The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, is likely the biggest game of the year. It’s certainly off to a fast start for Nintendo. First announced in 2019, the Nintendo Switch sequel expands on the original with new building tools that players are putting to excellent — and at times disturbing — use.
Seriously, have you seen some of the things people are making in this game?
Tears of the Kingdom launched on May 12th, and there’s just so much to explore in this latest rendition of Hyrule: the wild builds, the in-game tablet, the joy of cooking, the different abilities, and even the creators explaining why Ganon is so hot this time around.
Here’s all of our coverage of Link’s big adventure.
Highlights
- Tears of the Kingdom glitch hunters aren’t just breaking the game — they’re expanding it
- Tears of the Kingdom’s best ability is its most hidden
- The wildest Tears of the Kingdom builds we’ve seen
- Playing Tears of the Kingdom is rewiring my brain
- Tears of the Kingdom’s puzzle designers are fantastic trolls
- Zelda players turned Tears of the Kingdom into a Korok torture chamber
- A conversation with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s creative leads
- PINNED
May 11, 2023
Tears of the Kingdom is a legend retold with slightly less wonder
There’s a moment early in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, in one of the very first shrines, when I felt a shiver of pure thrill run through me. I had been presented with a simple task: get to the other side of a fall-to-your-death deep chasm using the new Ultrahand ability and an assortment of wooden boards, stone hooks, and a single fixed rail. The solution was clear enough, so I used Ultrahand’s ability to essentially super glue anything to anything else and pieced together a square board for Link to stand on and a stone hook to connect to the rail. I then hooked my crude contraption on the rail and climbed aboard. Everything worked exactly how I expected it to, and I was able to cross the chasm easily enough. Yet this simple act of seeing the problem, literally building the plan, and executing the solution felt so satisfying that by the time I had crossed the chasm, I had broken out into a face-swallowing smile.
Read Article >Though there were many similarly satisfying moments after, I would never smile like that again, and that initial thrill would be slowly replaced with a gentle and familiar pleasantness.
Dec 11, 2023
This *is* my final form.It seems like Nintendo is done with the current incarnation of Hyrule. In an interview with Game Informer, Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi addressed questions on whether there will be a third game following up BOTW and now TOTK.
Aounuma:
We were seeking to build on top of the world we created with Breath of the Wild and really exhaust the possibilities of what we could put into that world... I think [TOTK] is — to use a bit of a term — an apotheosis, or the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda. In that regard, I don’t think that we’ll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we’ve created.
Oct 4, 2023
A happy ending.Remember that sad Tears of the Kingdom commercial about a middle aged man escaping the dreariness of everyday life by venturing out into Hyrule? Well, he’s back, though this time he’s not quite so lonely. Seems that the Ultrahand can fix anything, even relationships.
Sep 13, 2023
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won’t be getting DLC.Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma spelled it out for NPR:
In an emailed response, Aonuma wrote that in Tears of the Kingdom, “we were able to implement all of the elements that we wanted to achieve in this world and this story, so there will not be any DLC. Please continue to enjoy the vast world of Hyrule.”
He recently told Famitsu something similar, as reported by IGN. If Tears DLC is on your bingo card for Thursday’s Nintendo Direct, you might want to take it off.
Aug 28, 2023
This $795 keyboard is straight outta Hyrule.Angry Miao’s new AM AFA R2 Alice-layout mechanical keyboard looks like something Purah from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would type on. It’s a lot like the original I tried last year, but with easier access to its internal adjustable leaf springs.
It’ll come in six colorful, nerd-inspired colorways when it goes up for preorder / group buy August 31st, starting at $680.
Jul 31, 2023
Zelda engineers discover new form of quantum entanglement, achieve loyal wingman drones.Fresh off inventing the railjet, r/HyruleEngineering has now discovered “stake nudging” — a new technique that lets you create invisible connections between objects.
In this case, it let u/divlogue create flying laser drones akin to the funnels you’ll find in Japanese mecha anime and video games like Gradius. (Real-world loyal wingman drones have been attempted, too.)
This isn’t the only form of quantum entanglement in Zelda. Check out this remote-control airplane, too!
