https://www.thegamer.com TheGamer delivers the biggest video game news, in-depth interviews, honest reviews, timely previews, and surprising stories. Wed, 31 May 2023 16:30:27 GMT en-US hourly 60 For all intents and purposes, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an open-world RPG. Link grows from a shirtless scrub to a many-hearted, heavily armored battlebot and mech master over the course of the game. You pursue an overarching main quest while completing side quests along the way, and there are many characters to meet, mysteries to uncover, and villages to visit along the way. It’s a better version of the same framework we’ve seen in countless games like Horizon Forbidden West, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and — dare I say it — The Witcher 3.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 16:30:27 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-xp-rpg-finishing-quest/ Breath Of The Wild gave us a whole new Hyrule to explore, and some of the more memorable spots return in The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom. As long as you're able to make the journey, almost every area is accessible after completing the introduction and tutorial. An area that has earned a reputation for its challenge is Eventide Island.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 16:30:27 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-eventide-island-shrine-guide/ Nintendo has a wide range of amiibo figures for many of its series, and that includes The Legend of Zelda. Since the company began making these figures, many more have been added to the collection, so there are plenty of options to choose from if you're a fan of the games.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 15:05:22 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/best-the-legend-of-zelda-amiibos/ The Legend of Zelda is one of the longest-running series in the industry and has featured a slew of exciting mainline titles, compelling spin offs, and so much more. Each new entry includes new mechanics, characters, and locations that make every adventure in Hyrule one to remember.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 14:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/best-games-legend-of-zelda-crossover/ While it might feel like the millions playing Tears of the Kingdom have already discovered everything there is to know about the game, new information keeps on coming and, if BOTW is anything to go by, will for months. However, discoveries are starting to lean more towards what's under the new Zelda game's hood, including the discovery that the weapons you're using might not be as effective as they seem.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 09:51:58 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdoms-damage-numbers-not-accurate/ If you ask any fan of the Legend of Zelda series what their own favorite dungeon is, you’re bound to get an absolute buffet of different answers. In the almost 40 years since the series’ inception, we’ve been battling our way through different elements and terrifying beasts, with help from fun equipment and some intriguing friends along the way.

]]> Tue, 30 May 2023 19:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-best-zelda-dungeons-ranked/ There are Shrines spread all across Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and you can complete them in order to increase your number of hearts and your stamina wheels. With each Shrine, Link must face a different challenge or puzzle before receiving its Light of Blessing.

]]> Tue, 30 May 2023 17:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-kamatukis-shrine-complete-guide/ We’ve seen plenty of really powerful Zelda villains throughout The Legend of Zelda in the almost 40 years of games and lore, but have you ever wondered which of the Big Bads was really the biggest and baddest? With so many games in the series and a timeline that tangles itself, it can be kind of tough to keep the several different versions of Ganon straight.

]]> Tue, 30 May 2023 14:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-villains-strong-ranked-official/ For those who didn't already know, game designers are cheaters. They cheat constantly when creating games, although you'd never know it just by playing them. To see how designers use visual tricks, we have to turn to modders and content creators who specialize in peeling back the curtain to show how a game is made.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 19:03:56 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdoms-totk-ascend-deletes-world-puts-you-in-a-box/ As Nintendo showed off more of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the run-up to release, a contingent of gamers whined about how it wasn’t a ‘real sequel’ because it was reusing the map from Breath of the Wild. I never agreed with this idea. Wonderful possibilities open up when developers are willing to reuse assets, and Tears of the Kingdom’s wells are a great example.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 19:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/wells-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-builds-on-breath-of-the-wild/ The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom sees the Kingdom of Hyrule destroyed once again. After a Calamity, a return of the Calamtiy, and then the whole 'the Demon King is back' dealio, the people of Hyrule just can't catch a break.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 18:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-apocalypses-hyrule-should-face-next/ Tears of the Kingdom is somehow everything we all wanted, nothing like we expected, and still weighed down with the biggest controversy New Zelda has wrought. It's a wonderful conundrum. I remain mostly an outsider to the world of Tears of the Kingdom, untouched by its magic, so I can watch from afar with no real personal stakes. I like to think this helps me see the bigger picture, and it's remarkable that a game made under so much pressure has consistently managed to make exactly the right choice at every turn.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 14:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-perfect-balance-listening-ignoring-fans-totk-zelda/ One of the most beloved and familiar areas in any Zelda game is Kakariko Village — a small hamlet present in many iterations of Hyrule that feels like a safe recluse from the rest of the world. Link's quest has taken him through this village many times, where he'll usually find new characters to help him on his journey.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 13:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-zelda-kakariko-village-game-appearances/ Since the success of the Super Mario Bros movie, fans have been wondering what other beloved Nintendo franchises could have their own film. From Metroid to Star Fox, there are definitely a number of options for Nintendo to go. But one of the most speculated series that could be eyed for a film is The Legend Of Zelda.

