Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the epic Switch game I’ve been waiting for

After years of waiting, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available for the Nintendo Switch. It took me almost a month to finish its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but I kept playing on and off for more than six years now. With more than 300 hours of gameplay, countless hours of watching YouTube videos about it, and after just finishing Skyward Sword too, I was afraid I wouldn’t feel the excitement of starting this new Zelda game.

Oh, boy. I was wrong.

I won’t include any spoilers here, but the beginning of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is genius. Mainly because you feel the continuity from BotW to TotK (the initials of both games). Then, when Link reaches the sky, and the game finally begins, you are once again on your own – and the excitement is there.

No previous knowledge, no powerful weapons, just you and the mysterious sky islands. As shown in the trailers and teasers, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom expands the capabilities of what you can do. Fuse weapons, attach items, and cross walls are all new dynamics that make the game feel brand new.

I was planning to wake up an hour earlier to play a bit of the game before work but at 5:30 a.m. I couldn’t resist and had to pick up my Nintendo Switch to try it. After obsessively playing it for a few hours, I can confidently say that I’ll miss it when I finish because I know I’m in front of one of the best games I’ll ever play.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Nintendo fan, so I felt that with a few titles over the years. But mainly talking about the Nintendo Switch, Breath of the Wild, Pokémon: Legends Arceus, Super Mario Odyssey, and Tears of the Kingdom are some of the best entries on the platform.

With Tears of the Kingdom, I’ve been careful enough to take two hours for my first death – and I was so excited when something dumb happened, and Link instantly died. Now that I have finally landed on the Hyrule grounds, I have discovered a familiar yet different land.

I thought the fear wouldn’t return and that I would dominate the game from the beginning. But then Link died again. As I did six years ago with Breath of the Wild, I need to be careful, plan what route I’ll take, (re)discover this land, and, most of all, find Zelda.

If you’re not playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom this weekend, this month, or this lifetime, I’ll tell you, you are losing one of the best games ever made. The wait was worth it.