The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has seemingly done the impossible: overthrown its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, as one of the greatest games of all time. According to review aggregate platform OpenCritic, it’s achieved this success in record time, as overnight, it’s risen to become the best-reviewed game of this generation.
While this status may shift as new reviews from critics trickle onto the web, the shared consensus worldwide appears to be that Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece, filled with endless creativity and boundless exploration. In its race for critical dominance, it’s trumped some of the most awarded games of the modern era, including Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Mario Odyssey, and The Last of Us Remastered.
Here’s what the critics had to say about
GamesHub – 5 Stars
In the GamesHub review of Tears of the Kingdom, Edmond Tran called it an eye-opening Breath of the Wild follow-up that recaptures the joy of discovery and experimentation:
‘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.’
Read: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Review
IGN – 10/10
Writing for IGN, reviewer Tom Marks called it an improvement on Breath of the Wild in every way, with a bigger, richer sandbox for players to enjoy:
‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made, somehow improving upon it in nearly every way – be that with simple quality-of-life improvements, a genuinely exciting story, or wildly creative new building mechanics that make you rethink what is possible.’
GameSpot – 10/10
Steve Watts of GameSpot shared similar praise, calling Tears of the Kingdom a sequel that goes above and beyond its predecessor, thanks to a brilliantly lush world, and a ‘re-envisioning’ of Breath of the Wild‘s open-ended exploration:
‘Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a canvas for your own creativity, a book to write your own stories, a world to create your own legends. It gives you back as much as you put into it, and beckons you to soar, burrow, engineer, solve, adventure, and explore.’
Press Start Australia – 10/10
Over at Press Start Australia, reviewer James Berich called it a ‘sequel that defies expectations’ as it constantly presents surprises to players, and allows you to explore and discover at your own pace:
‘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.’
Eurogamer – 4 Stars
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell over at Eurogamer was slightly less effusive on praise for the game, criticising its ‘stuff for the sake of stuff’ approach to resources and the repetition of its formula – but equally, found it to be a sweeping adventure where anything feels possible:
‘Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel, for all its changes, and Zelda tends not to go in for those: it used to wipe the slate clean each time, casting the last game’s baggage aside like so much surplus equipment, and setting out for the horizon. I’d like the next Zelda to do that again. But that’s a problem for tomorrow. All told, Tears of the Kingdom is an astonishing, quite literally top-to-bottom sequel, adding complexity and splendour to the Breath of the Wild formula without sacrificing its enchantment.’
VGC – 5 Stars
Over on VGC, reviewer Jordan Middler ruminated on whether Tears of the Kingdom was the best game he’d ever played, thanks to the confluence of its incredible new mechanics, gorgeous visuals, and orchestral soundtrack. Ultimately, he called it a ‘flawed masterpiece’ due to frustrating controls, and a Sky world that felt limited:
‘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
Gamer Informer – 9.75/10
A near-perfect score from Kyle Hilliard at Game Informer was marred only by a lack of novelty, as he noted Tears of the Kingdom essentially builds on the world of Breath of the Wild, making tweaks and changes to iterate on a beloved formula:
‘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.’
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available for