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 19:31:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-movie-adaption-film-wishlist/ Tears of the Kingdom is a nearly perfect game. Its puzzles? Brilliant. Its physics? Incredible. Its story? One of the best Zelda games, if not the best Zelda game. The game is an amazing achievement, and not just because it found a way to overshadow its predecessor, which itself is considered one of the greatest games of all time. Actually, that probably is why it’s an amazing achievement. But Tears of the Kingdom has one major problem.

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 16:30:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-addison-sign-holder-screw-himself/ While the combination of ever increasing rents, dwindling footfall, and rising digital sales mean physical game stores are getting wiped out, they still perform a great function for many gamers. This includes the ability to trade items. Being able to sell or part exchange is one of the pros of owning physical media with many a seasoned gamer taking advantage of it at their local video games store even as the practice is slowly fading away. But one instance of trading in went viral recently as a customer made an exchange that had many online viewers widening their eyes.

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 13:11:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-collector-viral-trading-rare-items-new-zelda-switch/ Tears of the Kingdom encourages players to use their imagination in a way like no game to have come before it. That's why we've seen everything from podracers to airships mocked up in Hyrule during the game's first two weeks. Some have been focusing Link's newfound creativity on torturing Koroks, but have you considered while you exact your will on those poor little creatures that onlookers can't see the critters at all?

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 11:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/nobody-can-see-korok-torture-the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/ There are so many things that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gets right. Everything in the works works as you'd expect it to, especially the physics. Of course, you'll have to turn a blind eye towards Link's reality-bending abilities, but everything else is spot on. However, every game has something it can improve on, even one as highly regarded as Tears of the Kingdom.

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 07:30:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-inventory-menu-ui-improvement/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is full of rare foods, stones, parts, and countless other materials you'll want to get your hands on. Materials have a variety of uses, from fusion fodder for weapons to ingredients in meals and elixirs.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 17:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-best-materials/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offers dozens of unique approaches to combat, including sharp swords and humongous hammers. However, despite the numerous heavy-hitting creations that you can create via fusions, your most valuable asset might be a little magic.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 17:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-all-magic-rod-fusions-ranked/ Tears of the Kingdom has a thousand systems that all interact with each other in myriad different ways. I dread to think what is going on under the hood in order to make it all happen, what horrors we’d see if allowed a peek behind the curtain. Recall alone is magic in action, but giving Ultrahanded contraptions accurate physics no matter what creations players make is nothing short of spectacular. When players are building phallic mechs and functioning engines, you see the power behind this Zelda game.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 16:31:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-underground-fight-club-brutal-trial-of-strength/ At the end of 2022, I started a replay of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, my first full replay since devouring the game on Wii U back in 2017. This run was fairly thorough. I did all the Divine Beasts again, sought out some secrets, like the King of the Mountain, that I hadn’t seen in my first playthrough, and generally played the hell out of it. Now, Tears of the Kingdom is here and I’m wishing I hadn’t.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 14:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tloz-breath-of-the-wild-totk-2023-too-recent-replay/ Two weeks on from its launch, a lot of positive things have been said about Tears of the Kingdom. Believe it or not, some people have negative things to say about the sequel. Most of the criticism revolves around the sage abilities as players have been discussing what they don't like about them.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 12:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-players-annoyed-sage-abilities/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been in the hands of fans for a couple of weeks now, and there's almost no doubt it's going to go down as one of the greatest games of all time, just like previous games in the series like Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time. However, there seems to be a lot more scrutiny of the latter recently, mostly down to the fact that it's getting on in years. The entire gaming landscape was far different 25 years ago, and now Zelda fans are debating whether Ocarina of Time would actually hold up if you somehow hadn't played it until 2023.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 11:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-fans-debating-ocarina-of-time-aged-well/ It's not easy living in Hyrule. You never know when a red haired dude decides to invade, a witch decides to take revenge, or the whole continent gets swallowed by the sea. Its people have faced a lot of hardship, but yet, they endure. We see this once again in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom via the shining example set by real estate tycoon President Hudson and his loyal marketing executive, Addison.

]]> Sat, 27 May 2023 09:35:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-help-addison-sign-guy-floating-blocks/ You would think a game as perfect as Tears of the Kingdom wouldn't need post-launch patches, but Nintendo has gone ahead and rolled one out this week anyway. The patch notes are pretty short, and what's not mentioned is a fix for the various duplication glitches some of you have been using. Despite that, every way players have found to multiply items by nefarious means appears to have been dealt with.

]]> Fri, 26 May 2023 09:58:44 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-patch-removes-duplication-glitch/ In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I sprinted to upgrade my stamina as soon as I possibly could. Hyrule was big, and riding a horse sucked. At any given time you might run into a mountain that needed scaling, and the options at your disposal were limited. If you wanted to see all the game had to offer, you needed to get some green.

