'Breath of the Wild' and 'Tears of the Kingdom': The Open-World Adventures You Can't Skip
- Sanya Jan
- Mar 29
- 7 min read
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel Tears of the Kingdom are two of the most renowned open-world adventure games in gaming history. They have been awarded multiple honours over the years, with a total of 23 awards and 38 nominations. But what is it about these games which has led to them never going on sale? Why have they been able to withstand the test of time and please players for so long?
The main appeal of the new branch of The Legend of Zelda games is their open-world freedom. Many games guide players through an intentional course of events, typically for story-telling purposes, marking quests that must be completed before progressing into new areas of the map, which limits certain content until the game wants the player to discover it. Breath of the Wild, however, does not have this limiting factor – once Link has stepped off the introductory Great Plateau, the player is free to roam around the map wherever they wish. The huge volcano visible from the Great Plateau was my first target, and I was amazed to discover that the main quest of finding Kakariko Village seemed to be a suggestion rather than a pressing concern that limited my exploration; I was free to run straight at the volcano, which I soon discovered to be Death Mountain. Players can roam where the wind takes them and explore Hyrule at their own leisure, whether that means chronologically following the storyline, unlocking the entire map, or charging straight at Calamity Ganon with nothing more than two tree branches and a pot lid.
The complete freedom offered to players would, however, be dull if the map did not have levels of vastness, interactivity and detail to accompany it. The design of Hyrule, therefore, has turned out to be one of the most incredibly complex and intricate maps in gaming history, which offers experiences that engage with almost any type of gamer.
First and foremost, the village designs are enticing and well-structured. Breath of the Wild has six villages that are directly tied to the main quest, allowing gamers to discover them through story engagement. Each village has its own unique personality, built through their inhabitants, culture and history (one of my favourite touches was the Sculpture of Goron Heroes in Goron City!) Because of this, visiting each village is a breath of fresh air, offering a new experience for gamers to immerse themselves in. There are also other villages which are not directly tied to the main quest, such as Lurelin Village and Tarrey Town, creating more depth to the kingdom of Hyrule and reminding players that not every village must be tangled in the greater struggles of the world – sometimes, villages like Lurelin can exist as a place to discover on a whim and escape the burdens of the main storyline.
In all these different villages and in remote locations across Hyrule, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom offer a variety of side quests, becoming one of the games' most beloved features. Alongside the typical main quest where Link is on his way to save the world, shrine quests and side quests offer our protagonist (and the player controlling him) activities to distract from the main story. These quests are scattered across the map, ranging from lengthier, but more rewarding quests such as "From the Ground Up", where players assist Hudson in creating Tarrey Town from scratch, to random, completely ludicrous quests which keep players on their toes. One of my favourite moments playing Tears of the Kingdom was stumbling across a naked man in the icy peaks of Hebra Mountains, whose side quest was to outlast him in a cold-endurance test, also naked. Or in Breath of the Wild, being absorbed in the hunt for a hysterical Cado’s missing chickens. Discovering such random encounters in unexpected places makes the game feel much more engaging, as players do not have to mentally commit to the main quest at all times, taking breaks to tackle some fun side quests throughout their journey across Hyrule.
The vast map of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is one of their most highly regarded qualities, but Hyrule underwent intense development between the two games, reinventing the map for the sequel. This really does benefit us as gamers, since it makes both games a worthwhile investment. The map of Breath of the Wild remains iconic, with players able to traverse each corner of Hyrule, but in hindsight, it is quite limited in its exploration of higher and lower grounds. However, you don't feel the binds of these limits until playing Tears of the Kingdom. The sequel's genius reimagination of the map adapts Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, but introduces two new levels to it: the Sky Islands among the sky and The Depths in the bowels of the earth. It focuses closely on vertical exploration, offering gamers the chance to traverse between these different levels of the map through skydiving. Many players have praised the addition of skydiving, recalling that first jump to be dreamlike in its beauty. Granted, I sent Link straight into the floor on my first skydiving expedition, but take two of my first dive was a magical experience since I enjoyed the beauty of the skies and actually stuck the landing. Alongside these changes to the map, the scattering of shrines and quests was also tweaked to create consistency across Hyrule, distributing content more evenly throughout the new levels of the map and providing reasons to scrutinise these new areas as closely as the existing map. So, building on the strong foundations of Breath of the Wild's map, the further developments to Tears of the Kingdom managed to create an even more engaging map than its predecessor, making it fully worthy of recognition regarding it as equal to Breath of the Wild.
