The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

johnny_ultimate

‘About 30 hours’ here - pretty much the most I’ve played of a new game in such a short period in years… although maybe Elden Ring came close!

Decided on Saturday to finally do a second dungeon. Did the first steps and got the armour. Then I discovered the weird sky orbs and had to go investigate. Then I went looking for armour upgrades. Then I spied a labyrinth and couldn’t resist. Then a dozen little distractions and diversions. Then it was Monday.

The Nal

30 hours ish here aswell. Just getting into the wind temple. Opened up all the map and done a shed load of shrines for stamina, but no extra hearts yet. Some areas are still a no go.

keane2097

I presume everybody is as painfully unaware as I was that you can level out an object in ultrahand by pressing ZL?

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120631716#Comment_120631716

I was painfully unaware. Excellent.

TherapyBoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120631112#Comment_120631112

Grab the constructs floating platforms with the ultrahand thing & tip them into the water! One shot instakill! 😁

Grassey

50+ hours... Where did the time go.... I've only done 1 temple...

evad_lhorg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120631273#Comment_120631273

75hours or more it says😂

Took a break yesterday and came back today determined to beat the mini boss I'm on. I won't say which one due to risk of spoilers, but I will say making me watch the cut scene over and over and having to skip through the dialogue over and over including that pause that happens while Link is "explaining what's happening" to the NPC....is frustrating as hell.

My 8.5/10 for the game is now down to 8/10 just because of this.

It's things like this, along with boredom creeping in with shrines and exploration and the awfully poor combat in general, that make me want to say sod this and play something else.

Sorry, I know everyone here is a big fan so I'm going to get hammered. But for me the hype is dying and reality is slowly creeping in...

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120632449#Comment_120632449

I agree on the mini boss. Im gona guess theres sludge involved. Keep running round until it stops shooting (think it shoots in 3s). Hit with water once. Then hit with a frost arrow. Run in with a powerful weapon (30+ if you have it) and batter it. You can get shrine burnout for sure. When it happens to me I head for a stable and try to pick up a quest to mix it up. Dive into the depths and run around or head for the skys. There are also times when I just take a break from the whole game. As for the combat I dont really care for it much either. I avoid if I can. Im more for the puzzles and exploring. Just find the game relaxing and satisfying in general.

pixelburp

I'm possibly being dim, but is there a way to Fuse an item to a weapon without having the item put on the ground first? Through the inventory or something? It's a bit annoying I gotta select the item, drop it, then Fuse it in the game world.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120633174#Comment_120633174

I don’t think there is way, would be nice if there was though. I’m beginning to think some managers in Nintendo are on commission based on number of times menus are accessed in this game. 😜

CastorTroy

Hmm, 60+ hours. 3 domains, all towers, all tears, fully upgraded tablet and over 50 shrines to show for it.

The Nal

Took a break for a few days myself and went through the wind temple. Loving it.

Back up in the sky now arsing about. Amazing how you can say "ok 2 more shrines" and 3 hours later be in a part of the map you didnt even know was there getting killed by some mad robot.

Retr0gamer

35+ Hours. Not got a whole lot done and surprised at the time I spent, honestly didn't expect to have put that much time into it.

I've only got 1 extra full stamina wheel and 2 extra hearts. Doing the Rito main quest at the moment but my save game is on an island in the sky as I got distracted after unlocking the tower. Not done too much in the sky. I've done even less in the underground. I went there looking to find some hidden shrines and spent forever walking around in the dark and managed to find no roots that weren't from shrines I've already found which was frustrating.

johnny_ultimate

The playtime counter on Switch is distressingly vague, but I have a much more specific counter for my own gameplay so far:

One entire Pro Controller charge 😎

bren2001

40+ hours, only done the wind temple, about 30 shrines and I've only gone to 5 sky towers.

I usually hate open world games but no matter where I go here, there is something. If I don't find something, I'm convinced I am missing something. I found two planks of woods on a road recently and spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what to do with them. I assumed it was a puzzle. It was not.

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120635205#Comment_120635205

Would be similar, constantly getting sidetracked. Again baffled that this world being empty is accepted criticism, as I'm genuinely curious what would constitute a worthwhile world if this Hyrule is supposedly empty.

Retr0gamer

Was going through the canyon to get to Hateno temple today. The open world really has a vibe I've not gotten since Shadow of the Colossus. Even at that there were three pit stops for a Talus min boss, two caves with a shrine and another miniboss. The world is far from empty and traversal is a game in and of itself.

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120635305#Comment_120635305

I've asked people that have made the criticism and don't really get any feedback. I'm more curious more than trying to argue to toss. Is it the lack of a detective mode to highlight POIs or something?

The Nal

I seem to have drift on both my joycons now though. The left one is brand new.

ClaudeVercetti

Missed launch ordering due to a busy period but wanting to pick this up - Amazon are offering a 5 pound voucher off so £45 - about 52 euro if you select local currency - probably the cheapest option around from what I've seen if you're already a prime member.

CastorTroy

Oh and don't know how many signs I've helped stand up. Usually by just piling a load of stuff against them.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120635340#Comment_120635340

I think there are quantifiably fewer "Quests" in these Zelda games, insofar as we ever talk about Quests are a scripted, curated experience; but much of the adventures from here are those unmarked, untracked stories and the various adventures you make for yourself by dint of pure exploration. I hate to say it, but I think the Open World Genre holds gamers' hands a lot these days, terrified they're too stupid or impatient to discover potentially optional content themselves - or not, if they let players just go their own way.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120635704#Comment_120635704

Do you get anything decent for helping that chap?

CastorTroy

Usually rupees, a meal and then I've gotten bomb plants and stable stay tickets.

I’m about 40 hours in now. First task was activate all the towers.

Got to the Lightning Temple but left after I activated the travel point. Went off to collect all the Dragons Tears. After the first “memory” I knew where the story was going. One of the drawbacks of the out-of-sequence story telling.

I replayed BOTW just about 2-3 months ago but it’s crazy how different the world feels.

Still undecided if fusing is better than the weapons in BOTW. There’s more variety and customisation sure.

Story / Dragons Tear Spoiler

Spoiler Warning

From the memory I saw I knew immediately Zelda was going to become the Dragon we’ve seen around the Great Sky Island.

Timeline Speculation

Spoiler Warning

Tricky to know where TOTK places on the timeline. The past should take place not long after Skyward Sword but the presence of Ganondorf muddles that. Unless the male born every 100 years is always / sometimes Ganondorf “reborn”.

Part of me thinks BOTW and TOTK exist in a separate Zelda “multiverse” to the previous games.

Overall there’s so much in the game it makes BOTW feel like a demo. The games systems all working in harmony is a technical marvel to be honest.

evad_lhorg

So I took a break yesterday and no Switch.

Actually got a good sleep. Doubt its connected though....

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120635467#Comment_120635467

Yeah Id say thats the cheapest.

Fyi I always pay on Amazon in sterling with Revolut card. Revolut sterling >> euro exchange rate is better than Amazon rate.

Retr0gamer

Decided that last night I was going to do the climb to the storm and finish the Rito quest.

Then I got side tracked exploring the Rito area's mountains...

evad_lhorg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120638268#Comment_120638268

I've done the Rito, Zora and Gerudo ones. Rito was the most fun.

It's still kinda the same setup as BOTW rather than old school dungeons(fix four things and fight boss) but they def have more life to them and the story is miles better.