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 19:01:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/stamina-less-important-botw-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/ Where are the Divine Beasts in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? I haven’t reached the end of the game yet, I’m not even close, but it seems like they’ve just disappeared off the face of Hyrule. After being created as imposing guardians of the land and then lying dormant for a century before performing a crucial role in Link’s defeat of Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild, you’re telling me that they just… Left? Well, good riddance.

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 16:26:57 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-temples-pinnacle-of-design/ After the epic final trailer for Tears of the Kingdom that showed its new-look Ganondorf for the first time, it was hard to imagine where Nintendo might go from there aside from actually launching the game. It decided to go an entirely different way with its next ad, showing a man traveling to and from work, seemingly downtrodden by his life in general and having something light up inside him when playing his Switch.

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 09:33:08 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-sad-guy-ad-amazon-review/ Video games have been around for a long time. It's hard to believe that since video games first started working their way to the mainstream in the 1970s that it's been half a century since some of the very first and memorable games were made.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 21:00:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/games-turning-25-in-2023/ There's a shrine in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that had me solidly stumped for about 30 minutes. It presented two rails moving up toward the finish line, and provided planks and fans to build a car to travel up it. The problem was that about halfway up, the two rails ended and were replaced by one central rail between them. To make it the rest of the way, I had to figure out how to get my rail car onto the central rail without falling off and having to start again. Eventually, I found a solution, but that process of tinkering towards it is where Tears of the Kingdom is at its most electric.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 19:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-totk-shrines-open-world-design-levels/ Ultrahand is the mind-killer. Ultrahand is the little-death that brings total obliteration of creativity. Where once players thought laterally and came up with creative solutions to Hyrule’s sandbox puzzles, now they build long bridges. Any problem can be solved with an appropriately-sized bridge. Any of them. And it’s infuriating.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 16:31:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-fuse-more-creative-ultrahand/ At the start of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you'll see the Master Sword shatter into a million pieces before Link sends the remains of the blade to who knows where with some wibbly wobbly time magic. For normal players, that's the most you see of the fabled blade for quite some time, but one player has figured out how to get it right away, and make it ridiculously powerful and unbreakable to boot.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 23:47:10 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-totk-unbreakable-master-sword-glitch/ In the belly of the Wind Temple, on your way to one of the hidden locks that disables the central air vent, you’ll find a treasure chest in a sealed room. The chest is the only thing in the room, which is surrounded by walls on each side. Between you and the chest is a gate with a square hole in the center. That hole is the only way in or out of the room, but you can’t climb the gate or jump to reach it. The chest is too far away to simply grab it with Ultrahand and pull it out through the hole. Without some other tool, there’s no way to reach the chest. The entire puzzle is just figuring out how to get through a hole that's just a few feet out of reach.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 22:31:24 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-zelda-wind-temple-puzzle-hole-gate/ In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, finding Koroks was rarely all that hard. You’d lift up a rock, and one was there, waiting. You’d push a stone into a gap in a circle, and wow, a Korok. Sometimes they’d give you a little task, like following a white flower as it teleported from place to place, or shooting a balloon with an arrow. Of these tiny tasks, my favorite were the little block puzzles you needed to use Link’s Magnesis power to solve.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 17:30:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-reference-botw-korok-magnesis-puzzle/ One of my favorite birthday parties as a kid was an evening of revelry I dubbed “NintendoFest.” It wasn't much of a festival: three of my friends came over and we played games all night. Some multiplayer, but mostly we worked our way through the first few dungeons of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, passing the controller back and forth until the sun rose in the morning.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 17:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/too-tired-to-stay-up-playing-tloz-tears-of-the-kingdom/ I’m not doing the weapon degradation discourse again. I simply refuse. I do find it funny, however, that Nintendo decided to make 99 percent of weapons in Tears of the Kingdom physically degraded from the moment you pick them up (the only weapons that aren’t are weapons found in The Depths and makeshift weapons like Sticks and, um, Long Sticks). If this isn’t a message to Zelda players saying, “Suck it up, this is the direction we’re going in,” then I don’t know what is.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 16:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/hylian-pine-cones-secretly-tears-of-the-kingdom-best-weapon/ Whether you love, hate, or are fairly indifferent to Zelda, you’ll no doubt have seen hundreds of clips circling on social media since the game launched. Tears of the Kingdom is a game where you really can do anything, and the variety of clips highlights that. Whether players are coming up with bizarre ways to punish Koroks, constructing creative solutions to all of their problems, or just thirsting over the characters, whatever you want TOTK to be, it is. And I’m not complaining - if anything, we need more Purah positing. But I don’t think I’ve seen a single clip of combat, and that tells you everything you need to know.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 15:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-zelda-totk-better-without-combat/ The big joy of the Nintendo Switch comes from its portability. While I do play some games docked, on the TV like I would with the PlayStation or the Xbox, most of the time I play it handheld. I don't necessarily need to go anywhere with it. I might play it in bed before I go to sleep, at my kitchen table on my lunch break, or even just sitting on my sofa while my wife watches TV or while the football is on. The Champions League has been very dull this year, so something needs to distract me. It's supposed to be convenient, but that's making it feel like a fringe console I just can't find the time for.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 14:31:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/nintendo-switch-games-too-easy-ignore-dredge-zelda-space-unbound/ The creativity Zelda fans demonstrated immediately once Tears of the Kingdom launched this month has been pretty remarkable. It's also exactly what the sequel's creators were hoping you'd all do with the game. Gamers managed to be more creative with Breath of the Wild than its developers expected, and it was videos of those creations in the first game that convinced the Tears of the Kingdom team to build its follow-up around players using their imagination to make everything from ATVs to working podracers.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 12:26:48 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-inspired-breath-of-the-wild-videos/ Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has always been cryptic when it comes to the timeline, and Tears of the Kingdom is no exception. Despite desperate fans scouring Hyrule for clues, Aonuma won't tell us where Tears of the Kingdom fits on the Legend of Zelda timeline, leaving fans to come to their own conclusions.

