Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) is one of those once in a decade games that I anticipate playing for 100+ hours over the course of a few years. If it is anything like Breath of the Wild (BotW), it will beg exploration and return for further play. Therefore, it is not a game that lends itself to one single post. I plan on periodically publishing posts about the game that as I experience its various levels and quests. This first post explores my very initial impressions. I got the game on launch day and have played it for just over 10 hours in the first 1.5 weeks since launch. From a main storyline perspective, I'm about to enter the Wind Temple.
The game begins a few years after the events of BotW. The opening cutscene does a great job of setting the stage. Link and Zelda are exploring a newly discovered cave underneath Hyrule Castle, a consequence of an event called the "Upheaval". A mysterious substance called the "Gloom" has been discovered in Hyrule and is making people ill. Link and Zelda believe this cave is the source of the Gloom. I like how Link starts with the Master Sword and a full amount of hearts. However, he becomes majorly injured by the source of the Upheaval, reducing his heart total to the traditional starting number of 3 hearts. The Master Sword becomes broken, and Zelda falls into a crevasse, naturally. When Link awakens, his hand is injured and he receives a replacement hand from a Zonai named Rauru. You learn that the Zonai race of people are the original founders of Hyrule. Also, when Link awakens, he is no longer on Hyrule. Instead, he is on a newly formed island in the sky called Sky Island.
Zelda games are well known for their long introductory stages, and Sky Island is where the intro stage takes place in TotK. Compared to previous Zelda games, the introductory stage on TotK felt the most necessary, as new gameplay mechanics such as the Ultrahand and ability to fuse items are introduced. The Zonai spirit Rauru instructs Link on how to get these abilities after giving you his arm. It would have been odd for Link to have awakened with these abilities without any explanation. However, as with other introductory stages in past Zelda games, I found the level to be tedious and a bit frustrating. It took me 3+ hours to complete, I had to reference a guide a couple of times just to figure out hot to navigate the island, and I died a handful of times. Once I passed the stage, however, I was returned to Hyrule and all was well.
When I first read that the game would take place in a similar version of Hyrule, and when I first saw video of the game, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted a new environment to explore. I can safely say that after playing the game I am no longer disappointed. It is the same Hyrule as BotW, but it has been altered by the events of the Upheaval. Citizens are in a state of panic and rebuild, as they try to understand what caused the Upheaval and the source of the Gloom that has altered their world. You immediately feel back at home when landing at Hyrule Field from Sky Island. And yet, the Upheaval has altered the landscape enough that you want to explore Hyrule's nooks and crannies to see what is different compared to BotW. The story and newly altered Hyrule environment beg for adventuring, and I'm just getting started.
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