Opinions of this game inherently invite comparison to its direct predecessor, and while TOTK may be technically superior to the last game, containing essentially everything it had and more, not to mention being largely darker in tone (which many people count as a plus), I still have a soft spot for, and have to give the edge in enjoyability to, BOTW.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly a solid game and I had fun with it, but it just didn’t grip me with the same level of novelty and desire to explore as Wild did. And I wasn’t on the “this is just BOTW DLC” bandwagon at all. In fact, most of the fun I had was back on the surface again, rather than the sky islands, which felt rather sparse and repetitive beyond the tutorial group and one or two other areas, or the depths, which didn’t do much for me at all beside put me in a dour mood (maybe the point, but not much fun to me). But the surface definitely did feel like a map created for another game that was just slightly remixed for another iteration of the same routine. I experienced several instances of “This is where such and such was, but now it just feels oddly empty and out of place,” or “That’s a strange spot for that shrine or tower; it ought to be over there where that spot clearly designated for a shrine or tower is.” And I had little interest in repeating the same grind to farm mostly the same materials, in addition to new ones, in order to acquire and upgrade mostly the same armor all over again (had no hesitation making use of the dupe glitch), or in finding every collectable, or in stopping frequently to soak up the beautiful vistas, or in exploring every nook and cranny of the map, as I did with the last game. At one point, I even had to take a few months break from playing, as I got burnt out with a feeling of sameness about half way through the game.
For my money, I suppose what might’ve made me enjoy it more is if they’d scrapped the depths altogether, spent that time further updating the surface and sky, and changed up the gameplay loop a bit more, since it essentially is just BOTW in new clothes, with a few added bells and whistles. But sometimes less is more, and I personally don’t find it superior. I certainly wouldn’t call Wild the beta test for this game. I’d sooner call Tears a rehash.
Summed up, if I call BOTW a 10/10, I’d probably rate TOTK a 7 or 8. By no means bad, just not the same level of spectacle that the former was. Not for me, anyway. Maybe if I hadn’t maxed out my time with BOTW, or if Tears was my first foray into this particular world, I’d feel differently.