]]> Mon, 22 May 2023 12:00:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-timeline-eiji-aonuma-tears-of-the-kingdom/ First appearing in the original Legend of Zelda title on the NES, Impa has been a background character in multiple Zelda games over the years and has often been important to the plot and the liberation of Hyrule in some form or another. While she has generally been an important and powerful character, she has a far greater impact in some games than in others.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 22:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-impa-incarnations-ranked/ Ganon is the most infamous villain in the Zelda series. As the most common antagonist in the long history of the franchise, he has appeared in numerous forms throughout the years since he debuted in 1986's The Legend Of Zelda.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 20:30:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-zelda-ganon-versions-ranked-power/ Part of what makes Tears of the Kingdom such an incredible and groundbreaking game is the way that it defies all genre labels. It’s open-world, but that’s more of a structure than a genre, and it doesn’t really tell you anything about what the game is. Tears of the Kingdom, Forza Horizon 5, and Cyberpunk 2077 are all open-world games, and they have almost nothing in common. It’s also an immersive sim, but that’s like describing a movie as film noir; ImSim speaks to Tears of the Kingdom’s design ethos, but it doesn’t define what type of game it is. TotK is part RPG, part survival/crafting, part action-adventure, and part sandbox game, but what interests me the most about it is the way it intersects disparate genres to create new ones. You could come up with any number of hybrid genres that TOTK represents, but the one that excites me the most is something I’m calling the survival platformer.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 18:53:46 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-has-invented-a-new-genre-called-survival-platformer/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a global phenomenon and it seems Nintendo were well aware of how significant a launch it was going to be. The highly anticipated follow-up to one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, in Breath of the Wild, was always going to be freighted with expectation. But that the team behind the sequel would excel and meet those expectations is some triumph.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 18:52:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-polishing/ Hyrule is a vast land with many diverse and iconic locations. Though the shape of the kingdom differs depending on which game you're playing, familiar places like Hyrule Castle, Kakariko Village, and Gerudo Valley tend to appear in most iterations of The Legend of Zelda series.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 18:16:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-loz-zoras-domain-all-versions-ranked-best/ I’m not so good with money. There’s a world in which I’ve saved my paychecks and felt safe with my future, but it ain’t this world. If you sold a literal piece of shit and put a Nintendo logo on it, there’s a 50-50 chance I’d buy it. I’m a mark. I’m a sucker. And that’s why I own so many fucking useless Amiibos.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 16:43:38 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-useless-amiibos/ This article contains spoilers for Eventide Island in both Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 15:30:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/breath-of-the-wild-eventide-island-tears-of-the-kingdom/ Tears of the Kingdom fans are mourning the loss of one of Breath of the Wild's most helpful healing items - the Hearty Durian, which could temporarily increase your maximum heart count when cooked with.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 14:29:41 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-fans-mourning-the-loss-of-hearty-durian-botw/ No matter how long you spend exploring Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom, it seems there is always something new to find or a new trick to discover. This time, one player has found an interesting way to get back to the sky islands from ground level, and you don’t even need a rocket or fan. It just takes a spear, a plank of wood, and impeccable timing.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 14:01:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-player-catapult-into-the-sky-exploit/ The Legend of Zelda fans want to see the return of the Triforce in a future game in the series after it failed to make substantial appearances in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 11:51:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-fans-want-triforce-back-to-be-important-again/ Tears of the Kingdom, like Breath of the Wild before it, is jam-packed with Easter Eggs and references to both Nintendo and Zelda history. Many of them are obvious, like the bottles of Lon Lon Milk in Hateno Village or when Link hums Saria’s song as he cooks, but others are more obscure. For instance, the Ultrahand ability is a reference to an old Nintendo toy from the ‘60s. But Tears of the Kingdom’s best reference isn’t to a Zelda or even a Nintendo game. On the way to the Wind Temple you’ll find a shrine dedicated to a famous scene from Resident Evil.

