When Nintendo announced that the latest game in its Legend of Zelda series, “Tears of the Kingdom” would release in May of this year, it wasn’t an absolute lock that the game would top my list this year, despite my obvious affection for its direct predecessor, “Breath of the Wild.”
I mean, yes, it was likely, but I was still dipping my toe in with a few other genuine all-timers for the first time this year, and there was no real guarantee I’d click with Tears anyway.
As it happens, three other games ended up earning a perfect score from me in 2023, “Super Mario Odyssey,” “Metroid Prime Remastered,” and “Gris.” Those three, along with Tears of the Kingdom, finished outside of my personal all-time Top 20 despite getting a 10/10 (the competition is stiff up there!), and all four games have been welcomed to my favorites list in the same general area.
You could say that they are brand-new neighbors now in my world of video game nostalgia and fondness. I give my highest recommendation that people play all four of them.
So, there was competition, and Zelda itself didn’t instantly become one of my absolute favorites.
But despite all that, Zelda finished on top of my 2023 list anyway.
The how and why is at least a little interesting (at least to me), so I wanted to devote a few extra words to Tears of the Kingdom: in particular how it takes risks, how it plays it safe, and how it fits into the overall Zelda tapestry.
Much has already been said and written about the new gameplay mechanics, but since those ARE indisputably a strength of the game, those are a great starting point for any discussion.
In essence, what the designers of the game have done is give the gamer the ability to craft basically any sort of device, vehicle or weapon their imagination can conjure, and then make that item functional.
That last bit is an important distinction.
There’s a virtually limitless amount of potential combinations here – simple clubs, homing arrows, bomb shields, and spiky rolling vehicles of death are some of the tamer choices you’ll encounter and be encouraged to experiment with – but the fact that most any combination you can conceive of pretty much all do something is remarkable.
Honestly, the short version of describing what’s going on here with these physics and how well they operate doesn’t truly begin to do it justice. What is accomplished here by Nintendo, just from a mechanical perspective, is breathtakingly impressive.
But it’s how it’s incorporated into the game itself is what makes the whole thing really work, and this is probably the point that doesn’t get as much credit as it should.
Building stuff provides clear, consistent rewards while also not ever feeling like a chore. Environmental design encourages “tinkering” … but it scarcely requires it. The gamer still has the freedom of choice to engage with building stuff or not.
I’ll give you a good example of what I’m talking about here. Remember all of those shrines from Breath of the Wild? Remember how they just kept coming and coming and never relented and so many of them were like pulling teeth at times?
Well … they’re back!
Yay.
Except, yay, for real. Because the shrines this time around are more enjoyable affairs, less reliant on a specific solution to solve, and completely navigable with a little bit of creativity.
Perhaps you’ll build a raft with a fan on it to navigate a waterway, or maybe you’ll just build a really long bridge (really long bridges are the panacea that cure most ills), or perhaps you’ll figure a way past without having to build much of anything (e.g. reversing time of a raft that previously floated by or ascending through an overhang and then parachuting your way to victory). The point is, the game builds these challenges in such a way that you are still encouraged to use your wits to win. Just not in a specific, narrow way. The time-honored Zelda tradition of some puzzle that is incomprehensible to decipher without a guide breaking your will to live is virtually eradicated entirely. In its place is the puzzle you can solve 15 different ways … you just have to give it a little consideration and then execute your plan.
I could gush over this aspect of Tears of the Kingdom for days. It feels like genuine freedom. The shrines provide the same incentive they did in Breath of the Wild – an eventual stats boost to either your heart meter or endurance wheel – but now they’re actually FUN to engage with.
And what’s more is the game at large is designed this same way, not just the shrines. There is reward hiding behind every challenge, and every challenge can be solved through basic problem-solving. I looked up help for this game exactly twice in 160 hours, and I probably could have avoided both instances (I got “stuck” once riddling my way through a temple, and that was my issue more than anything else … and I also looked up the process for mining ore to convert it into battery power, which again, I probably could have reasoned out eventually.).
The ability to NOT have to go looking up solutions to problems in a Zelda game is not something to be undersold. This basically never happens, and I ADORE this game for it.
So this is the best Zelda game ever, yes? Good, glad we got that settled.
Except…
A lot of the little naggy problems people had with Breath of the Wild … they’re all still here.
Like literally all of them. Still here.
And that feels more unforgivable than it did the last time around.
Slipping off of cliffs in the rain?
