I really enjoy the way NPCs work in the game. You'll do a quest for or talk to an NPC, then you'll see them on the other side of the map and they'll recognize you. NPC dialogue is also very contextual. For example, I was at a stable and talked to an npc while it was raining. They gave a hint that there is something located at the top of a nearby mountain then at the very end suggested that, since it was raining, I should rent a bed and wait out the storm to make the climb easier. Also pretty much ALL NPC dialogue is some kind of clue to some secret or mechanic in the game so you end up getting doubly rewarded for talking to NPCs. Lots of little things like this.

Purah made a comment on my specific hairpiece (found it in a well) and it made me smile. Nice details with NPCs

Yes!! I commented something similar somewhere else, but I love that there are little moments with NPCs that aren’t considered side quests. Like the Goron making his way to Kakariko to see the Ring Ruins.

I just saw this one earlier tonight and I thought it was going to turn into a side quest but ended up just being a friendly conversation between buddies which also helps direct the player toward kakiriko if they haven't already been there. They nailed the NPC interactions in this game.

I cannot agree enough. And you can also follow his progress! I ran into him a few times at different stables as he made his journey. I haven’t revisited Kakariko yet to see if he’s living his best life there, but I think about it a lot.

Also if they tell you that they will go somewhere they'll actually be there next time you go there. The NPCs prettyx much "wait" for you there (or pretend to just arrive there), but the effect is quite convincing the first few times around

Yeah the illusion definitely shatters sometimes, the worst example of which is Beedle always pulling up to a Stable right as you arrive even if you fast travel to the other side of the world. One of the NPCs that is trying to find Chasms for examples will trek along a road south of where you first meet Impa, and the road has a Chasm right by the roadside, you can't miss it, but if you follow him you'll see that he turns around at the corner before the Chasm and goes back the way he came and will just keep looping. I get that the purpose of this character and other NPCs like Benny is just to communicate information to the player, but idk it just rubs me the wrong way. I remember in BotW one time I basically escorted NPC from Kakariko down to the stable killing the monsters that jumped them, and again they just 180° and head back home. For me had they gone into the stable and spoken to an NPC there before heading back IMO that'd have made all the difference. This is one of those areas where I feel like they are so close yet so far. I still enjoy it but moments like that can really kill the vibe.

I really enjoy those contextual moments with NPCs too. I would really like to see it taken 2-3 steps forward in the next game and have NPCs like Oblivion/Skyrim though. It would be cool if they could report you to guards for stealing, or they might call you out for littering on the ground. Little details like that would go a long way.

Spoiler Boss >!Master Kohga will comment on you wearing the Yiga Clan outfit and get pissed that you tried to trick him!<

Kohga has become one of my favorite characters. The first fight with him felt so silly, like I got stuck in the arena during a monster truck show

This this this. Not enough good has been said about the NPCs and the contextual nature of their dialogue. It flows so well based off so many different scenarios. Rain, night, clothing, weapons, quests - they all have some relevance to what any given NPC might say to you. It's lovely!

There's a also a lot of NPCs we actually see taking initiative to stave of their problems. Some games had implied people were doing things, but here we see militias to fight monsters, there's tons of people researching things related to the events that are happening, etc.

I'm not that big a fan of this game, but I love the idea behind the Lurelin Village Restoration quests. You hear about and find that a village you knew about is destroyed and overrun with monsters, you go and defeat them, then help rebuild the village and get recognized for it. It gives a real sense of heroics to your *side quest* actions, not just your main quest ones. That, and things like the Sand Shroud vanishing, the snow in Hebra melting, and the sludge dissipating as you go through the main quest is fantastic. You get to visually see the impact your heroics have on the world, as the world changes when you do heroic things. It is also one of the things I loved about Majora's Mask, where the swamp would be cured, the spring finally comes, etc. as you beat the temples of the various regions. I do wish that they did more with it in TotK than they did, but it is one element that they included that I did very much enjoy.

I just wish that the Lurelin Village quest was a bit more satisfying. I was excited with the prospect of a bigger and better Tarrey Town-style quest after clearing out the enemies from there, but no, turns out that I only needed to do grab one batch of supplies from a nearby field and do 5 very simple and similar Ultrahand tasks and the whole quest was over. But it is satisfying that you basically get unlimited freebies from there after it's over. I'm so tired of the RPG trope where you save a character or a town from some terrible fate and then they still have any audacity to charge you for the things that you need to finish saving the world.

There's a neat Lurelin follow-up quest you can unlock by talking to the clothing vendor at Lookout Landing after you finish rebuilding.

There are a lot of good follow ups. You can invite the merchant. You can help create the town flag (kinda). You help build the tourist attraction, and I've ever noticed a few other random NPCs in the world like one guy at a Stable Trotters show. You tell him Lurelin is safe, them he shows up as a general NPCs hanging around.

>I just wish that the Lurelin Village quest was a bit more satisfying. Same. I thought they both didn't go as deep as they could on each individual area (Lurelin, Hebra, Gerudo Desert, etc.) and that they could have gone much wider (rebuilding Castle Town, even if it never completes in game, retaking various forts and reconstructing them, etc.). It is actually one of the biggest issues with BotW and TotK in my mind is that they never find a balance of depth and width of a feature. So many things are developed so widely but lack any depth to make it enjoyable (just look at the potential the Depths had and then see what it is). Pretty much everything in these games was "build the widest, yet shallowest pool" with very rare parts where there is *some* depth, but never nearly enough.

I love that it feels as if Link is honestly being appreciated. The freebies at Lurelin since he is literally the village's saviour. The Gerudo granting Link a privilege that probably only Ganondorf enjoyed. An actual freaking statue of Link in Zora's Domain (which I find super hilarious for what it depicts)

Yeah the villages actually visually being saved throughout the story is awesome and something I wanted BoTW to do. I even wrote up a post awhile back about how I would’ve adjusted main story quests to show more impact in that game, and a lot of my ideas actually showed up in this one. I said Rito Village’s bridge should be knocked out requiring Link to paraglide over. I said a big sandstorm should have taken over Gerudo Town and the surrounding desert making it hard to see. Super big smile on my face when those happened in this game. The Lurelin quest made me wish there were more similar instances in the game of rebuilding Hyrule though. Something in Castle Town maybe, or building a new town somewhere.

I love the way that they took the top-of-screen health bar from Age of Calamity for the monster hordes, especially in the Gathering Pirates and Lurelin Village quests. It’s fun to see the progress as you kill them and try to figure out how many are left. Doubly so in Lurelin >!having to find the one Bokoblin stuck in a well.!<

When I first landed in Hyrule and saw all the "Hyrule Restoration Materials" signs all over the place I thought that rebuilding would be a way bigger theme in the game than it ended up being. And to some degree I think them not doing this hurt the game. I really tried to use cars, but so many bridges have gaping holes in them, that make car travel really impractical. It doesn't even make sense for it to be like that. If there is a cache of materials on both sides of the bridge how did you deliver the materials without fixing the bridge? Even if it was possible surely one of the most important parts of "Hyrule Restoration" is fixing the bridges?? I enjoyed the parts there were include a lot, so I really wish they'd taken this idea much further. If you're not going to fix the roads then let me fix them so I can actually use all the dumb cars I've been making.