]]> Sun, 21 May 2023 01:43:11 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-sahirow-shrine-lasers/ This article contains spoilers for the Lightning Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 17:30:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/lightning-temple-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-easier/ The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is overflowing with shrines. Dozens of shrines are dotted throughout the map, from land-locked options like the Turakawak Shrine to some located high in the sky.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 15:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-sikukuu-shrine-guide/ There are 120 Shrines in Breath of the Wild. There are 900 Korok Seeds, and the reward at the end is poo. Literally. Early reports suggest that there are the same number of Koroks hidden across Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom, and 32 more Shrines in the sequel – my guess is that those are in the sky. That’s a lot of things to collect, even if they do level up Link by deepening his pockets or fueling his stamina bar. The trouble with Tears of the Kingdom is, there are loads more things to collect now, too.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 15:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-too-many-collectibles/ You can't pet the dog in Tears of the Kingdom, which might sound upsetting at first, but most celebrated that fact since it's a feature often used to score brownie points online. But that doesn't mean that everyone stopped there and moved on with their adventures in Hyrule. Other, more creative people, put together machines that would do it for them.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 14:30:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-pet-dog-machine/ The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom reprises some recognizable villains, including a recurring figure in the form of Phantom Ganon. However, Phantom Ganon is more than just a lone apparition, as he has some help with him in the form of The Gloom.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 14:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-phantom-ganon-guide/ As a series, the Legend of Zelda has many defining features. The Triforce and the power struggle surrounding it. Link's repertoire of tools and weapons. Dungeon and enemy design. But one of the foremost that adds so much personality to the world is the various peoples that populate Hyrule.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 12:10:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-hyrule-ancient-history-explained/ When you close your eyes and think of Link from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you probably think of a brave, regal warrior dressed head to toe in fancy armor that he'll wear whilst smacking down The Demon King. In actuality, all that shield surfing, climbing up cliffs, and torturing Koroks means Link probably works up quite a sweat, and could potentially produce a stench that would make your toes curl if he's wearing certain pieces of clothing.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 12:01:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-totk-creators-reveal-smelliest-link/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's new Zonai devices have allowed players to come up with some absolutely wild creations, ranging from orbital lasers to Korok torturing devices. To make these horrible contraptions, you have to actually obtain the necessary devices first, and that's where the Zonia Device Dispensers come in.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 01:01:59 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-totk-zonai-device-dispensers-jammed/ Here’s a list of top 100 things I hate about Tears of the Kingdom. Number 100 is those puddles of gloom hands that appear out of nowhere and grab at me when I’m just trying to mind my own business. Seriously, get your dirty little fingers off of me. Number 99 is the fact that I have to sleep and eat and work instead of just playing Tears of the Kingdom all of the time. And then numbers 98 all the way through number one is every time I’m forced to scroll through a menu trying to find a specific thing. Whether I’m in the pause menu or the quick access menus, trying to find something I’m looking for is guaranteed to be a bad time.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 23:19:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zeldas-messy-menus-are-an-affront-to-immersion/ During Tears of the Kingdom’s tutorial on the Great Sky Island, you meet a Forge Construct and learn about the foundry, where you can trade Zonaite for Zonai Charges and Crystallized Charges. At the time, I didn’t really understand what any of that stuff was. I decided I’d figure it out later, and got back to my adventure. I spent the next ten hours seeing the sights across Hyrule, and completely forgot about the foundry. I was only reminded of it when I started seeing the amazing machines everyone was building with Ultrahand, and I realized I need more battery charges if I’m ever going to construct my own flamethrowing bomb-dropping flying machine with laser guided missiles. I didn’t realize it back then, but meeting that Forge Construct on the Great Sky Island was the beginning of one of the most demanding resource grinds I’ve ever seen.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 22:24:05 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/is-anyone-else-getting-burned-out-by-zeldas-zonaite-grind/ Everyone will play Tears of the Kingdom a little differently. Some will rush through the story and explore later on, others will travel widely across Hyrule before getting down to business. Die hard Zelda fans will want to drink in every pixel, finding old friends and Easter Eggs, racking up hours into the triple figures. Newer players, or those who don't quite feel the series’ magic, will tread more cautiously, trying to find whatever it is about this game that speaks to so many others. And if you're a game dev, you might play it with sweat forming on your brow, knees trembling, and notice the seat of your pants suddenly feels much heavier. Much like Breath of the Wild before it, Tears of the Kingdom offers a transformative look at the future of game design, and many studios will follow in its footsteps. I only hope they don't get lost down the wrong path.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 15:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/wrong-lessons-game-development-zelda-tears-kingdom/ Whenever people talk about wanting a Pokemon game like Breath of the Wild, they mean a very specific thing. A large open world with freedom to go anywhere, more traversal options, roving Pokemon who impact the environment in meaningful ways, and a story that lets you carve your own path. For some, Scarlet & Violet’s openness was the first step towards that, despite the issues with the game at a launch and many still present today. That’s not really what I mean though, and it took me until Tears of the Kingdom to realise that.