The further I get fromThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the more I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface of Link’s latest adventure — and the more I want to go back and start scratching again.
I alsofelt that way when I first played it— to an extent. It was a big game, and I knew I was dropping it while leaving plenty of cool stuff undone. But, I also Zelda-d pretty hard earlier this year. I spent 100 hours with Tears of the Kingdom, wrote a ton of articles about cool stuff in the game, playedMinish CaponNintendo Switch Onlinenot long before Tears of the Kingdom’s release, and spent the holiday break playingBreath of the Wildin anticipation. So, when I rolled credits, I was ready to spend some time with 2023’s other new releases.
But, a few months have passed. I’ve poured time into some great games likeBaldur’s Gate 3,Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty,Cocoon, andSea of Stars. Plus, I’ve just startedSpider-Man 2andSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. All of the experiences I’ve had so far (and the ones I’m anticipating) add up to the feeling that it may soon be time to return to the world of Hyrule. As good as everything else is, there’s nothing like jerryrigging an absurd solution to get through a Shrine and finding out that it works just well enough to yeet you to the finish line.
At Christmas, I want to play something on my Switch. My wife and I typically spend a week at her parents’ house then a week at my parents’ house, and in both situations, I can’t really take over the TV most of the time. So, that leaves my laptop andSwitchas viable options, and I don’t want to be sitting at the kitchen table for too long. But, I can lie on the couch and play a game on Switch for hours on end. This was how I revisited Breath of the Wild last year. It was the first time I’d played the game in years, and the first time I’d finished it since the heady days after its launch. I had a great time on the revisit. But, as I wrote earlier this year, having BOTW that fresh in my mind did make TOTK feel a little less special.
But, that isn’t a problem now. There’s no new Zelda anywhere on the horizon, and there probably won’t be a new game announced for years. I don’t have to worry about playing too much. I can scrape up all the secrets that Hyrule has to offer without worrying about spoiling my appetite. I can delve into every well, talk to every NPC, finish all the Shrines, and build every wacky vehicle I see online. I’ve spent this year trying to play as much as possible, so taking a few weeks to dick around in the Depths or see how high I can fly in the Sky Islands sounds like a refreshing break.
I’ve spenttoomuch time this year trying to maximize my time, reading as much as I can, listening to as many albums as I can, watching as many movies as I can, making as much progress on as many side projects as I can. Being able to sink into one game like a warm bath as my fingers prune up is just what I need.