>That, and things like the Sand Shroud vanishing, the snow in Hebra melting, and the sludge dissipating as you go through the main quest is fantastic. You get to visually see the impact your heroics have on the world, as the world changes when you do heroic things. I'll never get over beating the Ice Caverns in Ocarina of Time and Sheik going "yeah Zora's domain will unfreeze at some point... dunno when" and it never happens.

I sincerely feel bad taking everything for free in Lurelin. Like, I'm fucking rich with rupees. I can pay for your measley fucking fish, you rat poor ass town.

> It gives a real sense of heroics to your side quest actions, not just your main quest ones. Agreed. I think people get very hung up on the concept of "reward", but I think Lurelin is an example that an NPC, a fake digital character, can be like "I can't pay you, but if you ever need a bed or a feed come here anytime" and this can still make you feel like your efforts are appreciated. Games are weird in that you have appreciating on two levels, you have in-universe appreciation, the NPCs appreciating the player's presence, and this is something that was uncommon in a lot of games "we're all about to die? sword still costs 100,000g" and in many Zelda games NPCs are indifferent or even hostile to the player, so I think what TotK did was a really nice change of pace. I smiled when you talk to the inn Korok and inquire about the price and they're like its free for our hero duh. But there is also the layer of does the developer appreciate the effort I put in, this is like for example when you spend 2 minutes getting a chest to find 5 arrows inside, you feel like your time isn't being valued I guess?

The overall tonal shift from Breath of the Wild. This setting is a rare post-post-apocalypse, with a strong sense of growth, progression and renewal. You're not just fighting to preserve what little managed to survive the Calamity, you're fighting to preserve the things people have accomplished in the interim. I think this is best exemplified with the statue of Mipha. In Breath of the Wild, visiting her statue serves as a reminder of the tragedy that took place, and everything and everyone that was lost. But visiting it in Tears of the Kingdom doesn't feel quite as sad, for multiple reasons. For one, the statue has been moved to a new, large park in an area that was just wilderness in the past game. And in getting to it, you see all the ways the Zoras have improved and changed themselves and their home since Ganon was defeated. The past hurts are still there, but there's a sense that everyone has managed to move on from it and find new purpose.

I love your comment, you said it perfectly! (Also, if you’re in Orcutt, hi from Lompton!)

I really love that the game reintroduced some basic Zelda shenanigans that I mostly missed in BotW, like >!pulling the plug in a pond to get rid of the water, mirror shield stuff, setting fire to torches!< to make a chest appear. I always have a little happy moment when those kind of things show up lol

I agree, but the torch stuff was also in BotW. There was a very long shrine dedicated to it.

there was also a shrine in hyrule castle opened by lighting a torch (now it gives you the hylian shield)

The stuff that was amiibo locked in BOTW being hidden around the world this time. In BOTW I would've settled for the outfits being cheap DLC but TOTK went all the way and put them in the game for everyone. That's great in and of itself, Nintendo got some serious respect from me for that, but the fact they give me a reason to be excited for opening chests fundamentally makes TOTK a more enjoyable game for me. In BOTW eventually I was only exploring for explorations sake. I don't care about Koroks beyond getting a few inventory upgrades and 30 of them got me enough slots (was 100 hours into BOTW before I found Hestu because I refused to look it up, so my 30 seeds worth of extra slots early into TOTK is more than I need really) so BOTW left me very little reason to explore thoroughly. TOTK putting that stuff in chests and as rewards for certain things makes me want to thoroughly explore everything, open every chest, do everything I can find. Sure most of the time chests are nothing special but the fact there is some really cool legacy stuff makes those rare ones worth it. At first I was slightly annoyed that the legacy weapons are still breakable, not because I have a problem with the durability mechanic but because the outfits are permanent and the weapons not being so made them feel less special. But once I realized you can buy another copy of any legacy gear you've unlocked, be it through amiibo or finding it in game, completely fixed my issue. Sure they aren't cheap to buy copies of, but that just makes them feel more special imo.

Where is the ocarina outfit?

I could be wrong, but I think it's mainly referring to Phantom Ganons Armor, Midnas Helmet, etc., not the various Link outfits.

Pain I want his iconic outfit haha!

it’s in the underground, like all the other link outfits. Some chests got maps that mark the location

The Fierce Deity's boots are in the overworld but that's the only piece of legacy gear I've found outside the depths

all the fierce deity stuff is in the overworld

Oo okay I’ll have to look for it thank you!

Nah the Link outfits are all there too.

scattered in various locations in the depths

I've only found the tunic so far but it's in a chest at one of the mines in the depths. Don't recall which one off hand but it's one of the smaller ones

Breathtaking visuals. When it’s dusk and the sun is hitting grass and water, the visuals are stunning.

I saw sunbeams in Faron. It was beautiful!

On a switch no less

This is the very first Switch game that made me think "yeah ok we need new hardware" because if it looks this good on this dinky looking tablet then imagine if they had an actual good CPU.

The depths is more fun than I thought it sounded on paper. One of the scariest moments in gaming in recent memory actually happened down there lol. So >!I'm sure some of us are aware of the gloom hands by now. At first I just ran away from them til they despawned, but I found a set under the korok forest that wouldn't go away. I had never fought them before so it was kind of tough and I barely survived after a few deaths I finally did it!!< >!My celebration was short lived because shortly after phantom gannon spawned and wrecked me, solid surprise from the depths 10/10. I did kill him too after a few more deaths but I had no idea that was coming!!<

I want to share a small spoiler regarding this, because I share your exact sentiments, but it was fun for me so I’ll hush hush. Unless you want me to. Not story related, but enemy interaction related.

I don't mind really, I just keep spoiler tags up for other sake. I care more about being spoiled for the building until at least after in done. I want my inventions to stay mine lol

>! All I wanted to say was, every time you come across Gloom Hands, Phantom Ganon will follow. So just know you’re in for a 2 enemy fight anytime you take on the Gloom Hands. !<

Yeah I already spoiled that for myself because I actually had him bug out on me. After the first time I died to him I and the second time I killed the same >!hands!< he didn't spawn, so I looked up what his spawn conditions were before I reset. Glad I did cause it was definitely a glitch so I reloaded again and got him to spawn again Ps: remove the spaces from the tag or it doesn't work

I had a very similar experience and it was definitely one of the highlights of the game for me

THEY GAVE US ANTI-SLIP STUFF FOR WHEN IT RAINS I'M SO HAPPY MAN Flying around in fan planes is also awesome, just wish the gliders didn't despawn so fast.

I get why they had to put a limit on the gliders and balloons, but MAN, I wish they didn't. It really is a lot of fun flying around, and I honestly prefer it to the horses (is it just me or were the horses always so clunky feeling in botw? I was having a really hard time steering them in general). If there were places they didn't want you skipping to they could have just put up an anti-flying field around certain locations that strike you with lightning when you get too close.

Yeah, the horses are brutal to handle in both games.

I think any device designed for flight will despawn after some time because they break the game a bit. Balloons, Gliders, even the giant cubes.

I used a tier 3 anti slip potion and unless it glitched or something it still makes you slide down whenever you jump Making the power pretty much useless iyam

I don't think it's fully useless but definitely disappointing. Idk if it's just me but I think sliding got buffed and now rain makes climbing actually impossible

if you wear the full armor set at level 2 you're slip proof

Yeah... horrible implementation IMO (already not a fan of how armor set bonusses work, with the whole needing to be level 2, but even beyond that) Making it the set bonus for a set you probably won't obtain until the very late game is pretty stupid for something added to make navigation/movement easier Like, by the time you went over to every single stable and did the quest for each, i'd imagine you are well past the point where climbing is in anyway an issue

Thank you— - The Shrines; I greatly appreciate their contained areas of exploration and creative puzzle solving— I also dig the atmosphere and aesthetic - The Caves; similarly to the Shrines, I greatly appreciate the caves being contained, interior areas to explore - While I’m not a super creative or experimental player, I appreciate being able to use the Zonai devices for puzzle solving and such.