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 14:30:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-still-waiting-breath-wild-moment-zelda-new-formula/ For some reason, people have been torturing Koroks in Tears of the Kingdom. Those cute little leaf things that ask you to find their friends. I don't know why some people's instinct is to crucify them and stick them on a barbeque, but it is. Luckily, though, they've caught a break today since people have pivoted to ruining the life of Addison, the sign guy.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 11:57:49 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-addison-sign-torture/ Tears of the Kingdom is out, and it’s incredible. I played it all weekend, and can’t stop thinking about it when I’m supposed to be working (which actually is not that big a problem in this line of work). There are so many quests I want to do, chasms and floating islands I want to explore, vehicles I want to build, shrines I want to solve, and temples I need to visit that I'm having a hard time imagining ever being done. It’s a great game, and while it isn’t quite giving me the same feeling of discovery I got from Breath of the Wild — that seems basically impossible for a direct sequel — it’s not for lack of quality. In every way I can think of, it’s an improvement on its predecessor.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 18:00:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/after-zelda-totk-what-makes-breath-of-the-wild-special/ Tears of the Kingdom has everyone in a tizzy, as we explore Hyrule all over again. While some players are too busy building functional engines or Korok torture devices out of Zonai parts and handy materials, most of us are exploring in a more normal fashion. You know, like in Breath of the Wild.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 15:30:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-should-never-let-you-touch-the-ground/ We all love a good legend. It wraps us up in its grand adventures, even if it doesn't all make sense. The details twist and turn with each retelling, but the core details remain the same. As a result of that, The Legend of Zelda is pretty true to its name.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 12:30:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-games-considered-canon/ Tears of the Kingdom has an incredible starting zone that effortlessly walks you through each of the game’s major new mechanics and abilities. It’s a mostly guided experience from one shrine to the next, with optional detours for extra challenges, but everyone will take the same path through this intro until they unlock the four new powers and take the dive off of Great Sky Island to land in Hyrule proper. As you emerge from the lake and swim to shore, the world around you spreads out endlessly in every direction. It is here where your journey begins, and it’s up to you to decide where you want to go - or at least, that’s what I thought.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 22:56:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-feels-a-lot-more-gated-than-botw-ever-did/ The Ekochiu Shrine of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a foundational practice shrine preparing you for your ascent to Eldin Volcano and the challenges to come. With several puzzles requiring you to use Recall both figuratively and literally, you'll want to stop here to practice and polish up.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 22:30:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-ekochiu-shrine-guide/ The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is gripping on a level that few games ever reach, mastering the subtle satisfaction of side adventures to keep Link busy. As you journey across the land, you'll hear rumors, requests, and countless reasons to sidetrack you from ever rescuing the kingdom.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 20:45:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-who-goes-there-quest-guide/ The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom has a wide array of side adventures to fill your time when you're not hunting down evil. Some of the best side quests and adventures are short and sweet but feel fleshed out and rewarding.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 19:46:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-loz-beckoning-woman-guide/ In most Zelda games, solving a puzzle is only useful because it solves the puzzle. You figured out how to Z-target a weird tentacle in Jabu-Jabu’s belly? Great, you can keep moving through the dungeon. You figured out where to position the mirrors in Wind Waker to direct a beam of light? Cool, carry on. This was even true in Breath of the Wild to an extent. Though you could pick up some new techniques in shrines — like using your metal weapons to conduct electrical current — most of the shrines asked you to use your powers to solve a single, specific problem that wasn't replicable in the world outside.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 17:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-shrines-teaching-moments/ I probably won't finish Tears of the Kingdom. This isn't a comment on the game's quality, or even my overall enjoyment with it. I'm not sure I'm far enough in to come to that sort of conclusion about it yet. It's just a prediction - I persisted with Breath of the Wild for 20 hours, enjoying parts, tolerating most, being bored by others, and eventually gave up. I've only just left the Great Sky Islands in Tears of the Kingdom, and so far it's giving me the same sensation - I just feel nothing, and when the game is an 80 hour long playground where you do whatever you want, mostly what I want is to play something else. But skateboards intrigue me.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 16:15:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-skateboard-zelda-tony-hawk-minecart/ When it comes to a series as enduring as The Legend of Zelda, it's a given that the Zelda timeline of events might get shaken up after nearly 40 years of content. What began as a simple adventure game in 1986 has spun a twisted web of high-fantasy lore that, while exciting to learn and piece together, can be a little complicated to un-jumble.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 14:21:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-timeline-explained-all-zelda-timeline-splits/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gives a story reason for the controversial weapon degradation system, with Purah noting that "there isn't a single weapon we know of that hasn't decayed as a result".

