minimal pop-in effects and sporadic but not intrusive speed drops. Furthermore, the uploads are significantly faster than in the prequel. In a world populated by video games that focus on graphic realism and spend three quarters of their budget for that purpose, Tears of the Kingdom it’s an enlightening lesson, deeper than the simple concept that “graphics aren’t everything”: rather, here’s what happens to investing a triple A budget especially in game design and art direction. Tears of the Kingdom moves the bar of what is possible to do in a video game, and gives us back a world that is vast but at the same time coherent, unique, real and so alive that it succeeds in the impossible task of replicating the sense of magic of its predecessor. As with any self-respecting masterpiece, Tears of the Kingdom it can be appreciated on several levels, and played in a handful of weeks or a lifetime: there are secrets, missions, details to keep you busy for years.
Format: Switch publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Vote: 10/10
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