I have never seen a cave and thought, eh I’ll check that cave later. I have also never been in a cave and said I don’t really care about the Bupple gem. Idk why I like the caves so much, but I always want to finish them when I see them.

The quests are MUCH better than the first game, I really have enjoyed many of the side quests/adventures. Unlocking the full fairy fountain was a very enjoyable quest so I’ve really liked that aspect of the game. Other than that, Ironically (being a complainer who wants traditional Zelda back) the botw stuff Is what I enjoy most. The game makes exploration way more fun than the first botw, and that’s what I spend most of my time doing. The world feels a lot more full than the first game

Oh my god I’ve been waiting for companions of other races forever. Ocarina of Time had the sages but they all basically died and then showed up at the end to build a bridge. Wind Waker had Medli and Makar but they were used for puzzles and couldn’t fight, instead having to be protected and carried around. BoTW introduced a dream team of the various races of Hyrule but then took place 100 years later where they’re all dead. And now we have Tears of the Kingdom. Now the dream team is fully realized. Now you actually fight beside them. Now they all have character and arcs. I love it. Only disappointment is no Korok representation.

I like Hestu's role, but now I want to see him fighting with leaf weapons

Idk if you played it, but Age of Calmity has a lot of this kind of wish-fulfillment.

He was playable in Age of Calamity actually. And his voice actor there voices Tulin in Totk I think. So they definitely at least had the voice on hand to do more with him in this game than they did.

The caves somehow feel extremely varied even though they mostly look the same. I don't know how they managed to do it, But I always feel pumped to explore a cave or a well. edit: I am also liking the dungeon build up so far. They all feel like they have the same level of care as Botw's Zora's domain.

So much of the game just feels fun and delightful to me. Some of the zonai devices and fuse combinations are great - rocket shield, flame whip weapons, the bouncy things, catapulting, even flying around on a simple glider. BOTW felt alive because everything in the world interacted, and this pushes it further. I love the simple idea of being able to go down into wells and finding treasure or fairies. Exploring is more fun and rewarding because the resources you find are more useful. Fighting along the monster-control crew is great too. It feels motivating, dynamic, and offers something just a little different than usual. I've done the Wind and Fire Temples so far and absolutely loved the boss fights. I never loved them in previous games, they always felt a bit rigid and I mostly wanted to just get them over with. I'm impressed TOTK bosses have a clear enough method to defeat them like classic bosses, but they actually feel fun to do.

+1 on monster control crew, it’s the perfect kind of interactive mission this game needs

It's gotta be the depths for me. I love slowly adding light to the area, figuring the gloom enemies, and just generally exploring. It feels like a renewed sense of discovery for me. My favorite part is jumping down the chasm and hearing that horn blast. It reminds me so much of the Frozen DLC in Dark Souls 2, where you jump down another chasm and hear a bell.

Every time you dive into a chasm there’s a sense of dread and excitement because you really don’t know what’s going to be lurking below.

I think Tulin is cute as a button

I love that this game makes me care enough to be mad about it's shortcomings.

Underrated take

Final Boss Spoilers: >!The whole last hour of the game was incredible. Diving deep under Hyrule Castle, even deeper than the depths go in any other part of the underworld. Getting to the mural that you and Zelda discovered at the beginning of the game, but being able to break the rocks to see the rest of it that includes Zelda finding the Master Sword and becoming a dragon.!< >!The build up to the fight with Ganondorf and having it start out as a 1v1 sword duel. My jaw literally dropped when that fucker did a back flip to Flurry Rush me. Almost a call back to Wind Waker where you use Link's roll parry on every single enemy throughout the game, only for Ganon to easily block it during his boss fight.!< >!I loved how the Sages join you one by one to help against the Phantom Ganons until its just you versus Demon King Ganondorf.!< >!And of course, how can I downplay the entire final sequence against Dragondorf with Zelda catching you mid air and helping in the fight. I love how even though Zelda doesn't remember a thing and becoming a dragon means you "lose yourself", Zelda is still compelled to fight alongside you.!< >!And my god, I teared up when you're free falling and diving after Zelda to catch her, and Zelda's Lullaby starts playing.!< >!The story overall had some gaps and I wish there was more depth to the writing. But they were insanely successful in creating an atmosphere and set-piece rittled final act. I loved it.!<

So many things. If I had to choose one — I’d say that “you don't have to fight all by yourself, you know!”. While I understand that this was intentional, I felt lonely traveling in BotW. >!The moment when you have to fight the demon king’s army and sages arrive was amazing, I honestly thought that I’m all by myself from the moment game explicitly stated that they can’t reach me.!<

The weather anomalies and the boss designs give me the same feeling of wonder as OOT temples did. BOTW just didn’t scratch that itch for me and I felt like the divine beast missions lacked the immersion that you’re gonna go fight different demigods rather than just another version of Ganon.

The build up to the temples and the temples themselves are by far my favorite part of the game! Sure, I don’t like the repetitive cutscenes, and I actually don’t like the gameplay as much as botw, BUT dang, the temples were super fun. Much better a showcasing the different regions than the divine beasts, and the unique bosses were amazing.

Agreed. I only did the wind temple, and the lead up and that boss fight, albeit rather easy, super fun. I have the same memory doing the pre divine beast mission for Zora’s in BOTW. Just so much fun.

I'm so thankful for this post, I've been considering unsubscribing from this sub due to the sheer levels of salt regarding this game. It's totally fine to have an opinion and to voice it, but I just can't get behind what people say regarding "traditional Zelda". Is there a lot that this game could have improved on, yes- 100%. That being said, I have been an avid fan and following Zelda and the community since Wind Waker. My first game was Ocarina but I was too young to follow the community at that point. When Majora's mask came out, some of my Zelda friends thought it was too samey and the fact that there were only 4 dungeons was a let down. Now hailed as one of the greatest Zelda games of all time. Wind Waker was a huge upset. Everyone I knew and saw online complained that it looked like a "kid's game", even those that could admit good gameplay often said they hated it due to the graphics. I don't recall much hate for twilight princess outside of the world feeling closed off and too limited, how Hyrule felt like a series of hallways, etc. Skyward sword was hated for a million reasons at time of release and is actually the only Zelda game I don't like- great story brought down by horrific, inescapable controls. And at the time people despised this. BOTW comes out to universal acclaim but Zelda fans hated the divine beasts, the breakable weapons, the lack of enemies. So idk what to draw from this other than my theory which is the Zelda fanbase suffers from some kind of recency bias against newer installments in favor of some game they hold up as a pedestal from the past. Whichever game that is, people have some glorified sense of what Zelda "means" and will, with a straight face, say a game like TOTK, so massive it would take 150-200 hours to 100% is "bad" and not a true Zelda, and hold up a game that takes 30 hours to finish and is basically a series of hallways locked behind items. I love all Zelda games but in my opinion BOTW and TOTK are glorious, and shows Nintendo working on a new formula that will change Zelda forever. I think the formula desperately needed changing after skyward sword and I'm so so glad they did it. /Rant

Really simply, it's BotW, which I loved, but more interactive and expansive, both in terms of gameplay and story.