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 14:18:24 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-story-reason-for-why-weapons-break/ Tears of the Kingdom has brought back a lot of what made Breath of the Wild great and added to it in a way that makes the prior game feel like a dry run. However, the sequel has also taken some well-loved things away, the Master Cycle among them. For those missing what was easily the best way to get around Hyrule before now, one player has already made a Tears of the Kingdom version of the Master Cycle.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 13:14:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-master-cycle-build/ If your Twitter feed is anything like mine, it will currently be nothing but screenshots and videos of the wild contraptions Tears of the Kingdom players have been fusing together. While many of us struggle to cobble together a boat or create a balloon that immediately bursts into flames, there's now a fanmade website on which fellow Hylians can post their creations with the materials you need to make them yourselves.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 12:40:57 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-website-sharing-custom-builds/ For those of you who've been binging The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom over the weekend, you'll know that there are several returning characters from Breath of the Wild that have undergone pretty big changes to their character design in Tears of the Kingdom. One of the characters with a more drastic change is Purah, who has seemingly come up with some sort of age fixing device and is now a fully grown woman.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 23:06:40 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-fans-purah-thirst-down-bad/ There was a distinct moment when the Tears of the Kingdom hype train stopped being fun and exciting and instead became obnoxious and unbearable. For many months I was riding that train with eager anticipation like everyone else, and it was fun dissecting each new trailer for clues and trading theories. I remember the energy in the air when Nintendo finally revealed Link’s new abilities during a livestream last month, and how excited everyone was to create their own mechanical marvels with Ultrahand.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 22:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/im-glad-weve-stopped-pretending-to-care-about-zelda-spoilers/ Like many, the last game I played before Tears of the Kingdom was Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. It’s been many years since I played the games that preceded both of these sequels, and I had a similar experience starting out in each one as I relearned the controls and adjusted to changes both major and minor. In each case, I had a hard time adjusting to the button layout.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 21:14:24 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-button-remapping-controls-interview-aonuma/ The Gerudo people are one of Hyrule’s main civilizations in The Legend of Zelda and they’re key to the history of Ganondorf. Although the Gerudo don’t appear in every entry, in the games they do show up in, they’re often integral to the main story and help Link on his adventure.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 21:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-gerudo-valley-best-versions-ranked/ I can’t get enough of Tears of the Kingdom’s shrines. Back in 2017, when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out, I was impressed by how well Nintendo had managed to weave Zelda’s puzzle-solving into the framework of an open-world game. Sure, traditional dungeons were gone. But the game had something that was a better fit for a game so focused on exploration.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 17:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-shrines-botw-smart-exterior-design/ Another day, another Tears of the Kingdom discovery. This time, we are looking at one of the more annoying creatures in the game, Rock Octoroks. Turns out, they are useful for more than slapping you in the back of the head as you travel through rocky terrain. These stony guys can help improve the durability of your weapons.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 16:45:29 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-feed-octoroks-weapons/ When Nintendo showed off The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s new skills a month-and-a-half ago, I was impressed by how wildly different they seemed from Breath of the Wild’s. Though Ultrahand had clear similarities to Magnesis, it took the basic utility — moving an object around with telekinesis — in a completely different direction. The other powers Nintendo revealed in that presentation, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall, were even stranger, pushing the game into brave new frontiers that Breath of the Wild had left untapped. As exciting as these all seemed, I held out hope that TOTK would bring the old abilities back, too.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 16:45:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/missing-remote-bombs-zelda-botw-tears-of-the-kingdom/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched last Friday to rave reviews, but it’s actually been available to PC players even longer thanks to leaks. Those leaks allow PC gamers who don’t mind skirting the law to play Tears of the Kingdom on their preferred platform through emulation, and often with vastly improved performance over the Switch version.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 15:24:27 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-pc-ray-tracing-mod/ Like so many other iconic game series, The Legend of Zelda has a dedicated fan base, a slew of references in popular culture, and a whole plethora of jokes. Lots of Zelda jokes, which include everything from knock-knocks, to memes, to that classic favorite, puns.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 15:00:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/funny-legend-zelda-puns-hilarious/ Video games look better than ever these days. I remember driving around the cities in Burnout 3: Takedown and thinking 'video games will never get any better than this’. I remember sailing the seven seas in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and thinking 'video games will never get any better than this'. I remember riding across the plains in Red Dead Redemption 2 and thinking 'video games will never get any better than this'.