

Its Hyrule was desolate and massive, and it made you feel tiny in comparison. For instance, where the 2017 title i s still unmatched, without question, is its atmosphere. Of course, there’s still plenty that Breath of the Wild does better than Tears of the Kingdom. But incredibly enough, with Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has delivered a game that does legitimately exceed what its predecessor did in significant ways, to the extent that there’s a case to be made that it may be the far better game. How do you follow up on that, much less make something that surpasses it? In most cases, you don’t. Even though the 2017 open world masterpiece had plenty of room for improvement in several areas, as a whole, it delivered something that shook the entire industry when it first came out.

Many developers would buckle under the expectation that would come with developing a direct sequel to a game like Breath of the Wild. Its legacy in the games industry is undeniable, the impact it has had on open world games and on the medium as a whole it’s clear for everyone to see, and the level of critical and commercial success it has enjoyed is something the vast majority of games can only ever dream of, if that. That’s been said countless times over the course of the last six years, and it’ll continue to be said for a long, long time to come. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the greatest games ever made.