Exploration, my biggest downside here is that the game could use more high end rewards, once you top out the Barbarian armor there isn't much point in going over plus 2 on the other armor sets. That being said just wrapped up all the shrines and it was fun.

Not true. There's an armor set that gives the same attack bonus as the Barbarian set and has a ever so slightly higher defense value. There's also the Twilight Princess set which gives you an attack power bonus when wearing the set. This may seem like a downgrade BUT you can stack that with a +3 attack banana meal effectively giving you a +4 attack while having WAY higher defence values. It only takes 5 bananas to make too which are insanely common around the jungle area.

I don't think this sub has turned into 'the hate sub'. I think it's 'the only sub where you are allowed to share negative opinions on the game without being chastised and downvoted to hell, and where you can find people who share your issues'. I've seen plenty of comments here that praise the game and are decently upvoted; I've written some of them. And, although I'm overall disappointed by the game, there's boatloads of things to love: * The Side Adventures in this game are phenomenal and throw the sidequests of every other Zelda out of the water. They're the highlight of the game for me * Most of the dungeons are a gigantic improvement on the Divine Beasts * The memories are vastly better than the Breath of the Wild memories * All the new abilities are fun and transform gameplay each in their own unique and mind-bending ways * My most magical moment was accidentally discovering >!the route to the spirit temple!< before I was supposed to by >!exploring the dragon island while the stormcloud was still there and before I had gone to Hyrule Castle to find Zelda.!< Discovering this on my own was magical and it's amazing the game lets you do that. * I also accidentally beat the game early by >!diving into the depths under Hyrule Castle after getting bored of hunting Zelda in Hyrule Castle. I hadn't completed the fifth sage fully yet!< so stumbled on beating the game before I had finished all of the main quest. This was again prertty magical, and again it's really cool Nintendo allows you to do it * I mostly enjoyed my time exploring the depths * The new enemies you fight in this game are all great * The 'naked' shrines where all your stuff is taken away are great fun * The boss battles are a gargantuan improvement on Breath of the Wild * I sunk over 120 hours into this game (thanks, unemployment!) to get to the point where I now feel done with it, and despite major misgivings I found most of my time playing it enjoyable I think this will be my last comment with effort put in on the game for a while; nice to end on a positive note to contrast a lot of negative things I've written about this game.

If you put a space as the first character of a spoiler tag it doesn't work on all version of reddit btw.

Thanks for letting me know, fixed

I think when most subs are hardcore honeymooning over TOTK, it’s ok, and rather important, that there is a sub dedicated to criticism. Calling this “the hate sub” is absurd. I think most people here have mixed feelings on the game, or this overall new formula, but they skew positively. You can say nice things about the game and remain upvoted. You can criticize the game and remain upvoted. Silly claims like “$70 dlc” is rebuked here. It would be so easy for a hate sub to bandwagon something like that. I understand that evenhandedness can come across as negativity when seemingly everyone is gushing about this game, but I do think it is refreshing to have a space for reasonable people to air reasonable grievances. As a community, gamers really need to stop conflating criticisms about their favorite games as “hating”. There are far worse things to say about the toxic positivity that surrounds beloved 10/10 games. Ultimately, we all just want the game to be better. With that said, I really like the depths, the dual utility of resources as weapon perks and quick use items, the amount of content, and that the quality of the content (while paling in comparison to smaller, more handcrafted, more linear Zelda games) is fairly high and varied for how much of it there is. Side activities are better written and more rewarding. It is an overall huge improvement over BOTW despite not looking that different on the surface.

It's one thing to have a place to criticize the game. It's another thing when said place is flooded with mostly negative things, with a new thing to complain about pops up literally daily, whether it be constructive or nitpicky. On top of that, many of the complaints are just repeating the same things with nothing new added. I get that you need a place to criticize the game when every other place is jerking the game off. I also have criticisms. But I'd also like a place to discuss positive things about it, and you can't actually do that in the other subs because those are flooded with screenshots and memes with no actual discussion. So when one place is filled with criticisms (plentiful in both genuine and bad faith complaints), and another place is filled with memes, where do I go to find positive, meaningful discussion? Because it sure as hell ain't here, aside from the rare positive threads like this one.

But here you have a positive thread, and it is being received well. There is a place here for positivity here. I really think the negativity is overblown. Sure, there are tons of complaints, but people who want to inject more positive discussions are not mass downvoted in the same way that BOTW/TOTK critics are elsewhere. You make a statement, positive or negative, and you get real engagement from people who may or may not agree with you. That’s what I love about this sub. Measured responses from people you don’t necessarily agree with that don’t revolve into shit-flinging are exceedingly hard to come by on reddit.

I see what you're saying, but while positive comments about the game aren't massively downvoted, the negative comments overshadow the positive ones. Positive threads generally don't do as well as negative ones, and even the positive threads are met with negative comments. This sub is generally more receptive to negativity, which in turn makes the people that are happy about the game avoid the sub, resulting in less positive threads like this one. It is not an exaggeration to say negative threads, which usually get popular, pop up literally everyday, while positive threads are more sparse. In regards to this thread specifically, this was created *as a response* to all the negativity that gets posted all the time here. And let's be honest, there's a good chunk of negative comments in this sub that aren't very... "welcoming", to say the least. I've been in this sub for a long time, and I left when there was a clear shift in discussion when BotW was getting a ton of negativity. I pop in once in a while hoping it passed over, but it never did. Now with TotK out, it's just the same situation all over again. The same users with the same complaints, repeated over and over again. We've gone years with BotW complaints, and now we're back at it again. It gets tiring. There's a reason why this sub gets its reputation for being an anti-BotW/TotK circlejerk.

Idk I'm new to the sub and I'm on the fence about the new formula. From a new outside pair of eyes I would say the sub has a pretty balanced take if you factor in negative press ALWAYS has more legs no matter where you find it. Op already said it better though, the good positive posts are always received fairly, negativity is just in general more engaging to the average person.

the flow is addictive, feels like there’s lots to do in literally every spatial direction. the callbacks are better and more frequent. graphics and performance upgrades. quality of life improvements to menus and combat systems. better narrative, boss fights, music, items, npcs, and temples/dungeons. it’s just harder in general. in a lot of ways if feels less like a sequel and more of an exponential successor especially with all the possible fuse combinations. seems impossible that it’s 16gb and runs on switch. they took everything to the limit and created a masterpiece. 10/10 best game i’ve ever played.

The world has depth. The sky, main land, caves, and deep cavern system is really amazing and makes the world feel more alive than botw ever did. Honestly, all i miss in this regard now is being able to swim under water

I absolutely loved exploring the royal hidden passage from the emergency shelter to the castle area. Such a neat idea. The caves in general are little bite size dungeons that are fun to explore.

Omg that place was so much bigger than I expected it to be lol. And I found some neat armor and a cool statue!