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 14:00:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/tears-of-the-kingdom-proof-games-care-less-graphics-performance/ Tears of the Kingdom is a return to a saved Hyrule, a rarity for the Zelda series, as it lets us see the impact we've had, watching as civilisation begins to rebuild. There are plenty of nods to Breath of the Wild and little lore tidbits that expand on the world we know, but nestled among these details is a reference to France.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 12:49:38 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-france-canon/ Tears of the Kingdom expands on the world we explored in Breath of the Wild, taking us back to a familiar Hyrule where islands now float in the sky and giant chasms lurk beneath our feet, housing demons you're probably best running away from - at least, at the start.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 09:00:49 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-lgbtq-character-kakariko-village-calip/ For the first three mainline God of War games, Kratos wielded the Blades of Chaos, razor-sharp daggers attached to his wrists by fiery chains. The essence of God of War's character action lived in those whirling knives. But, when Kratos came back in 2018, he had traded the Blades of Chaos in for an ax. His iconic weapons were nowhere to be found.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 18:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-paraglider-god-war-2018-blades-chaos/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has one hell of a tutorial. If you thought the Great Plateau was good, which most people did, this is on a whole other level. Literally. After a brief introduction with more story content than the entirety of Breath of the Wild, Link finds not awoken from a century-long slumber, but instead transported to the sky.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 16:46:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-freedom-main-quest-first/ People are crucifying Koroks. The poor little leaf waifs who are strewn across Hyrule’s map, so often stranded helpless and rendered immobile by enormous backpacks filled with goodness-knows-what, are being crucified by Tears of the Kingdom players who are eager to test the limits of the game’s new building ability, Ultrahand.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 16:30:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdoms-korok-crucifixions-problem-ultrahand/ Last night I sat on my sofa playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and a little alert popped up in the corner, telling me one of my friends had logged on. They too were playing Tears of the Kingdom. In fact, when I checked my profile, 13 friends were online. All playing Tears of the Kingdom together. All of us doing the same thing at the same time, and yet I felt so alone with it. I just don’t get Tears of the Kingdom.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 14:00:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/felt-anything-dont-like-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/ Breath of the Wild quickly became famous for allowing players to get creative, but after only three days, it's evident the previous game doesn't hold a candle to Tears of the Kingdom. Some of the contraptions players have shared over the weekend have been remarkable, but the one that might well be the most helpful, and is easily one of the simplest to build, is the humble bridge.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 12:14:31 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-players-building-bridges/ Tears of the Kingdom has naturally dominated video game headlines for the whole weekend, and that's probably not going to change as we begin a new week. Players continue to find details big and small in the Breath of the Wild sequel, including the realization that Link now hums tunes from throughout The Legend of Zelda's 37-year history while he's cooking.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 10:22:50 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/link-hums-classic-songs-cooking-the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/ Once you've gone through the Tears Of The Kingdom tutorial area, you'll soon be back in the Hyrule mainland. From there, you can see familiar sights as long as some new ones, like the Zonai shrines and the Chasms. As the name implies, Chasms are giant holes in the ground that have opened up across Hyrule.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 06:37:31 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-loz-tears-of-the-kingdom-depths-guide/ Tears of the Kingdom blesses you with all of its new abilities quickly so that you can start exploring and experimenting right away. The first few hours are a whirlwind of discovery as you learn how to interact with this familiar world in new ways. Link’s new powers are so thoughtfully designed and powerful that each one could have carried a full game on its own. Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall are all incredible in their own way, but the time-reversing power of Recall stands out as Tears of the Kingdom’s most revolutionary new ability.

]]> Sun, 14 May 2023 23:50:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-recall-ability-uses/ I’ve got an OLED TV and I love playing games on it. It’s a 55-inch LG C1 Series, which I chose because Gamespot rated it the best 4K TV for gaming, and it's easy to see why. The 120Hz refresh rate, impeccable HDR, and perfect black levels make it the ideal display for PS5 and Xbox Series X. I just played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on it and I was blown away by the richness of the colors and the incredible contrast that HDR allows. I finished Jedi: Survivor just in time for the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, which I cued up precisely at midnight on Friday, just like everyone else. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have gone directly from a game that pushes the PS5’s capabilities like Survivor straight into Tears of the Kingdom, because it made it incredibly difficult to ignore how terrible Zelda looks.

]]> Sun, 14 May 2023 23:30:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/play-tears-of-the-kingdom-on-the-smallest-screen-you-can-possibly-find/ The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players are already torturing Koroks in some pretty disturbing ways, such as crucifying them, flinging them with catapults, and even creating firing ranges to obliterate them with missiles.

]]> Sun, 14 May 2023 19:05:39 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-players-torturing-koroks-wild-ways/