The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released on May 12 for Nintendo Switch, 14 days from now.
Before its release, M published some of the early play reviews from the media, and almost all of them have given the game a very high rating, so let’s take a look below.
IGN:
Now, not only did I get to experience it all for myself, but I got to see how the huge player base will have a blast playing the game in an interesting way. Every puzzle and conflict has such an interesting solution that the results will be endlessly surprising and joyful. It’s very exciting that Nintendo has taken the whims of players and made them work in Kingdom Tears, even if it means that there will be a lot of fun exploration going on during the course of the game.
Metro GameCentral:
We’ve only been playing for about an hour, and if it’s anything like its predecessor, it will take hundreds more hours to see everything the game has to offer. Still, it’s clearly a top Zelda game, and we strongly suspect that Game of the Year will be the smallest of the accolades it receives.
Nintendo Life:
Our time with Tears of the Kingdom has been short, but the only thing that’s clear is that we’re particularly keen to play another 50 hours of Inquisitive Hand. Based on our experience so far, we think this game is making history.
Best of the Year: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom M early playthrough reviews unblocked, all press give high marks]
Comicbook:
I was already looking forward to Tears of the Kingdom before I tried it, but after playing it I’m more excited than ever and I think fans of Breath of the Wild will still find a lot to like.
of the year: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom M early demo review unlocked, all press give it superb reviews]
CNET:
New power-ups also mean new puzzle-solving strategies. I tried several puzzles on a floating island and found a variety of solutions. Grabbing things with the “inquisitive hand” and moving them is definitely a new key strategy, similar in feel to the magnet movement in Breath of the Wild, but for more items.
The Washington Post:
Kingdom Tears seems to be a fusion of a traditional Zelda adventure and the DIY recipe system of 2020’s hit Animal Crossing. In that life simulator game, players collect materials to discover different “recipes” to create various items such as bug nets, shelves and even buildings. Zelda is tapping into the endless possibilities by allowing a variety of materials to be fused.
The Verge:
There have been many people honing their hunting skills over the years, but Nintendo knows we’ve been craving some new challenges to recapture the magic that made Breath of the Wild so special in the first place. Tears of the Kingdom feels like something I personally want to see in the next chapter of the never-ending cycle of magic drama that is Link, The Legend of Zelda and Ganon. Something tells me that in just a few weeks, a lot of people will be feeling similarly.
GameSpot:
The combat is as engaging as you’d expect from a Breath of the Wild sequel, but fusing skills yields a new dimension of experimentation. A quick menu option allows you to fuse props from your inventory with your currently equipped weapon, something I found difficult to master in the heat of battle with enemies closing in. I also had to remember to switch to the bow before clicking on the quick menu to try and fuse something to the arrow, which led to me making quite a few mistakes. There is definitely a learning cost here and it feels like it would make mastering the combat and fusion much more rewarding to watch.
Checkpoint Gaming:
Nintendo has brought such a special core element to Breath of the Wild and reimagined it in a novel way to surprise and delight returning players. From an updated traversal mechanic that requires a whole new approach to puzzle solving to an absolutely chaotic insurance system that transforms combat completely, this sequel feels like another truly unique Zelda entry.
Digital Trends:
Despite some fairly complex manoeuvres, it only took a short while for me to complete the quests in increasingly impractical ways that just made me want to laugh madly at the arrogance I’d just displayed. This sequel feels completely different to Breath of the Wild: a freeform traversal puzzler where you’re rewarded in spectacular fashion.
Eurogamer:
From my experience, Tears of the Kingdom is full of inventiveness and gives players the opportunity to immerse themselves in their imagination without sacrificing the adventurous spirit of its predecessor. Much of the game remains a mystery — we haven’t seen a single copy yet, nor do we know what Zelda is doing — but we know it will be a heroic adventure (Link can do it in his underwear).
Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available for pre-order and will arrive on Switch on May 12, priced at ¥7,920 (currently around $409, with the digital version only ¥7,900), which can be redeemed with any loss voucher.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom cassette is currently available for pre-order on e-commerce platforms, also at HK$499 (currently around RMB 431) in Hong Kong and US$69.99 in the US.
