Games worth discovering

TapTap Game of the Year 2023 #3: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - the best Zelda game ever

2K View2023-12-19

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom came out way back in May, but from the first time I glued a sword to another sword, I knew it would be one of my favorite games of the year. It manages to be so many things at the same time, from a physics sandbox to a puzzle-lover’s playground to a shockingly detailed engineering simulation. Oh, and it also happens to be a phenomenal Zelda game.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s colossal adventure makes the impossible feel possible

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Most games are filled with boundaries and restrictions, but in Tears of the Kingdom, you can do just about anything you want to do if you can find a way to make it work. Sure, you can’t walk up to dogs and pet them, but you can construct a machine that’ll automatically pet dogs on your behalf. I was able to build robots that attacked enemies without my input, stick a flamethrower to my shield, and use my time-reversing abilities to hit bosses with their own attacks. This is a game that smashes past limitations and says yes to the player at every turn.

Even though Tears of the Kingdom is full of distractions, like roller-coaster rides, giant vending machines, and horse-training, those activities never feel like they’re disrupting the main story. Not only is the open world absolutely massive, but it has three distinct layers: the Great Sky Islands, the Hyrule surface, and the underground depths. There’s a ton of ground to cover, and because of that, it doesn’t feel like a big deal if it takes a while to arrive at your destination. Stopping to infiltrate a thieve’s den or construct a laser-firing spaceship is all part of the journey.

In a recent interview, Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the Zelda franchise, referred to linear games as “games of the past.” I’m not ready to say goodbye to linear games just yet, but after playing Tears of the Kingdom, I can see where he’s coming from. I’ve played thousands upon thousands of games, but nothing has given me the same sense of freedom and excitement. It didn’t just send me on an amazing adventure; it made me feel like I could forge an adventure of my own.

As a sequel, Tears of the Kingdom had unthinkably big shoes to fill. The Zelda series is filled with classics, and its direct predecessor, Breath of the Wild, is considered to be one of the greatest games ever made. Measuring up to a legacy like that seems impossible, but true to its boundary-breaking nature, Tears of the Kingdom has managed to surpass Breath of the Wild and become the one best Zelda games of all time.

Check out the rest of TapTap's Game of the Year 2023 picks at this link, and share your own choices in the comments or by making a post and using the tag #TapTap GOTY 2023.