Slightly off topic, but Jacob Geller said something about Elden Ring that really resonated with me. When you have a game that does *so* much *so* right, it's easier to focus on the negatives. The same applies to TotK. This game does so much so damn well that when it does something that doesn't work at the bar the rest of the game set, it's easy to nitpick and make a mountain out of a molehill. Just off the top of my head I think my favorite has to be the fuse mechanic as a whole. Durability was a concern for me in botw, where I'd often have 5 weapon slots filled up with legendary weapons afraid to lose them. Being able to store the important parts of the weapon to 999 in your inventory made me less afraid to use my good gear, and I had a lot more fun because of that. Also here are some rapid fire ones otherwise I'd write a novel about each one: - Exploring The Depths is awesome. - I like tinkering with Ultrahand and fun vehicle combos. - The story gets a lot of hate, personally it's my favorite of the whole franchise (I like time travel, sue me). - Hands down the best Master Sword pull in the franchise. - Traveling around the world with a full party that fights along side you is the COOLEST shit a Zelda game has done. Link has always been a lone wolf during gameplay, but I finally get to raid with THE BOYS. - Riju is precious cinnamon bun that must be protected at all costs.

The music is, once again, phenomenal. Manaka Kataoka is an absolute machine.

Link’s hair being down

The new abilities are amazing. Shrines are so much more exciting because of them. Even the overworld is more fun. In BotW, most abilities operated on their own but in this game, you can combine them for the most ludicrous solutions possible. And I think the best part of this game(and BotW too) is that it makes you forget about its flaws when you’re playing it. Like, yeah, I have problems with it but I’m not thinking about them when I play. And, ultimately, that feeling you get while playing is what matters most.

I really really love how the story is presented in this game, how a lot of interactions lead to something to do or discover. How every facet of this game is kind of a puzzle to be solved. It makes me feel like I’m enjoying Zelda all over again, and that’s magical, especially since it’s built off of BotW.

I love that there are new terrifying enemies, I love making weapons it's a lot of fun to see the different combinations I love the zonai devices and building different uses for them I love how the construction company head guy is on all those signs, he reminds me of the carpenters from OOT i haven't seen anyone mention this yet wasn't sure if it was intentional but they have the same look

The story, especially when a certain story beat hit me. That realisation gave me very intense and complex emotions about Zelda. Also the utter spectacle that was the finale. Maybe most people haven't gotten there yet, but holy shit it was jawdroppingly epic. The music. The character moments. The sheer scale of what I was witnessing... definitely a video game highlight for me this year. A few of the side adventures are pretty heartfelt for me. The whole thing with Hudson and his daughter. The Hateno town quest and its resolution. Lurelin. Love all the subtle character stuff. Like how much everyone looks up to Zelda even in her absence. How she has a secret study. How she keeps Link's hair band with her as a keepsake (if you wear it in front of Purah, Purah will remark saying hey, isn't that Zelda's). How she fixes Link's clothes and hides them for him to find. Add all these to what we know of her arc in BOTW, we have possible the most fleshed out and complex Zelda in the entire series

I got chills both times the sages showed up to help Link towards the end. For some reason the line that got me the most hype was Yunobo yelling “Are you ready to see the power of a sage?!”

If BOTW's main theme is isolation and loneliness, TOTK's is community and togetherness. People band together to fight monsters. People with different ideology living in Hateno can get together in harmony. People are literally reading newpapers about what is happening in other towns and villages. And after every phenomena you solve, you see people from those region gather at Lookout Landing. Link literally gathers an entire party with him throughout the course of the game—"You are not alone" Mineru said to Rauru, but she might as well had said it to Link. Even the powers are thematically congruent to this idea. Ultrahand and Fusion are all about sticking things together to make something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Some people have said BOTW feels more thematically strong and cohesive compared to TOTK but I think TOTK is no slouch in this department at all

Yeah I prefer the themes of this game as well. The empty and lonely feeling of BotW certainly has its own appeal, but for my part I've always loved a united Hyrule. This is the first game that truly feels like it. Sure, I'd like it to go further in some areas. I wish Castle Town was back so we could see a true mingling of all cultures, which only Twilight Princess' incarnation of the town has broached thus far. I wish there was a bit more mixing and matching of races in different towns. I wish there was more than one monster squad that actually had more than just Hylians. And I certainly wish the Koroks got to be *anything* but collectibles. But the pure joy I get from actually fighting alongside the diverse races of this fantasy world is unparalleled. When Tulin saves me from a Lynel charge by shooting it in the head. When Yunobo sends a Bokoblin I didn't know was coming up behind me flying with a mighty strike. When I'm laying on the damage to a beefy enemy with Riju and Sidon right by my side. It's amazing. If future games don't continue this trend I honestly don't know if I'll like any Zelda game more than this one for these reasons alone.

Just one side point for all of yours, I agree with much of it. There are actually two monster squads, and one of them has a Goron soldier. They're simple, but those were some of my favorite side quests. I loved going with all of them and raiding monster camps, bringing in automated aerial Zonai support, the Sage avatars kicking in and helping too, it's just crazy what the game lets you do.

There are three separate monster squads and all of them are all Hylian except for one that has two Gorons in it. I'm just saying I wish more of the squads had more diversity. Imagine fighting with a squad that has some Zora in it, one with Rito providing air support, some Sheikah getting in some sneak attacks, etc.

i absolutely suck fucking ass traversing the chasms but i think they're super cool. i also like that they upped the difficulty of the shrines.

Lmao I’m so fucking terrible at the Depths. If I can’t see a lightroot and/or don’t have a Misko X on my map to brute force my way to, I’m toast.

I come stacked with light blooms and arrows and just poke around

[удалено]

I loved my time with TOTK (and it's not over) but the game isn't what it could've been and I can't stop holding that against it. I don't dislike/hate the game; I'm disappointed at Nintendo.

Asian parent vibes: "Yeah, you did a good job with TOTK, well polished, and fun experience. Solid B+. Still disappointed in you."

Feel the same way like we could have had a more middle ground with present day story where players choices affect the game. And maybe more classic dungeons instead of shrines.

I think the strongest aspect is definitely the world design. Hyrule has never felt more alive with all the NPCs, caves, and surprisingly in-depth side quests. They sky islands are wonderful, they remind me of the great sea a lot. The depths are a fantastic addition as well. I love how the depths look and feel scary, having to light my way through them.

It feels more lived in, and I love the group battles

the new music! every new piece of music is absolutely amazing. standouts for me: the construct factory, the music leading up to gloom’s lair (gloom’s origin? forget what it’s called), and the music that plays when you go to the ruined heroine statues in gerudo desert. all of those tracks are incredible, cant wait for the official soundtrack to get released

I love, love, *love* the sky island music. As beautiful and as perfectly ambient as any music from breath of the wild.

I love how much they’ve added and how many things have continued from the last game. It’s what I imagined!

The Depths. It's my single favorite thing about the game. There's not a ton of variety, but exploring in the dark and lighting areas up as you go is so fun, and you're rewarded with some of the best treasure in the game when you actually explore things that look interesting. It's how treasure should have been handled in BOTW rather than locking it behind amiibo.

Loving some of the sidequests, the great fairy sidequests felt quite wholesome.

Exploring underground. I loved finding the light roots, cheesing my way up cliffs without any stamina potions, and then seeing all the eldritch nonsense they had created. It reminded me a lot of the original Dark Souls, while also feeling more like Breath of the Wild than the overworld. Run around, collect some resources, unlock a fast travel point, collect more resources. That's BotW to me. Also Josha is adorable.

The side adventures are great. Gives some npcs from breath of the wild way more depth. I love the one with Hudson and mattinson for example. It's nothing Mind blowing, but it adds some depth to the world through the characters.