Still here. Still annoying.
“It’s solved via special armor, though!”
Except not entirely. (And that special armor requires a dozen or so side quests to complete to get it.)
The whole game is like this.
“I hate the whole breakable weapons thing.”
Well guess what’s back? And they made the problem even more severe.
Nintendo “addressed” this by allowing you to fuse your weapons with stronger material to increase their durability, and that mostly works, but it’s not really “gone” as a problem. Nintendo gave the gamer the tools to address the underlying problem better than the last time around … but it doesn’t go away. Your weapons still break.
The clunky inventory system? Still there.
Sparse story? Yep.
A lack of epic dungeons. Uh huh.
A gazillion shrines. Yes, indeed!
It’s like Nintendo doubled down on literally everything people complained about with the first game and then told people, “if you don’t like it, fix it yourself!”
Unsurprisingly, the results are mixed.
Now to be fair, the landscape being a little too open and uneventful was another complaint of the previous game, and wherein Hyrule is concerned, they definitely addressed that. It seems like there’s a ton more to see and do here, more so than we saw in Breath of the Wild. But at the same time, the sense of wonder of discovery is tampered quite a bit as a result too.
And I think it’s that doubling down on things people didn’t like and losing some of that sense of wonder and amazement (probably somewhat inevitable by setting the story in Hyrule once again as a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild) is what ultimately knocked Tears of the Kingdom down a half peg for me.
Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time are the definitive Zelda experiences in my book, partly because of that sense of awe each inspires. They’re remarkably different from one another (the latter being more “on rails” and story driven), and they provide a fantastic 1-2 punch for anyone wanting to learn about Zelda and enjoy it for themselves.
Tears of the Kingdom is more involved, more demanding, and ultimately about the same in reward. It asks more of you, but it doesn’t provide any additional enjoyment in return.
It’s like the difference between parenting a small child and a teenager. You love both, and both experiences are rewarding, but the teenager is going to demand more out of you and probably (definitely) yell at you while doing it.
In sum, Ocarina is the adorable toddler hugging you for no reason, Breath is the grade-school child who still likes hanging out with you, while Tears is the angry teenager demanding a ride to the mall while rolling their eyes at you.
And that’s where I’m at it with it. Tears of the Kingdom belongs in the discussion among the best Zelda games, but it’s very clearly a bumpier ride than those other two.
It’s still a phenomenal game.
I thought the endgame was fantastic. The story elements, the progression, the building … all of that really worked for me. It’s ultimately an epic, important game, the sort of guidepost title that changes the landscape for all upcoming games.
How are other studios going to incorporate building physics like this going forward?
Will any of the inevitable copy-cat games do it as well as this?
We’re going to find out whether we want to or not.
But for this time and place, Tears of the Kingdom is the best game I could have played. It’s sure to be influential as hell in the future, but more presently it is a proper Zelda experience with really special game-building mechanics.
It’s the game of the year.
(But let’s see what else I played this year…)
Give it a miss (5 or below)
41. Ninja Gaiden (PC Engine) – I didn’t outright hate it until I reached the end game, at which point its deficiencies in relation to its NES counterpart were laid completely bare.
40. Street Fighter 1 – It’s an important game historically as the precursor to an entire cottage industry, so yes, you’re justified in wanting to play it … just don’t expect the experience to be enjoyable.
39. Fantasy Zone – The philosophical question of how enjoyable a game can be if its end game is gross/broken is certainly tested by this title, which does a lot well … until the final boss.
38. Street Fighter Alpha – The first Alpha game isn’t a disaster, but it IS entirely skippable as it offers nothing its sequels don’t do better.
Tepid thumbs up (6 or 7)
37. Mega Man 10 – Perhaps more difficult than I like a Mega Man game to be (which is saying a lot!), it is also derivative and can probably be missed by all but the biggest of Mega Man fans.
36. Fire ‘N Ice – It’s perfectly fine, but it isn’t earth-shaking either.
35. Kirby’s Dream Buffet – Harmless, shallow fun.
34. Valis II – It’s a decent play and super approachable, but it suffers because the major selling point to playing Valis games is the top-of-the-line presentation, and said presentation is fairly weak in Valis II.
33. Alisia Dragoon – The relatively unique game mechanics provide a solid reason to give it a go, even though it’s a little rough around the edges.
32. New Adventure Island – I’d probably recommend this particular outing over any other Adventure Island game, as it’s highly representative of the series with a better polish than you’ll see elsewhere (particularly on the NES).