Jul 17, 2023
Hyrule engineers have developed the “railjet,” a technique that breaks the speed limit on flying Zelda contraptions.1) Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s fans can blow things way faster than they push them. 2) You can harvest an unusually lightweight rail segment from mineshaft elevators in the Depths.
So: Trap a fan between those rails and you get a RAILJET. r/BilboniusBagginius’s TIE Advanced, below, is the most awesome I’ve seen yet.
Jun 21, 2023
Shhh... don’t tell Nintendo about this Tears of the Kingdom dupe glitch.Even though Nintendo patched several duplication glitches in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shortly after its release, gamers have already discovered a new glitch that can replicate Icy Gourmet Meat.
With each piece of frozen meat valued at 40 rupees, this glitch lets you rake in about 4,995 rupees per minute if you do it right. There are already a couple of YouTube videos out there that show you exactly how to take advantage of this glitch. All you need is a couple of weapons, a supply of raw meat, and at least 57 Zonaite to get started.
Jun 16, 2023
Let ‘er rip.There will soon come a time when Tears of the Kingdom sickos will weep for they will have no more mind-blowing machines to engineer. But by Hylia, that day is not today.
Jun 15, 2023
Mario movie exec has no idea why people think a Zelda film is next
The CEO of Universal’s Illumination isn’t sure where the rumors about a collaboration with Nintendo on a Legend of Zelda movie came from, according to an interview he gave to TheWrap. Entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider reported last week that Universal was nearing a “big deal” with Nintendo on a Zelda film, and although Nintendo and Universal’s Illumination partnered on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri didn’t confirm that’s happening.
Read Article >“I don’t know where that came from,” Meledandri said to TheWrap about the Zelda rumor. “I mean I can understand how people would surmise all sorts of things because obviously, we’ve had a great experience working together. My relationship with Nintendo now includes being on their board of directors, so I understand how people can surmise these things. But in terms of the specifics, that was just something that I’ve been hearing lots of reports. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.”
Jun 6, 2023
Tears of the Kingdom glitch hunters aren’t just breaking the game — they’re expanding it
It took an international collaboration to begin cracking Tears of the Kingdom open. For the first few days after the game’s release, glitch hunters had been trying to break it using techniques similar to those used in Breath of the Wild, but nothing was working.
Read Article >“Everyone was kind of scratching their heads,” recalls one glitch hunter who goes by the name Mozz. Then, on day three, a breakthrough arrived on Discord, courtesy of the Chinese community’s discovery of a number of duplication bugs. Sure enough, Mozz and their fellow glitch hunters were able to replicate them. One thing led to another, glitches got stacked upon glitches, and the effects of the exploded code began to cascade.
May 31, 2023
Tearing through tears.Whenever a new game is released, the race is on to complete it as quickly as possible. As Eurogamer spotted, despite being released less than three weeks ago, Tears of the Kingdom players are already completing the game in under an hour. You can watch the (current) record-setting run below:
May 27, 2023
Tears of the Kingdom’s best ability is its most hidden
If you’re 20 or so hours into Tears of the Kingdom and you don’t have Autobuild, you’re doing it wrong.
Read Article >Last week, there was a tweet going around asking that now Tears of the Kingdom’s been out a few weeks, what advice would you share? Lots of people left valuable nuggets of information like fusing rubies to your equipment that can keep you warm during the Rito quest-line (just, y’know, don’t fuse ‘em to anything wooden). Another good piece of advice: use Ascend more! Are you using Ascend already? Great! Use it 1,000 percent more!
May 27, 2023
Don’t let this shrine be the end of us, Chief.If you’re an old-school Halo fan, I recommend clicking through the spoiler tag to watch and listen to this Tears of the Kingdom video, it’s great.
May 26, 2023
The wildest Tears of the Kingdom builds we’ve seen
The most enjoyable aspect of Tears of the Kingdom for me right now isn’t so much my own adventures in the game. It’s watching other people far more creative and patient than I am craft the most ridiculous mind-, physics-, and decency-bending machines ever made in a video game. We’re already seeing players craft fire-spouting robots, elaborate murder contraptions that would make Wile E. Coyote exceedingly jealous, and, more wholesomely, horse car washes and baby swings.
Read Article >Here are some of our favorites.