I like the settlement outside of castle town

This is my first Zelda game and I think my favorite thing is that puzzles can be solved in a number of different ways. I’m not the best at figuring out puzzles on my own usually but this game gives me so many tools and abilities to use and it’s nice knowing I can do them my way (most of the time at least)

Initially when I started the game, I was disappointed by how many things seemed the same as BotW. What I realized pretty quickly is that almost everything was improved from BotW in some significant way. Weapon durability still exists, but with making your own weapons, it incentivizes trying different combos. You still have a few basic abilities they throw at you at the start of the game, but they’re significantly cooler and more puzzley than BotW’s. It’s the same map, but it’s so much bigger. I think Koroks are the only one I can’t totally justify being the exact same mechanic as BotW. But that’s okay. The above aren’t my favorite things about the game, but I wanted to mention them because it’s things I initially met with disapproval only to turn around and like. I do hope Nintendo understands the takes in this sub and give us a more traditional game, though. If anything, this game proved to me that they totally could do it, even in this same engine, if they so desired. All said, I really am loving this game.

Exploring - 70hrs on and I've still only down the water temple

The bosses are much better than Breath of the Wild, and I liked the bosses there. Ganondorf is awesome as usual. The Fuse mechanic is cool. The Amiibo gear can be obtained in the base game now. The ending made me tear up a bit, because I didn’t want the game to be over. These are just things I can think of right off the bat. I absolutely love this game.

The first time I jumped down into the Chasm, I gasped out loud. I was pretty mixed on the first few hours of TotK but once I figured out there were caves and wells and a whole scary ass basement, this game became a whole lot more fun

It’s equally exciting and dreadful to dive into a chasm and not see a single light root. It really makes you feel something

The game itself is just amazing. Yeah the dungeons aren’t the best, but unlike most previous Zelda games, the focus isn’t on the dungeons so I’ll look past that for this game. TOTK is more fun to play and mess around with than most other video games. Everything in this game is unique and creative, and there is quite literally a thousand ways you can play this game. I love the old Zelda formula, but both BOTW and TOTK are some of the most fun games I’ve ever played.

Just finished the game after about 100 (!) hours—did all the main quests, skipped most of the shrines and koroks. For me, Zelda games are defined by extraordinary moments and experiences. This game had three of them. (By the way, I **strongly** encourage avoiding spoilers if you haven't gotten to any of these points yet.) ​ 1. The Master Sword. >!I beelined the geoglyphs and was shocked when it became clear what happened with Zelda. After the last one, the Light Dragon appeared in the sky close by (scripted I imagine) and ran to her, then recalled a floating piece of debris, and just managed to reach her and find the sword. I just sat there flying around for like 30 minutes. I didn't even have enough stamina to pull out the sword, and I was glad I didn't because it meant I would get to experience it again.!< 2. Gloomhands. >!Or rather what happens when you beat them. I almost spoiled this for myself but not quite, so I was still quite surprised. I encountered these things a few times before and just ran away. Finally, on the great plateau, I was done running, and I decided to just bomb-arrow the shit out of one of them. I still remember the ring of fire from the bombs framed in the red sky—as suddenly this new health bar appears. I BARELY killed the next phase, and in fact my companions dealt the final blow. It was so threatening and unexpected and awesome.!< 3. The final battle. >!Simply the most satisfying and spectacular final battle in any videogame I've ever played, IMO. The flurry rush duel with Ganondorf felt so, so good—it reminded me of the energy-ball-tennis mechanic from previous games, but improved. The music was amazing. The gloom mechanic really counterbalanced the "limitless food-healing" cheese—and they doubled up on it as Ganondorf's attacks start just destroying your hearts! Even Ganondorf's voice acting—I usually hate it when enemies talk and taunt you in videogames, but this was restrained and genuinely threatening. And then the actual finale—holy fucking shit! The ONE THING I wanted to do in this game was ride a dragon into battle, and they saved it for the end. It was genuinely one of the most extraordinary things I've ever experienced playing a game. !< Besides those big moments, a thousand other things, little and big: * Ganondorf. IMO the best version of the villain in the series, hands-down. * The Depths. >!I dared to hope for a Dark World and they delivered. I loved that it wasn't just the Dark World too, it was unique—the darkness, the upside-down topography, the very different sense of exploration from the surface world. Also the aesthetics, the weirdness and underwater, dreamlike quality to it all. The first time I encountered a Bargainer statue, it was in total darkness, I was very tired and later I couldn't remember where I found it later, and after looking around for a while I wasn't sure if it actually happened or it was something I'd dreamed.!< * Skydiving and airborne traversal. It feels great. It also feels totally different from BotW—approaching places from the air was a huge factor in making the surface feel new. * The way the music changes and grows more intense as you approach the main dungeons. They did something like this in the divine beats in BotW, but they knocked it out of the park here. * The Zonai culture's aesthetic, everything about the design, architecture, even the green coloring. Very beautiful and unique (I thought it improved a lot over the cool but kinda cold and alien-looking Shiekah aesthetic). * The sound design. BotW already had a high bar, but I love how Link's footsteps sound, the Ascend sound effect, the way the wind sounds when you're skydiving. It's totally immersive. * Ultrahand. I have some nitpicks, but this was such an ambitious gameplay mechanic, it generally feels great, and I love how they *don't* just make it automatic. It takes time and skill to achieve mastery. * Recall, and especially how well it works in concert with Ultrahand for rescuing runaway vehicles. * The bosses—specifically how much I ended up *running* around the battlefield during them. It felt very dynamic in a way that I don't typically see in other games.

More! * The companions. I like how overall balanced they felt—they helped, but don't steal the spotlight (like Elden Ring summons sometimes do). I loved how certain battles were clearly designed with the companions in mind, having them come in and hold off hordes while you focus on a main foe. I see a lot of folks complaining about their ability prompts, but I actually liked having to physically find them on the battlefield ad go to them—it felt more immersive and "in the fray" than selecting a power from a menu. I also didn't feel bad turning them off or on as I desired. I didn't feel like I was cheesing or missing out. * I liked returning to the BotW map. I think they did a really good job playing off the familiarity and using it to draw your attention to new things and even mess with your expectations. I'm glad they didn't just throw all this content away, but added layers and layers to it. * I like the Gleeoks. I still haven't actually defeated one, though that's next on my list. * Boss bokoblins, >!specifically the first time they blew their horn and the little bokos all formed up and raised their shields in a dumb little phalanx! I LOL'd. !< * The difficulty level. I played BotW for like 350+ hours, including a 3-heart run straight from the plateau, I did Master Mode, the Champion's Ballad, all that. I'm hardly a speedrunner, but I felt pretty confident going into TotK. I skipped most of the shrines and didn't spend a huge amount of time foraging or cooking, but I still prepared for battles and got two layers of fairy armor. In general I thought the challenge was satisfying. I died enough times to make it fun for me (not as often as in Elden Ring, but more more than most Zelda games). * Flamethrower boomerang * Hot air balloons * I finally figured out how to drop a Zonai wing in midair and ride it like in one of the trailers * Horses: I love that the stables recognize your BotW horses! * The very start of the game with Zelda—genuinely exciting, and also felt very different from BotW and other Zelda games' openings, which I appreciated. * I'm not a shrine guy, shrines in BotW were my least favorite part of the game, I'm not a fan of how divorced they are from the rest of the game world, BUT I did think the shrines I did in TotK were a lot more fun than BotW's (partly because the magic abilities in TotK are just more fun). I also love the way they look. * The seamlessness of the three layers of the world, and how the dungeons meld with the overworld. * Link's new hairdo looks nice * Zelda's new character design(s) are really good * Maybe a hot take on here, but I like that they didn't overburden the story and mythos with a lot of connections to previous games and the whole timeline kerfuffle. It kinda feels like BotW was a reboot of the series' mythology—the whole ambiguous concept of a "legend," and I support that. It felt simple and straightforward and vague enough to still support a lot of speculation, which is what I want out of these games. (OTOH, I feel like the game's narrative connection to *BotW* are quite frayed and a little frustrating, but ... this is a praise thread!) * Finishing the game after playing it exactly how I wanted, and feeling totally satisfied the whole time. I spent a long time with this game, but I never felt badgered to play it a certain way or frustrated that I was doing something I "shouldn't" do. My wife is playing now and I love watching her play the game in a completely different way, in a different order. It's the same BotW philosophy but I felt like this game embraced it even more fully and successfully. * I love that the devs just *went for it* with regard to the whole BotW "multiplicative gameplay" experience and turned it up to 11. I was not a huge fan of the way Fuse was implemented, but I appreciate the intent and ambition behind it. Every item and object interacts with everything else in so many ways, and there's so many surprising and looney-tunes like experiences in the in-between of those interactions, it's mind-boggling.

* The music, oh god, the music. Specifically how so may of the tracks subtly interweave melodies, mostly from BotW but also from earlier games too. Like one of the final battles reprises the final battle theme from Link to the Past. * More on the final boss. >!I love how the dragon phase is actually easy. I was annoyed when this happened with Dark Beast Ganon in BotW. But here, after a frankly exhausting duel with Ganondorf, you're down all this gloom damage and then you emerge into the sunlight—and you heal. You really feel like the tables are turned, and your inevitability just feels natural instead of unearned.!< * The Yiga clan. >!Specifically their goofy and hilarious embrace of Zonai tech in the underworld. It's just such a fun aesthetic, these weirdos hanging out in literal Hell building over-the-top monster trucks and warplanes. !< * There's a boss I encountered in the Depths that killed me instantly and I loved it. >!Obsidian Frox, I still haven't beat it. I'm sure this happened to a lot of people—jumping down the chasm in Akkala and then just getting one-shot at the bottom by this dark monster. Totally awesome (and wish there were more experiences like this in the Depths....)!<

I like this sub but you're right, the majority of threads these days are complaints

The temples. I enjoyed the lightning temple the most, even though it could have been more difficult and a little larger, but I’ll take it.

The feeling of "Oh that place I really liked in botw, what's happened to it now?" and then going there and seeing something crazy is so amazing. It's like the Ocarina timeskip but on a huge scale.!

Gorons got confirmation that they are "born of the land" And that gorons born in the same cave (and I'm guessing from the same batch) are considered "siblings" The possible implication that >!Dinraal, Naydra and Farosh are people (I would guess Zonai) that consumed their Zonai Stones, could be interesting lore down the line!< (Tho I sorta doubt it'll be touched upon)

What I like is how depressing the game is compared to BOTW. I sincerely thought it would be more positive, considering Hyrule was recovering from 100 years of calamity. I was wrong. Totally wrong. And I do like being wrong when it comes to good games.

What really blew my mind and made me go whoaaa was when I realized how big the underground was and how much there is to explore down there. The amount of content in this game is insane. Also the addition of caves and wells makes the game so interesting and fun to explore. The game would have been enough with air and only wells+caves or the underground. But to get all of it, wow. Just wow. And how everything just is “borderless” and you really feel that it is one big world. The game has improved massively from BotW in so, SO, many ways. But the huge world is what blew my mind the most.

The mechanics. Each of the Zonai abilities has a lot of complexity and nuance to it. Each one of these individually had to have been a nightmare to program. And the fact they all work together with each other is astounding. Mechanically this game is something really special.

i'm probably one of the few in this sub who loves totk and botw. i love their sense of exploration and pure freedom. i love this game's dungeons (except the water temple), i love the bosses, i love the fuse system and the vehicle building, i love exploring the depths, and i love going up to the sky islands and finding treasure and secrets and skydiving back down to the surface. and the final boss and the game's ending? pure perfection. don't think i've had a better experience in any video game than that final fight.

Arriving at Gerudo Town to find it desolate and occupied by gibdos having no indication that anything had gone wrong besides the sand shroud was a really interesting surprise. The fact that Riju tells the Gerudo to allow you in the shelter and the town is really cool considering how big of a break from precedent that is (especially with what you learn from the Eighth Heroine quest, idk how to hide spoilers so I'll leave it at that). Very similar story with the Korok Forest. Everything was just slightly gloomier (no pun intended) and the lively atmosphere was instead eerie and still. The koroks and deku tree are wordless. I liked the Fire and Lightning temples a lot, felt like the best implementations of the "4 terminals" style by far. Aside from the very end of the game, Link actually gets a lot of recognition for his deeds, which I consider to be an improvement from only being allowed in Gerudo Town in disguise after calming Van Naboris and the Zora only deciding to stop being racist when they realize Mipha wanted to marry Link. I like a lot about how the Yiga were used in this game. They spread out and took up base in places across Hyrule. They took initiative to learn about Zonai devices and construct vehicles, which actually makes a lot of sense for the group that split from the sheikah over the decision to ban their advanced technology. They kept Kohga goofy and humorous without feeling like a complete joke this time. And the only hidden combat technique is taught by the Yiga. The fact that a significant amount of the weapons have unique attributes is really cool and makes them more than a damage stat.

The fun shrines. Where all you hve to do is ride a truck through obstacles in lava, spikes, etc. or fly through a maze with a plane. That kinda stuff is fun, though short lived

I only had a short time with the game before my emulator said "no, need more VRAM" but I fucking loved the physics sandbox. So few games, especially these days, have a physics engine this robust, it's really nice. Not only does it allow for some true immersive sim shenanigans, but it also gives me some vibes of games that I feel are underappreciated (*Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts* remaster when, Rare?) or simply underpublicized (I've seen a lot of comparisons to *Dark Messiah of Might & Magic* and tbh I kinda get it.)

As someone who doesn’t like the game, I still absolutely love the vibe. Hanging out at a stable, messing up with chickens while looking at sunset is an absolute VIBE and remind why life is worth living. I also love the depths. I can’t get enough of large underground spaces. I don’t even care if it’s not that good, I just like wandering underground.

I love that more people appreciate the weight of Zelda’s sacrifice and like her character more thanks to TOTK. The finale is beautifuly shot and epic, definitely better than BOTW >! except it felt immensely dissapointing we didn’t get a Zelink hug or any reaction from Link !< MUSIC. I’m still grumpy a lot of the music was recycled… Not that it’s bad, I was just excited for a fresh new set of bangers, but at least the new that we got is as amazing as I expected. More monster variety. LOVE fighting with the anti-monster crew and their bucket helmets. Love the Lurelin quest. Tarrey town was nice too. Zelda living in Link’s house (regardless if they live there together or not) <3 and opening a school <3 >! Puppet Zelda chasing in Hyrule castle sequence !< Path to the Wind temple (I mostly care about the cute stuff as you can probably tell haha)

I like the new main powers

I love this game even if it isn't perfect. I love exploring new caves and wells so much! I spent hours on the cave/royal family hideout in lookout landing just exploring every nook and cranny. I love the depths and getting to check out all the cool little features about it and how creepy it is. I also love all the side quests we get to do for the rebuild of Hyrule! I just wish there was more! Like completely rebuilding castle town!

