It’s been a long time since I’ve played a game where once I’ve put it down I’ve been eager to jump back in again, or even worse, thinking about it while I’m meant to be working, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has done that to me. Hidemaro Fujibayashi has come back for another go as the director after Breath of the Wild, and he has not let long-standing Zelda fans down with this latest title available on the Nintendo Switch.

You jump back into the boots of Link, the character we have all grown to love over the years. You get to explore the vast land and skies of Hyrule, where you need to embark on the quest of a lifetime to unravel the truth about the cataclysmic event that has sent the kingdom into turmoil.

Some awesome new features are coming in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with Link’s new four abilities that you can utilize while you explore Hyrule. The first ability is Fuse, where you can combine certain items and create things like weapons with unique characteristics. The second ability, Ultrahand, lets you construct vehicles and solve puzzles, or you can use it in combat to get the upper hand on your opponents.

The third ability, Recall, lets you Uno Reverse things being thrown at you, and even rewind objects to create new paths to get to certain areas. The last ability is Ascend, which speaks for itself. You can go through the tops of buildings or even leave a cave in absolute style.

Die-hard fans will also notice the inclusion of some new locations, The Skies, and The Depths, which were both things I could not get enough of. The Skies consists of multiple islands floating above the main island, and some were more of a challenge to reach than others, which felt like it brought more into the game as you needed to think long and hard about what you were doing.

I was surprised by the sheer size of The Depths – it was almost as big as Hyrule. It’s not something that I had seen in a Zelda title before, being a lonely, dark, and isolated area, where you need to use your equipment or the light roots to light your path. It was awesome seeing the new idea incorporated into the map, and it made the adventure and exploring that much more fun.

The first time I launched the game I was gobsmacked by how beautiful the game looked, and though I’m still playing the game, I’m still mesmerized by how beautiful it looks. Everything looks like it’s been fine-tuned, right down to the tiniest particle.

Though it still has that iconic cartoonish feel, it is packed with intricate detail, and I didn’t think something on the Switch could look so nice. I was pleasantly surprised. The game is breathtaking, and it continues to blow my mind when I find new things.

While it won’t be the first time playing a Zelda game for most people, controlling our favorite protagonist doesn’t feel like it’s changed, but for those who are new, don’t be alarmed. The game throws you into a little quest when you first start playing, and this gives you a rundown on the controls, teaching you everything you need to know.

The controls are basic enough to pick up on them very quickly, but while you are journeying around Hyrule, you are constantly prompted on which control to press. I was worried about using the abilities and having to move objects together, but even that had been fine-tuned and worked so much easier than I first expected.

I was super impressed with all the sounds in this game as there was so much going on sound-wise, from the voice acting down to the background music you hear whilst exploring around, and you know something is about to go down when the music intensifies. I was so excited when a cutscene started because I knew I was in for a treat with the amount of detail and immersion added to each cutscene.

Even while exploring, you can hear the grass crunch under your feet, or the different sounds things would make when you strike them with a weapon. As I said before, there was so much going on with the sounds that you were constantly on edge.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has not let anyone down. It is hands down the best Zelda game to date, and it’s been cleverly developed to drag the player in and prevent them from putting their Switch down. I can guarantee you will spend plenty of time playing this one.

Written by: Hayden Nelson