Tears of the Kingdom review: Hyrule needs saving, but this contraption might work

The big picture

Tears of the Kingdom gives Link a practical problem and enough tools to turn it into a much larger personal project. You could look for a straightforward way across a gap. You could also start attaching objects together, develop considerable confidence in your design and discover how gravity feels about the proposal. Nintendo's single-player adventure makes that willingness to experiment central to the journey. Getting somewhere is satisfying partly because the increasingly questionable plan was yours.

The original Switch game arrived on 12 May 2023, with the enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition following on 5 June 2025. Both offer the same underlying invitation: explore a changed Hyrule and see what its flexible abilities let you attempt. If you enjoy self-directed problem-solving, there is a specific reason to pay attention. If you need a clear next objective and a tightly paced story, the prospect of becoming distracted by your own invention deserves equal consideration. Original Switch listing

Familiar land, unfamiliar angles

The sequel returns to the Hyrule established in Breath of the Wild. That continuity is deliberate: existing geography becomes a foundation for new movement and discoveries. Surveying the land from above and descending from the sky changes how seeing a destination relates to reaching it. Recognising a place can become useful knowledge, even when your latest approach would be difficult to explain to someone expecting you to use the road.

Returning geography also sets a limit on novelty. A veteran hoping for a completely unrelated map should not buy on the assumption that a sequel erases every familiar landmark. Whether recognition feels welcome or tiring depends partly on what you want from revisiting the world. More possibilities do not automatically cure a dislike of its open-ended rhythm. If wandering was the problem last time, being offered additional methods of wandering may not resolve the disagreement.

Newcomers need not treat the earlier game as compulsory homework. Nintendo says the story and character profiles were designed to accommodate first-time players. Starting here makes sense if these abilities are the main draw; playing the predecessor first is more attractive if seeing the world's changes in sequence matters to you. Neither option requires approaching Hyrule with a reading list clutched nervously in both hands. Developer discussion of the returning world

Having options can become a task of its own

Flexible tools create authorship and decision fatigue in the same generous package. Several plausible answers can energise one player while leaving another wishing someone would simply identify the correct door. Be honest about which reaction sounds more like yours. Enjoying the freedom matters more than admiring how many things are theoretically possible while feeling unable to choose any of them.

Construction and character cooperation also connect to the developers' theme of joining hands. This remains a single-player game, but making things and working alongside Hyrule's people broaden the fantasy beyond surviving alone. That can make the kingdom feel like somewhere you participate in, even while temporarily neglecting its central conflict. Link has important responsibilities; apparently they can coexist with taking another look at an interesting object. Developer discussion of connection

Two Switch routes, one kingdom

The original Switch software runs on Switch 2 through backward compatibility. The separate Switch 2 Edition advertises improved resolution and textures, smoother frame rates, HDR and shorter loading. Enhanced features require the edition or upgrade entitlement; merely running an original copy on newer hardware is a different arrangement. No native PC, PlayStation or Xbox release is listed. Switch 2 Edition listing

Existing base-game owners can buy the upgrade pack or access it through an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. ZELDA NOTES adds optional Nintendo Switch App features, including navigation assistance and Autobuild sharing. It requires a compatible smart device, Nintendo Account and persistent internet; the app feature itself does not require an Online membership. This is assistance for the console adventure, not a phone version or an additional campaign. Nintendo's edition and app overview

Choose Tears of the Kingdom because trying an odd idea sounds enjoyable. Its freedom can turn a destination into an experiment and a familiar landscape into a fresh question. Just leave some room between “this might work” and “I am certain this will work.” That gap is where a considerable amount of the fun appears to live.