The sequel dares to rebuild everything around Fuse and Ultrahand. Cobbling together absurd contraptions becomes an endless playground, and the sky and depths genuinely expand Hyrule. A bit overwhelming at first, but wildly creative.
Your verdict
Category
Open-World1 player12+
Description
Link explores an Hyrule stretched up to sky islands and down into vast depths to face the Demon King. Published by Nintendo, released worldwide in 2023. Ultrahand and Fuse powers to build vehicles and weapons, a huge vertical world and deep physics.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Sky and depths extend Hyrule's watercolour palette without ever betraying it: sun-bathed floating islands, gloom-eaten chasms and materials fusing before your eyes. That painterly consistency, readable at any distance, magnifies the dizzying scale of the journey.
Carrying over its predecessor's restrained palette, the score this time descends underground and climbs into the sky: uneasy washes for the Depths, drifting motifs for the sky islands. Breath of the Wild's themes return transformed, like a memory ripening. That melancholy continuity rewards anyone who knows Hyrule, lending the journey a rare emotional depth.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Bolt a plank to a fan, fling a cobbled-together car skyward: Fuse and Ultrahand turn every player into an inventor. The vertical world, from sky islands to the depths, makes a familiar Hyrule worth crossing again. Physics occasionally chokes the console, but the scale of the sandbox and the craft of its dungeons make it a bottomless workshop.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Fuse and Ultrahand turn any pile of boards into a portable workshop: you set out to cross a ravine and end up building a flying machine 'just to see.' Sky, surface and depths stack layers to explore, each reigniting curiosity. Testing one idea spawns ten variants, and every find makes you want to tinker with another. The invention stays exhilarating; juggling inventory and resources can, however, weigh some sessions down.
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Massive"
On the surface, in the sky and down in the Depths, Hyrule now unfolds across three layers you stitch together yourself. Building contraptions, the reworked shrines, the cavernous underworld and a thousand possible workarounds turn every problem into a playground. The main quest is just a doorway into dozens of hours of free experimentation, and that inventiveness keeps its reputation alive.
The fuse-and-build arsenal redefines confrontation: you cobble together a weapon, a vehicle, or an improvised plan for every threat. The Depths breed corrupted reflections, shrines test ingenuity, and the final dragon crowns the ascent with an unforgettable vertical duel. Freedom of approach turns each fight into a personal creation.
A cult cover
Link's corrupted arm and Zonai glyphs hovering in a golden sky set up a mystery darker than its predecessor's from the first glance. The ochre-and-turquoise palette and floating ruins sketch a shaken Hyrule, torn between the heavens and the depths. The image intrigues as much as it unsettles, instantly daring you to uncover its secret.
Is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom still worth playing in 2026?
Tears of the Kingdom pushes its predecessor's systems to a delightful absurdity. Ultrahand and Fuse open near-limitless creativity, turning every player into a tinkerer of improbable contraptions. The vertical world, from sky islands to the depths, gives real reason to re-explore a familiar Hyrule. Not all of it is new, the surface map is largely recycled, and the Switch occasionally strains under the physics load. Yet the scale of the sandbox and the quality of its dungeons make it one of the most stimulating open worlds around. Essential for anyone who loves solving problems their own way.