31. Cadash – I would totally play this kinda silly game again … a statement games in this general range can’t always engender.
30. Valis: The Fantasm Soldier – The presentation makes a big difference for this otherwise so-so platformer … at release, this was storytelling done at as high a level as was possible.
29. Demon’s Crest – I like it well enough, though I do think its reputation has perhaps outgrown its initial impact or importance.
28. Super Mario Land 2 – The usual back-handed comment of “it’s really good for a Game Boy game” applies here, as it’s definitely good, and also definitely not as good as other Mario games.
27. Chew-Man-Fu – An underrated 2-player action puzzler that should probably be appreciated by a wider audience.
26. Final Fantasy I – The customization available and massive world building going on here are wildly impressive, but MAN this game is not at all nice or helpful about encouraging you see it through to completion.
Endorsed without reservation (8)
25. Street Fighter Alpha 2 – The first of three straight Street Fighter experiences that are nearly identical to one another, this one is the most basic of the bunch.
24. Street Fighter Alpha 3 – Meanwhile, Alpha 3 gets a little too technical at times, but it does tell a better story overall.
23. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike – And here’s where we ultimately end up, with a whole experience and the first game in the series I’d listen to arguments for over SFII.
22. Mega Man 9 – The level and boss design in this game are chef’s kiss good, making it absolutely a worthwhile adventure for Mega Man enthusiasts.
21. Untitled Goose Game – The uncuffed silliness of tormenting people with a sadistic goose, and what’s more, doing it with a friend or family member, is not to be undersold.
20. Metroid 2 – It exceeds its platform limitations and manages to create a Metroid experience that is even better than its NES roots, which is wild and impressive.
19. Valis III – I’m grateful this game has been re-released for modern audiences, as it’s a personal favorite of mine, and it’s a unique sort of experience: Think Castlevania with worse level design but possessing better cut scenes & story.
18. Gunstar Heroes – If the difficulty had been tampered down a tiny bit, I think I would hold it up as an all-time, amazeballs classic, but as it stands, it’s merely a really strong game.
17. Radical Dreamers – Probably biased here, but playing this offshoot of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross was a really affecting experience for me, and I thusly hold it in high regard.
16. Panzer Dragoon – There’s not much else like it, and that fact alone makes experiencing the series worth it in my book.
15. Quake – Very much a way better time than I remembered it being, Quake might scratch a similar old-school shooter itch for folks who find Doom too basic or ugly.
14. Toejam and Earl – The absolute sloth-like pace of the game is truly the only thing holding it back; Toejam and Earl deserves its flowers as an early collect-a-thon with incredible spirit and humor.
As good as it gets (9 or 10)
13. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – The story here is A-tier, among the best you’ll see in a Zelda game, while it’s also an odd enough duck in other respects to stand out in what is ultimately a good way.
12. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine – “Puyo-Puyo” is an absolute must-play in the puzzle space, and this reskin is no exception: it’s frenetic, intelligent, and fun.
11. Halo: Combat Evolved – An influential title to be sure, I ding it slightly for being a bit “by the numbers,” but that doesn’t discredit what it does well, which is basically everything.
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade) – It’s a personal favorite, but it’s also really stinkin’ great, dudes.
9. Double Dragon (arcade) – A slightly more important/influential brawler than Turtles, so here it sits, a slot above it (despite some flaws).
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – I consider few beat ‘em-ups to be better than this one, which finds a way to incorporate a whole heck of a lot without ever losing its way.
7. Metroid Prime Remastered – Proper Metroid exploration, as a whole, is absolutely worthy of anyone’s time; this game, which grafts the concept onto a beautifully rendered first-person perspective, is an immersive, unique experience.
6. Gris – I guess a person could complain about it being too short, but that’s missing the point: Gris is wonderfully conceived and executed, a true work of art.
5. Super Mario Odyssey – It has few, if any, peers when it comes to controls, intuitive level/puzzle design, and plain old nostalgia.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – It’s not without its problems, but at the end of the day this game is another can’t-miss Zelda title.
3. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood — The best of the Castlevania games.
2. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting – Still the king of fighters (yeah, I know what I did there).
1. Air Zonk – As always, play this game if you can.
My Top Five Games of the Year (games I completed for the first time in 2023):
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Gris
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Runners-up: Halo: Combat Evolved, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword