Nintendo has crafted a massive world for players to explore in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it has packed it with hours of content. There is so much to discover in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it has once again helped remind people why Zelda is one of the biggest names in open-world games today. Players will likely spend years exploring every single inch of Hyrule; however, the game’s traversal may limit this open world’s potential.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gives players the ability to traverse Hyrule in dozens of different ways, and the inclusion of abilities like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Ultrahand has only increased its potential. Unfortunately, the sequel's world can often feel like a bit of a slog to navigate. Many players may find themselves frequently using the fast travel system rather than exploring the world to its fullest, and that may hold the game back a bit.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Traversal Needs Some Work
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s open world is massive, but it is not the easiest to navigate. Players will spend a lot of their time running across wide-open fields until their stamina bar runs out, and then they will be forced to walk for a bit while the bar fills back up. They can repeat this process over and over again until they reach their destination, and while they can upgrade the bar and eat food that refills it, it can often severely increase travel time.
Players can find and tame Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s horses, but they do not speed up the travel time much. Unlike other open-world titles, these horses do not come when beckoned unless the player is already nearby them. If players get too far away from them, then they must visit a stable to resummon them. Once they mount their horse, they may quickly discover that it can be a bit unruly and is not considerably faster than running. The world is also littered with giant canyons, thus forcing players to constantly abandon their steeds.
Players can construct an assortment of contraptions using the Ultrahand to get themselves around Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s world, but it still makes basic travel a bit of a slog. Some players may find themselves desperately searching for shrines for their fast travel points so that they can skip over the journey. These fast travel points should feel like an afterthought rather than a core part of the traversal, but that is not often the case in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Most of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s traversal concerns seem to trace back to the stamina bar. Hyrule is constructed in a way that the stamina bar is a vital part of navigation. Players will inevitably need to run through giant fields, glide over the canyons, and often be forced to scale entire mountains to reach their goal. While that bar is not much of an issue in the late game, it too often hinders travel during the early game, and that can hurt Hyrule's potential.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s traversal does not ruin the game, but it can become a bit of a nuisance, especially as quest objectives are spread very far apart. Players have been creating all sorts of unique ways to traverse Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Hyrule and will likely continue to for years to come. What Nintendo has been able to craft is impressive, but it could be a bit better if traversal had been made slightly less cumbersome in its open-world sequel.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Switch.
