Hello Everyone!
Let’s start a first ever, “What are you playing this weekend?”.
I am still completely enthralled by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I am about 50-60 hours in, and still have lots of explore. I don’t want to mention anything that might be a spoiler, but I think I should be around 60% done with the story. I am on media blackout about the game, so I don’t actually know how long it actually it is, but this is what it seems like. Of course, if I go by total amount of Shrines, or Koroks, I am probably just 10-20% of the total.
All my other games are on pause, probably not going to resume anything else until I have finished Zelda.
What about all of you? What are you playing?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is my Switch game for this weekend. I still have so much of the Depths to explore.
I’m completely hooked. There’s so much to do and the amount of times I’ve gotten sidetracked I can’t even count.
Same here, I keep getting distracted with different things.
There is so much to explore in this game. The Land, the sky, the depths, and each of them have different resources, so you have to explore all of them.
I haven’t even explored half of it.
I’m still playing Breath of the Wild because I never finished it on Master Mode. I can’t believe I waited so long for the sequel, yet the release snuck up on me! In a way, it kind of prolongs the excitement. Thanks for holding back the spoilers!
How are you liking Tears of the Kingdom in general? Better? The same? Complementary? From the trailers, I was worried it might become a bit gimmicky, but BOTW also adds a good level of trust for me.
Besides that, I literally just finished my first real gaming PC build yesterday! I didn’t even have time to do install anything, so work today felt like I was a kid having to go to school on Christmas afternoon. I’ll soon install Star Wars Battlefront 2, one of the few games my non-gamer wife ever binged, that way we can play together.
BotW felt like a road trip across the entire United States. TotK is like watching an epic movie while revisiting the best parts of the road trip experience without all the grind.
One thing I wish I had been told/knew before playing TotK is to follow the main quest objectives as closely as possible from the start. Like you can go do your own thing, find a bunch of stuff, and the game will have built in responses to whatever you end up doing. However, you’ll miss out on a lot of elements and story complexity if you go this route. There are a lot more puzzles and fun stuff to navigate if you do them when prompted instead of finding them on your own.
That’s good to know about the main quest objectives. Thanks!
Congratulations on your gaming PC build. I can understand the feeling of getting a new “toy” and then not being able to play with it due to work or family responsibilities. Any special games in mind that you want to try?
I only played Battlefront 2 a little. Is there a co-op campaign? Or going to fight each other in the PvP?
As for the Zelda, for me, if Breath of the Wild was 10/10 then Tears of the Kingdom is 20/10.
Even though there are few places I recognize, everything feels new (it could be just because I played BOTW 6 years ago), the main structure of the land might be same, but there is so much more to explore. Not to mention a complete new underground layer, and the sky!
Also, the new abilities are a game changer, they gives you so much freedom. Don’t want to spoil too much, but for me at least, this game is better than Breath of the Wild in every way.
Any special games in mind that you want to try?
Thanks! I really want to finally try out Skyrim. I’ve postponed it for years because I just know I’ll get sucked into it hardcore, lol.
I only played Battlefront 2 a little. Is there a co-op campaign? Or going to fight each other in the PvP?
I’m not sure, didn’t think about that! I never played it, only watched a roommate play, I’ll have to check if we’ll be able play in split-screen.
As for the Zelda, for me, if Breath of the Wild was 10/10 then Tears of the Kingdom is 20/10.
Now that is one high bar! You just got me even more excited for TOTK than I already was!
Skyrim is one of my favourite game, last played it couple of years ago on Switch.
For first play-through, I would recommend playing without mods, or as few mods as possible. And do share how you like it.
Now that is one high bar! You just got me even more excited for TOTK than I already was!
I was afraid that game won’t match the hype, but it has exceeded them. But I won’t recommend going straight to TOTK after BOTW. You may end up feeling burned out. So give it at least a few months’ space before jumping into it.
Good point. Then it’s fortunate that I just got my PC build done!
Still chewing through TotK when I have free time to. Hoping I can get to a point where I’m happy taking a break by the time Pikmin 4 releases.
Good luck! Pikmin 4 looks pretty fun.
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Anything in mind for what’s next?
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Chalk another one up for TOTK.
TOTK taking over the world!
Did any quests yet? Or just exploring the world? Or a mix of both?
3 temples down, 1 to go.
Ah, same here. But now I am going to take care of some of the side-quests, and do some exploring along the way.
I’ve been on and off playing Mario Odyssey for a while now. I think I’m going to give that a bit more attention this weekend!
It has been about 6 years since Odyssey launch, it’s about time they announced the next 3D Mario game. I am hoping for an announcement sometime this year, and release by next year max. But you never know with Nintendo.
Are you going through the story / levels, or revisiting old levels to catch all the moons?
Yeah I’m going through the story! I started it ages ago and just never completed it. Really fun game to play!
Same here, TotK all the way. ✌️ Same as you, haven’t read anything to not spoiler myself, but seems that I may be at 70% done. Already start feeling a bit of nostalgia just in case I happen to finnish it soon, it is so good 😄
I have paused the main quest, and started focusing on exploring and on side-quests, will get back to main quest when I start getting bored with that.
Don’t want the game to finish so soon. 😀
Started Zelda but I may hop back into Dead Cells. I played Dead Cells a few years ago, didn’t like it, and put it down. Tried it a week ago and got hooked. Bad time since ToTK just came out. But I’m reminding myself I don’t have to binge a game I love and can always take a break from it. It’s a good problem to have, I guess!
I had a similar experience with Dead Cells. I love it now! A good reminder that it’s okay to let a game sit in your backlog for a while :)
Or for years and years (my steam library 😭) . Love Dead Cells though, I haven’t let that one sit.
I have a love / hate relationship with Dead Cells. It is a very fun game, but I am just not very good at it…
Same as you: TOTK. I’m already 40h in and I feel like I’m just starting! This game is really massive imho … for someone like me maybe who is just exploring and doing some quests but without structure.
In a way I’m looking forward to the paper guide to just bring some kind of structure and sense of “where the hell am I in the story, is this just 2pt or am I already at 50?”
Sometimes I miss the more linear Zelda’s
Side note: I must admit I still use the dupe glitch. I really like this relaxing way of playing. For me it has been a life saver, kinda like an accessibility option. Otherwise I would not be able to play at all (health issues). So now I’m very anxious 😬 that the game will install the update when I misclick Oh well, still lots of fun!
Question back: what was your first Zelda?
Mine was Links awakening on the game boy, I was 12. Couldn’t speak a word of English. No internet. Shit was haaaaard! 43 now. Still playing 😁 and…… Introducing Zelda to the next gen to: what did you think? Jup the remake of that one! Fully dubbed! So far my nephews and nieces love it!
Yeah, the game is huge.
If you want linear game-play, just do the main quests. They even mention which quest you should do before, as everyone will talk about it. And just do some explorations and side-quests along the way. Gives the game a lot more structure.
Personally, I haven’t used the dupe glitch, didn’t even know about it until it was patched and saw someone mention that patch fixes it, but I have nothing against anyone using it in a single player game. If it’s how you enjoy the game (and this isn’t effecting anyone else), you do you.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t acquainted with Nintendo when I was young, more of a Sega kid myself. Got curious about Nintendo after PS3, and was wondering what to get next when they announced Switch, and I moved over.
So, while I did play a little bit of A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time somewhere, my first proper Zelda game was BOTW. Since then I have played the original Zelda, Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening remake. Also going to try rest of the Zelda available on Switch.
Huge indeed, especially with the whole underground and the sky.
I actually made the mistake of going to Zora’s domain first. Don’t know how to put it in words but it was such a difficulty jump I felt like “omg I’m lost I miss the more linear Zelda” after dying yet again from one blow…
But now I circled back to Rito village … and well that was easy 😏 I mean I’m still at the temple but the difference is huge. This feels more like “normal” curve wise.
Thing is I cannot play long sessions and I tend to forget things. And we do get sooooo much info now it’s easy to get sidetracked. But the NPC’s really steer you that way first don’t they? Guess I was just “screw that 🐸 suit I don’t want to do that now” and I went to Zora’s. Lol. Fun fact I still don’t have the frog suit… I just flew … from very far😏
I really wish Nintendo didn’t patch the glitch. Sure it’s kinda cheating but for me it does kinda iliminate those things I really dislike in the game. Basically the grinding for rupees to afford cold resistant gear and arrows. And off course ingredients to top up hearts.
Haha it’s basically something I do to counteract the stupid glitches my brain does. Like pushing the wrong button, forgetting to jump or something else like yesterday I stupidly walked off a platform.🤭
I do find it much more relaxing knowing that those things my brain does not always kill me and I have to redo the same thing over and over again. Less stress = better. Now I can play to relax again. Until the patch goes through but by then I will have enough gear I think. 😉
As a Zelda fan I have played them all, except maybe those before the original Link To The Past on gameboy. But not all until the end. It depends on how the gameplay was and especially the saving. My brain you know?
I think portability for me has always been key and the fact that those systems always had “sleep mode” the DS that is and onwards.
Wind waker on Wii was awesome but torture: you had to remember those tunes … ugh a nightmare for me. It was better on the Wii U, if I remember correctly they added some kind of log to that one. Skyward sword: not a fan either, saving was awkward (on Wii)
My favorites were mostly those on the game boys or DS/3ds. Like “the minish cap” “phantom hour glass” or “link between worlds” … 🤔 and now off course TOTK. I like it more than BOTW. I really really love the crafting element.
:-)
Haha yeah, good thing you didn’t went to Gerudo first, that has even more of a difficulty spike.
For most of the stuff, you don’t even need to buy it, you can just find it from exploration. I found a piece of cold-resistant armour (different from the Rito one) from exploration, so I am still using that, instead of buying the one they are selling.
As for the ingredients for cooking, I just forage them, or when you kill monsters, they usually have some stuff lying around, some of them are often carrying some extra stuff, like meat, or fire flower etc.
The game does have the route of just go to shop and buy stuff, but you can play the whole game without buying anything.
I think the only exception will be Goron area… but maybe I just wasn’t able to find a way around it. 😁
Ah, interesting to know about the Zelda games. And I agree TOTK is above BOTW for me too. It’s everything BOTW was, and much more.
Yeah I know you can top up much with food. But somehow I do not like that mechanic much. It’s better with the recipients book and the automatic picking but still: it does gets old, especially the animation.
I found the pants to! 😜 And it was enough but I just bought every gear topup I had access to. The time limit the food gives is even worse for me than the cooking itself. I do not respond well to games like that. They spike my already high anxiety and stress levels, in a bad way.
That is why I find it kinda sad that Nintendo does not cater to both kind of people: those who thrive on this, and those like me who really cannot function with that. I mean: they have a game that allows easily for both styles! Yes I know this sounds contracting but I meant also that it could be an accessibility setting to lower the pricing of gear. if you want that. That way everyone can enjoy the game their way
For instance I love Control. (Steam) I love the concept, the vibe, the story just everything. Well not as much as TOTK maybe but I digress, what I mean to state is that That game would be impossible for me to play, let alone enjoy, without the excellent accessibility settings. Like kill with 1 shot. It’s so easy to make hooks like that if the developers have eyes for it. Other great undies have them as well. Games that would be impossible for me, I could actually finish now and still have enough fun like “Celeste” the fact that I could finegrade the things like “no dying” but “leave puzzles complex” is so much better than “easy”
It brings the fun back in games! I really wish more would do this. Still bit sad about “a plague tale” But anyway bit off topic 🤭
Foraging is idd cool and sometimes I just wander around doing that. I do forget to take pictures, they should have a thing that when you took something it’s in your book. I don’t think it is now?
It’s just a lot a lot a lot of different items. It’s insane. Like multiple frogs, lizards, fish … I think there a lot more than in BOTW isn’t it? 🤔 Maybe I should see where Links’s house would be at to store some of this. At least some weapons as well. Had to leave some really cool ones behind sometimes for upgrades.
Well. The game is indeed very huge. I feel like I already got my moneys worth and I am just started with the first temple!
🤟
I agree with that. More games should add accessibility features, specially single player ones.
And I haven’t tried matching the total count of compendium, so not sure about the creatures, but it does have a lot more things to collect in this game. Again, don’t want to spoil, but the different kinds of things you need to collect and quests / game mechanics related to collecting things are in much greater quantity than in BOTW.
I’m actually forgetting taking photos all the time, so I doubt my Compendium will ever be filled. The amount of all the items and critters is so overwhelming though, it feels like way to much. Yes I know it suits the world and so on. Maybe it’s the fact that the sorting seems off, and for me the sorting resets at random to …
IDK what kind of sorting. I think it is just that that is overwhelming for me. It will be beter for me with the paper guide I think. at least I can read up a bit
I saw a Youtube vid last that “every game is now so content heavy that you need 100h+ to get somewhere” which is fine in a way, but I do not have that much time to play. Sometimes I really miss what it used to be with the older Zelda’s you could play for 1h or maybe 2h and get through a dungeon. Giving a nice feeling of satisfaction and progress: Yes! I have that new weapon now! on to the next!
Now with all the wearing of weapons, the foraging, the vast world… your lucky you get to your destination in that time. Which is better in this game with the nice cars you can make but still… ( I do not like horse riding ), Teleporting too. but It somehow feels like this game is meant for people with a lot of free time. and maybe those with less anxiety than I have: just the decision to ditch some weapon for another type you found gives me some anxiety. “keuzestress” we call it in Dutch which translate to “choice anxiety” and that is what is littered throughout the game.
