# The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

> The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an action adventure and open world game developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo, first released on 12 May 2023 for Nintendo Switch. It takes about 59 hours to finish the main story and around 230 hours to complete. We scored it 9.6 out of 10.

Source: https://gamingpickz.com/games/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/
Publisher of this page: GamingPickz
Reviewed by: Mikan, Contributing writer, after undefined hours played
Last updated: 30 August 2026
Wikidata: Q64577191
Verified: no, this entry is a draft and is not indexed

## Key facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| First released | 12 May 2023 |
| Developer | Nintendo EPD |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Genres | Action Adventure, Open World |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch |
| Players | 1 player |
| ESRB rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and older |
| Main story length | 59 hours |
| Completionist length | 230 hours |
| Monetisation | premium |
| Our score | 9.6 out of 10 |

## Verdict

A sequel that reuses a map and still feels new, because the tools you bring to it change everything.

## Overview

Reusing the Breath of the Wild map should have been a problem. It is not, because Tears of the Kingdom does not ask you to explore the same Hyrule, it asks you to solve it differently. Ultrahand and Fuse hand you a physics-driven construction system, and once you have them the terrain stops being a route and becomes a set of raw materials.

The measure of the design is how rarely the game says no. Build a bridge out of planks and a fan, and it works. Weld a rocket to a shield and launch yourself off a cliff, and it works. Very few games this large are this permissive.

## Story and setting

The story is told mostly through recovered memories, which is a structure carried over from Breath of the Wild and which has the same weakness: you can find the ending before the beginning. When it lands, it lands hard, and Zelda is given far more to do here than in any recent entry.

The Depths, an enormous dark underworld beneath the surface map, carry most of the game's atmosphere. They are genuinely unsettling in a way Zelda rarely attempts.

## Gameplay

Fuse is the quiet masterpiece. Attaching any object to a weapon or shield turns Breath of the Wild's much-criticised weapon durability into a resource loop rather than a punishment, because breakage now means recombining rather than losing.

The four main dungeons are a clear improvement on the Divine Beasts, with distinct identities and better boss design, though they still do not reach the intricacy of the pre-2017 dungeon template.

Shrines remain the connective tissue, and the best of them are short physics problems with several valid answers. A minority still resolve into combat trials, which feel like filler by the fortieth hour.

## What works

- Ultrahand and Fuse are genuinely new mechanics, not iterations
- The Depths add a second world with a distinct tone
- Dungeons improve substantially over Breath of the Wild
- Enormous amount of content that rewards experimentation

## What does not

- Frame rate dips under heavy physics load
- Memory-based story can be experienced out of order
- Some shrines are recycled combat trials
- Surface map is familiar if you played the previous game

## Release dates by platform

| Platform | Release date | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nintendo Switch | 12 May 2023 |  |

## Performance modes

| Platform | Mode | Resolution | Frame rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nintendo Switch | Standard | Dynamic, up to 900p docked | 30 fps |

## Where to buy

| Store | Platform | MSRP | Current | Type |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nintendo eShop | Nintendo Switch | $69.99 | not checked | official store |
| Amazon | Nintendo Switch | $69.99 | not checked | affiliate |

## Community sentiment

Discussion centres on whether reusing the map was a fair trade for the new toolset, and the answer generally tracks how much of Breath of the Wild a player had already finished.

Recurring praise:

- Ultrahand is described less as a mechanic and more as a permission slip, and the shared build videos became their own subculture
- The Depths are the most commonly praised new addition, mostly for tone rather than content
- The four main dungeons are treated as a clear correction to the Divine Beasts

Recurring complaints:

- Frame rate dips under heavy physics load are the most cited technical complaint
- Reuse of the Breath of the Wild overworld divides players who had already completed it
- Weapon durability remains contentious even with Fuse softening it
- Korok seed fatigue and memory-based story ordering come up repeatedly

## How it was made

Teased at E3 2019 as an untitled sequel with a short, deliberately cryptic trailer. The actual title was withheld for over three years, which Nintendo said was itself a spoiler.

Development reused the Breath of the Wild map as a base, which the team has described as a way to spend the budget on systems rather than terrain.

Engine: Proprietary Nintendo engine with Havok physics

Team size: Undisclosed, Nintendo EPD internal

## Official videos

- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Official Trailer #1 (reveal, Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SNF4M_v7wc
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Mr. Aonuma Gameplay Demonstration (gameplay, Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6qna-ZCbxA
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Official Trailer #3 (launch, Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHGShqcAHlQ

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to play Breath of the Wild first?

No, but it helps. Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel on the same map, and several returning characters and locations carry more weight if you know them.

### Is Tears of the Kingdom on other consoles?

No. It is a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Nintendo does not publish its first-party games on PlayStation, Xbox or PC.

### Does weapon durability still break weapons?

Yes, but Fuse changes the economics. Weapons break, and you rebuild them from materials you are constantly collecting, so breakage becomes a crafting loop instead of a loss.

### How long is Tears of the Kingdom?

Around sixty hours for the main story, and over two hundred for full completion including all shrines, Lightroots and Korok seeds.

## Sources

- Nintendo official site: https://www.nintendo.com/

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Content by GamingPickz. Cite as: GamingPickz, "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom", https://gamingpickz.com/games/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/