May 26, 2023
Tears of the Kingdom’s latest update patches multiple duplication glitches
Okay, fess up: I can’t have been the only one to use one of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s known duplication glitches to make a whole bunch of diamonds for easy Rupees. It wasn’t hard to do! Unfortunately, the money well might be running dry because, thanks to the game’s new version 1.1.2 update, it appears that many of the known duplication glitches have been patched out.
Read Article >The patch notes don’t specifically spell this out:
May 25, 2023
Metal Gear!? It can’t be!Also see: Final Fantasy VII’s Sister Ray, this epic Star Wars TIE Advanced, and, uh, all of these.
May 25, 2023
Playing Tears of the Kingdom is rewiring my brain
Anyone who has managed to clock in hundreds of hours on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild since its 2017 release will understand well how, over time, you can’t help but develop a constellation of habits and preferences that end up defining your individual playstyle. In the same way that there was no one “right” way to progress through Breath of the Wild’s story, the game gave you the freedom to figure out how you wanted to move through the world, and those two things alone made it unlike any other Zelda title in the franchise.
Read Article >The same can be said of Tears of the Kingdom for a variety of reasons, ranging from how much bigger the game’s Hyrule is to all the new weapons and vehicles Link has at his disposal. But after years of ripping and running through Breath of the Wild, one of the most fascinating things I’ve experienced playing Tears of the Kingdom is having the distinct feeling that the game’s developers know exactly how I’ve been playing in the past — and they want me to change my ways.
May 25, 2023
We’re not gonna take it!The Koroks are fighting back. Sorta. In the wake of hundreds of videos of sadistic Links torturing those poor, helpless forest spirits, one Tears of the Kingdom player has decided enough is enough and is giving them the tools to fight back.
May 24, 2023
Sacrifice yourselves to send me Zelda: TotK mini-boss selfies, it’ll be fun.I don’t know if this is A Thing because I’ve been avoiding all online Tears of the Kingdom discourse, but a friend’s been taking selfies with mini-bosses right before they wreck him, and now I am too.
So here’s what I want to do: send your best mini-boss selfies to me at wes@theverge.com with the subject line “Zelda mini-boss selfie” and the name you’d like credited. If we get enough, I’ll put the best ones in a post. Only two rules: no big bosses, and capture the moment before you’re slammed.
Here, I’ll start:
May 24, 2023
Wii U, it looks just like ancient Hyrule.In 2014, we got a first demonstration video of what would be later named Breath of the Wild with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma alongside Shigeru Miyamoto. It’s wild to watch this early state of the game in the wake of Tears of the Kingdom.
In the video, we get to see Link scout out a “suspicious” watchtower and drop a beacon on it. Link uses a sail cloth, and rides a horse that, as Aonuma points out, doesn't run into trees. Link also battles Bokoblins, and Aonuma says a “metallic sound” is how you know your arrow hit them.
And hey, is that bar for stamina or magic?
May 24, 2023
On The Vergecast: The fight over AM radio, the future of ethernet, and the legacy of Zelda.Seriously, it’s like, why doesn’t everyone just make really great, beautiful, complicated, glorious games like Tears of the Kingdom? That and other super sophisticated questions, today on the show. (Plus a fun chat with Senator Ed Markey.)
May 24, 2023
The planet’s dyin’, Link.Turns out Midgar is actually somewhere in Hyrule. An enterprising Tears of the Kingdom player has manage to craft the Sister Ray, Final Fantasy VII’s huge Weapon-destroying gun, out of an assortment of fans, wheels, treasure chests, carts, and exactly one (1) cannon.
May 23, 2023
Tears of the Kingdom’s puzzle designers are fantastic trolls
The Zelda developers are trolls, and I love them.
Read Article >One really well-designed aspect of Tears of the Kingdom is that the game will teach you how to play it. I don’t mean through explicit tutorials; rather, throughout my frankly embarrassing amount of playtime, the game presented to me, either in shrines or in the overworld, obstacles and the tools to surmount them. And every time I solved a puzzle, a more complex version of that same kind of puzzle would pop up later on, forcing me to put together what I learned to take on this new challenge. It makes Tears a kind of Metroidvania in that sometimes my progression is locked until I’ve mastered a certain skill or problem-solving mechanic.