After a six-year wait, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is here, and it has brought an impressive sandbox along with it. While Zelda: Breath of the Wild dabbled in sandbox gameplay, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has taken it to an entirely different level. Nintendo has given players the tools to go absolutely wild within the Kingdom of Hyrule. It almost feels like the studio wants players to break its world, and that has made Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom feel incredibly special.
Nintendo has created a massive world for players to explore in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and has filled it with so many things to do. While some of these activities may have a right way of doing things, Link's powers let players solve puzzles however they want. This has led to all sorts of wild scenarios, but players have barely scratched the surface of the game’s potential. Nintendo has crafted a wholly unique sandbox, and players will be solving puzzles within it for years to come.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Abilities Are Made to Break the Game
Zelda: Breath of the Wild gave Link an assortment of abilities to solve puzzles with, but most of those abilities were only useful within the Sheikah Shrines. Players could use them in the open world, but they often did not serve much of a purpose. For Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo chose to approach Link's abilities very differently by actually giving players control of the open world itself. While these powers are still vital to solving the shrine puzzles, they also serve a far greater purpose.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's abilities let players construct whatever they want to solve whatever situation lay before them. They can construct a massive bomber plane to destroy hordes of Bokoblins, build a Trojan Horse to sneak into Hyrule Castle, assemble bridges that stretch beyond the horizon, and even build their own race car. The Ultrahand ability gives players virtually limitless freedom in how they solve puzzles, and has led to some exciting contraptions within the first couple days of release.
Ultrahand is not the only ability that can cause havoc in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's open-world, but it is probably the most powerful. Players who are more interested in overcoming obstacles by fighting their way through can make use of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's brand-new Fuse ability. This ability lets them bind all sorts of objects to their weapons to boost their power in combat. They can make exploding arrows, attach fire streams to their swords, or even ride a mine cart attached to their shield. The right combinations can lead to devastating results, which helps make Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's combat exciting.
Players can also use the Ascend ability to reach great heights without having to scale an entire cliff face, and the new Zonai devices make all of these abilities even better. These devices can be used to spruce up contraptions with all sorts of unique features. They are a core part of the building process and help give players' creations a purpose. While some players have been using these mechanics to torture the Koroks, others have been using them to overcome Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's obstacles with ease.
All of Link's new abilities were a fantastic addition to this franchise and have helped make a sandbox unlike any other. No puzzle is too challenging, and no obstacle is too great when players can build whatever they want to overcome it. Nintendo has given players the tools to break Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and has made a problem-solver's dream game in the process.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Switch.