And yet: I still love the game lots. Even if some things really get old very fast: like the guy with the sign. ugh. lol I mean… 🙄 And yes I sometimes ignore him, just like the Koroks.
Yeah, I can understand that. That is why I pad my bigger games with couple of smaller indies. Make the games more manageable.
Also, I have stopped worrying about finishing all the games to 100%. For some games, just completing the story is enough. TOTK is just so fun, that I want to explore and spend time in it, so doing that, but if it started to feel like a chore, I would just finish the main quest and put it away.
BTW about the weapons breaking. I don’t mind it so much in TOTK, as any weapon can become great if you have good fusing materials. With enough good parts from Black Bokoblins, Moblins and Construct Captains, every weapons becomes formidable, and there are so many weapons just lying around in this game.
That “keuzestress” is a nice word, I feel it so much. You are right, TOTK is filled with it, but I think BOTW was even worse.
lol, about the guy with the sign, I never ignore him. Even though I sometimes ignore Koroks. Just feel sad thinking he would be standing there alone 😁
Currently playing Harvestella and loving it. I have TOTK but keep coming back to this one right now.
Ah, cool. Haven’t seen many people mention it, but I liked what I saw, and it’s on my wishlist.
How do you compare it with other games in same genre? Like Run Factory or Story of Seasons?
I haven’t played either yet, but they’re on my list. My significant other surprised me with a Switch a couple of weeks ago. I’m a pretty heavy WoW, Diablo, StarCraft player, so this has been my guilty little solo indulgence. It’s gorgeous, very Korean feeling, and just fun with very low stakes. The fishing is the best, and so calming.
Ah, cool. Hope you have keep enjoying it!
Just finished BOTW this weekend and taking a break from Zelda. Picked up Pokemon Violet again but got distracted. Does Pokemon Violet get more engaging? I’m on the 3rd gym and I feel like they’re still holding my hand.
Botw gave me an experience that I haven’t had since Skyrim was new - I wanted to go out of my way to explore the whole world. Leave no piece of the map untouched.
Man, what I would give to experience Skyrim for the first time again.
I haven’t touched a Pokemon game since X/Y. Black and White 2 were where Pokemon peaked, imho. I checked out after X/Y.
I’ve played every Pokemon game since the original Red, and it’s definitely getting staler. I enjoyed Sun/Moon a lot but I can’t recommend Sword/Shield or Scarlet/Violet at all. Hope that ToTK scratches that open world itch that I have from games like Skyrim, BoTW and Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West.
@cali @spicytuna62 TOTK is amazing. I could wander the world for hours
I got to the school in Pokemon Scarlet and couldn’t continue the game. The world feels almost like a massive Super Mario 64 world and it’s super disheartening. I’ve decided the future of Pokemon is in the hands of the fans to make good games. What do you like about this new generation of Pokemon?
It is a pretty massive map. I used an online guide for determining the order of which gyms/star bases I would battle, and just explored from there.
Still playing TOTK. Such a vast world. I still haven’t completed many quests so far, I’m just running around exploring. There is something to see and do around every corner.
I am more of a quests guy, but I keep getting distracted by the different things.
maybe starting Tears of the Kingdom, been trying stay away from spoiler, idk what to expect, lol
That’s the way to go. Just jump in and embrace the joy of discovery.
I dusted off the WiiU to play Windwaker HD again. I’m just killing time before Pikmin 4.
I have never played Windwaker, hoping for a Switch remake / port. Or they can just add it in NSO.
Porting windwaker and twilight princess from WiiU to Switch would have been easy. I wonder why they have not done it yet.
Saw some random comment online, that they are Nintendo’s emergency backup games, when they have nothing else, they can quickly release them to fill the gap.
Personally, I can never understand how Nintendo thinks.
I’m about 20 hours in, in Zelda TotK. It’s my first proper Zelda game, not counting what little OoT I played via emulator a long back. The game is stunning, so playable and atmospheric. It’s a true adventure game.
I’ve dropped it for a bit to play D4, but can’t wait to get back to Hyrule.
Welcome to the world of Zelda! It truly is a masterpiece.
If you start with TotK, it may be difficult to go back to BotW, but if you do play it later, I would love to hear your feedback.
If you want to play Zelda games, you can try the older ones through different NSO apps, SNES, Gameboy etc. but they are all very different from TotK / BotW, and not everyone enjoys older games.
I’ve dabbled a bit with OoT, TP and some other ones too, always found the games very intriguing with no lack of quality. Other games / things took priority so I never got far enough with any of them to actually say I’ve played a Zelda game.
Fair enough. There are so many good games coming out these days, if you want to play older games too, the list just keeps on increasing.