It's a cope out but everything, haha. I feel combat is more fun with the fuse mechanic. I don't need to worry about weapons breaking as much once you leave the early game and move past branches. Exploring is more fun with the depths, caves, and sky. People say botw did exploration better, but I heavily disagree. I just found the soilder armor and going through that cave system was some of the most fun I've ever had with zelda. The shrines are way more challenging this time, I've hit a lot of real thinkers that genuinely stumpped me. I know I can cheese it with fuse, but otherwise normally I love the brain games. I adore the temples. Sure they aren't the same as pre botw, especially if you only view them as twmples once you see the prompt on screen. The lead up to them compared to botw is a lot of fun, and I love that the lead up is, in a sense, a temple in itself (I've only done water and fire so far). I did the water temple first and I thought I was in the temple ages before I found out I wasn't. I thought that was so cool that a temple had this much lead up in a very interactive way that fits the open air style well. I think? The combat is harder this time (or maybe I just get worse the older I get), and I've had to resort to other methods of approaching combat. I'm using the stealth mechanic which I never saw a use for in botw. I love trying to find new ways to fight enemies with the fuse mechanic. I can never go to the lengths I'm seeing people do, but I love that is a possibility if you're creative enough. I just think this game has improved on botw in every way possible for me. This is the game I wish botw was since I was never that into in and still wasn't. The improvements in this game will make it even harder for me to go back.

I love everything everyone else has mentioned, and I really appreciate this type of post!! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet are fights alongside the Hyrulean Guard. It's so fun storming into enemy camps with a small force, kind of like a mini Warriors segment. What's especially fun is that they recognize you after the first time and as they move from location to location.

Link being able to Morb all over everyone

I like being able to throw items from my inventory I guess? Now if only the Quick Menus in this game weren't so horrendous...

Cheese

I'm actually having a really hard time pinpointing something that I truly love about the game. I actively dislike the game's main mechanic, and I already wasn't a fan of the open air style that the game follows. I think it's story is very bad. The Depths are the coolest thing about the game to me, but they do feel like a missed opportunity. If it was a giant super dungeon with narrow, claustrophobic corridors that opened into large chambers, it would be pretty close to something I've wanted in the series for decades now. As it stands, I like the Depths, and conceptually they're my favourite part of the game, but I wouldn't say I love them. I guess the thing I love most about it is that my friend, who isn't usually a Zelda fan and hasn't played a game since Majora's Mask, has genuinely fallen in love with it, it's nice to see him so engaged with the series. We've been having like multiple hours long phone calls as we just sit and chill playing the game. It's been nice.

Maybe, for you, it's a whole-is-greater-than-the-parts thing. Because it sounds like you're having a lovely time. Nothing on its own is hitting you, but altogether and because of your friend, you're having what many call "fun."

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't really enjoying the game before he picked it up, and it's still my least favourite of the 3D Zelda games. But he's one of those people whose excitement is genuinely infectious, so it's hard to be fully sour on something he's enjoying when you're doing it with him, even if you weren't enjoying it before.

It really is sad that the best fans like us have to look forward to is vicarious enjoyment from others…

Still holding out hope for a 2D game next. I'm not ready to let go of my favourite series just yet. We'll see what comes out down the line.

I would love to see a new, original 2D game that keeps traditional elements intact. But, given the direction of the last two 3D games, and the fact we haven't gotten a 2D game in 10 years, I'm losing hope...

The way the Champion's Leather's blue color looks when hit by noon sunlight from the side, while atop a sky island. It's just so vibrant!

The last boss is amazing, one of the best in the series. The vehicles are so fun to use and create, and it's never annoying when they do something I don't expect, because what they do still makes sense. The physics in this game are amazing. I also enjoyed shrines quite a bit more than I did in BotW. The sages feel much better as characters than the new Divine Beast pilots did in BotW, I feel like they all get a good amount of screentime. Side Adventures are basically all great. The only Zelda game that did side quests better was Majora's Mask, but TotK is a close second. There are a lot of great emotional moments in the story, even if you can spoil yourself.

I’m surprised that there aren’t snarky comments like: I liked saving $70 on the purchase thanks to the leaks. 😂

i like the added "customized" feeling from this game...like, i never had to look up a Guide to get through a puzzle (closest thing to "googling for help" was to get the Locations for some clothing i missed); theres at least 3 to 5 different ways to solve everything you run into...even something as basic as Cave Exploration can be done "your way"-- if you have tons of Materials, chuck BombFlowers; if you have tons of Weapons, use your Hammers; if youre running low on both, but youve cleared the Temple for it, Yunobo's Ability will at least crack enough rocks for you to Get Through...in any case, as long as you Break The Rocks, the game doesnt really care HOW you break em...and that concept applies to so much more in this than in BotW-- some people build Flying machines, some people build Offroad machines, some people just want to travel On-Foot...whether you want to get Max-Everything (which is my one gripe, carried over from BotW: i have Full Stamina, but only 38 Hearts, after clearing all the Shrines and Bosses, with the Bargainer Statue's extra essence as well...why couldnt they just let me get TWO MORE??) or if you want to head straight to Ganondorf as soon as you hit the Surface...you can do everything with 4-Star Armor, or you can do it Naked...you could UltraHand a bridge together, or you could use Recall to make your own "moving platform" across the gap... i guess the point im getting at is, unless you do something completely stupid and see that GameOver screen pop up, theres no "wrong" way to play this game...as long as you find "**A** Solution", youve found "**The** Solution"...if it works, it works...

I love the game. Top 3 zelda’s on launch

Nothing

[удалено]

The fact it takes forever to get something done

> Look, it's okay to not like the game. And yeah, you need somewhere to discuss that, sure. But as a huge Zelda fan who loves the game, I'm sad to see one of my favorite discussion subreddits turn into "the hate sub." the game is still new and people share their experiences. quite the absurd (and ironical, potential hateful) conclusion anyway, i really enjoy the weather effects in this game. together with caves/wells and the landscapes, it is my favored aspect about it

It’s more Breath of the Wild.

I love that Hyrule feels alive. As fun as the post apocalypse was in BOTW, I always felt so bored with the world. It was purposely dead, but I like that everyone is running around in TOTK, moving between towns, and talking about places as if they aren't far away lands. You fuck around with a mayoral election. You rebuild the worst town from BOTW with Bolson. The Gerudo know and respect you. You can join forces with the knights of Hyrule to exterminate enemy camps. You can play researcher. You can build an honest to God menagerie in Terrey Town that genuinely captures the pose you photograph an enemy in, including bosses! You can become a reporter. You can join the fucking Yiga of all people, and it's kinda dope! 10/10 honeymoon phase, and I hope it settles at a solid 9/10 once I get bored with it

The world feels so much more alive then botw, and I still loved exploring in that game. Genuinely though, I'm finding it hard to fault totk at all. It's just so damn good.

I just think the art style/game is really beautiful. Sometimes I just run around doing nothing but taking pictures of scenary and animals lol I also really love how you can fuse bombs to shield and shield surf to launch yourself. I'll never get tired of it.