Side quests and intricate village designs stimulate the lore lovers in this immersive map, but cannot be the sole reason we play games – at its base level, games must include a challenge, something players can aim to overcome by developing skills. Breath of the Wild includes a vast catalogue of conquerable enemies that challenge gamers, while Tears of the Kingdom offers something even grander: a duel between your mind and your reflexes. After learning the move sets of the enemies and perfecting the timing of your attacks in Breath of the Wild, encounters with enemies can start to feel quite repetitive; flurry rush, parry, attack, repeat. However, the same enemies in Tears of the Kingdom have a slightly altered move set, messing with the balance and muscle memory of players. This serves as an interesting challenge to overcome, where not only the enemies are fighting back, but your own muscle memory plays against you. Tears of the Kingdom also contains some new enemies, such as gleeoks and froxes, requiring players to adapt to the new mechanisms of Tears of the Kingdom in order to overcome these challenges. Breath of the Wild offers a strong and varied baseline of monsters for gamers to encounter, while Tears of the Kingdom improves on in-game combat massively, perfectly balancing the adaptations to recurring enemies with the introduction of new bosses to fight and something new to test your motor skills.
Of course, a game coming from The Legend of Zelda series would not be complete without its fair share of dungeons or puzzles. Breath of the Wild offers a large number of small trials in the form of shrines to collect spirit orbs, which are exchangeable for hearts and stamina. Some of the shrines are quite straightforward, perhaps causing players to praise their intellect when arriving at the end to claim their reward. Other shrines are so mind-numbingly difficult that they leave many players resorting to the forbidden IGN guides (I, myself, am guilty of such a transgression…) But whether solving the puzzle yourself or eventually resorting to a guide, the shrines aim to put your mind to the test. The divine beasts serve a similar function, offering a dungeon experience which is closer to its predecessors in The Legend of Zelda series. Tears of the Kingdom, however, sees these divine beasts replaced by temples, where the difficulty seems to be cranked up – I know I spent a hell of a lot longer in the Fire Temple than I did in Divine Beast Vah Rudania, especially considering that players must make use of the sages’s abilities to overcome the puzzles in these temples (and using Yunobo felt like an absolute nightmare to me.) Both games emphasise the importance of puzzle-solving, stimulating the players' mind and inciting them to think outside of the box to overcome the trials.
Each of these endeavours in the game – quests, combat and puzzles – offer collectibles when completed. Spirit orbs, medals, clothes, there’s a long list of prizes which the hero of Hyrule can get his hands on throughout his journey. One of the most arduous tasks in the game includes finding all 900, or 1000 in Tears of the Kingdom, Korok seeds hidden across the map. There is also an extensive catalogue of clothing on offer, with each village offering their own custom sets to deal with extreme conditions, alongside clothes which can be found exclusively through exploration, such as Misko’s Treasure and the full Yiga outfit set. For the avid collectors who are setting foot in Hyrule, there will always be something to find, much to your joy, or your displeasure when you’re stuck at 951 Korok seeds and are convinced no more exist.
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom execute the construction of their open world in an imaginative and detailed manner, seamlessly immersing players into the world of Hyrule. From detailed lore to fast-paced combat, puzzles requiring weighty thought to light-hearted side quests, players gather such a long to-do list which they can attend to at their own pace. Perhaps the freedom of the world, accompanied with the endless endeavours offered to players, is what sets these games apart from others under the open-world umbrella. It caters to so many different gameplay interests and allows players to engage with what they enjoy the most, making it a beloved classic fully deserving of the praise which is lathered upon it.
Edited by Joanne Baranga, Gaming Editor
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