The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

i enjoyed the wind temple boss because diving through them ice holes is real satisfying

spoilers for great plateau+depths area: was probably expecting too much but i was really disappointed in the resolution to the big bargainer statue quest - the dialogue made me think it would go in a much more interesting direction and maybe provide some small gameplay perk you didn't have before. i actually stayed up way later than i meant to because i was so curious about what would happen. instead it was just unlocked the next bargainer shop item and threw in a heart/stamina container. doubly disappointing because it was basically all there was to do at the great plateau, which was one of the more intriguing areas to revisit

i do think this game improves on BOTW's problems with intrinsic rewards but still not great

to me getting the outfits is the most important thing

outfits are imo one of the only good intrinsic rewards the games offer and totk seems to be better about how they're distributed than botw but in this case the outfit reward is the exact same thing you'd get for randomly stumbling on any random bargainer statue that isn't missing its eyeballs

that one was kind of a lot and i got really confused for a minute as to where the statue was after i already had two eyeballs in it, i somehow lost it, it turned out to just be way lower than i was looking

it's annoying how you get basically the same 5-minute cut scene each time you beat a temple boss

I should not have purchased this on an overriding impulse on Friday night. Digging it but damn is the Great Sky Prologue/Tutorial/First Biome way too long. The open nature of the rest of the game is kinda contradictory to the more on-rails needs of the tutorial. I spent a good 2-3 hours wandering round and exploring the snow-packed sections before realizing I needed to hit the waypoint in another island first to activate goals.

Oh and the “should not have purchased on Friday” is because this weekend was also a 2-day meetup I attended so I wouldn’t get home till later in the evening and then play till like 1-2am because it was that compelling. That was my mistake.

I also explored the snow section too soon, but actually really appreciated that I could - someone new to the series might have missed the tutorial on cooking beforehand and just moved elsewhere.

If anything it reminded me a lot of the Great Plateau. You were locked into it similar to this, it took a somewhat similar amount of time/effort to trudge through, though the shrines were accessible initially, limiting the notions of "early" exploration.

I think this expresses one of the main differences of this game vs BotW. The original was a bit more structurally open from the get go, and far less "linear". TotK, while still being largely open, has a more defined and structured set of things to do early on, both in the tutorial and the world at large.

I think that works great for players who have played BotW first, and builds on the existent magic of the world. For those coming in fresh, the "mystery" and novelty of the world as perfectly presented in the OG is not quite as well laid out. I.e. I feel the game is 10/10 for those who loved BotW, 9/10 for n00bs.

in short, feels to me like exploring the world *was* the game in botw, while totk is more objective/task oriented. of course you can ignore those objectives and just build death machines if you like.

exploring the depths has felt the most similar to botw to me, where the joy is in uncovering the map and making discoveries. its also a higher degree of difficulty, reminds me of botw when i would get blindsided by a strong enemy or fall from a height when running out of stamina. that doesn't happen so much in the overworld in this game

I spent ages last night on that shrine "built for rails". I'd keep thinking I totes had it, with my various slapped together slabs but theyd all fall off halfway along where the rail broke. I was ready to give up but something tickled the logic/sceience part of my brain and I started being methodical, then actually worked it out.
Now maybe other ppl would've instantly gone "oh yeah you'd need to do this" but I never do, and I was pleased with myself!

That said I cheated the section before it by just railgrinding, which is a suprising mechanic. You just dont fall off as long as yr moving!

i like exploring the sky islands theres a lot up there, i got some cool stuff

the shrines are so good in this one but its such a shift in mindstate from the roaming the world that i usually dont even go in them once i activate them then i come back a knock a bunch out at once

Yeah Ive been doing that too - just going "eh I cant be arsed working this out right now I'll come back" quite a lot. I'm never gonna upgrade hearts that way!

That’s my approach too.

If anything I’m less linear / quest driven on this.

Diablo 4 tore me away for a few days but I’m back.

the shrines are so good in this one but its such a shift in mindstate from the roaming the world that i usually dont even go in them once i activate them then i come back a knock a bunch out at once

― lag∞n, Monday, June 5, 2023 7:04 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I’d kill for a game that was entirely shrines (i.e., something similar to that Captain Toad spin-off that was just a collection of Captain Toad stages).

maybe everyone already knows this but you can attach a ruby to a shield and wear it on your back and it will keep you warm in cold areas. you can also hold it out to melt items frozen in ice without having to wear down a fire weapon. presumably you can do the same thing with a different gem to stay cool in the desert.

sapphires

i love doing the shrines and always stop to solve them when i discover one. i've found it's a good way to break up the exploration (and stop myself from playing for 6 hours straight)

there have been a couple of shrines where i have tricked myself into thinking the solution is more complicated than it actually was. in the spring shrine, i thought i'd have to launch a spring to the second level and catch it with ultrahand, then activate the spring on the second level to complete the shrine. took about 30 mins of trying and failing that tactic before i realized i could just attach three springs together to launch me to the top level

xps - all the fire / ice elemental materials have that kind of temperature effect, though i never thought to use a shield instead of a weapon!

That’s super cool.

I just got Hero’s Path and that feels significant.

My kid needs one more stamina ring to get the master sword from the dragons head

I've found some of the combat shrines in this to be very challenging and engrossing, so I too have passed on them to return in a more focused effort later. I didn't do that all too often in BotW.

Speaking of Shrines and their power ups, I've found myself upping stamina far far earlier than I would have in Botw. Already have a 2nd full ring and only 6 hearts total and that stamina boost has really paid off in terms of climbing and gliding. Much easier to just boost defense via armor and potions when necessary.

xp wrt the ruby binding to sheilds and weapons for warmth, I've found a few weapons with rubies attached to them from some foes and bringing them to the kid at Tarrey Town to break them up is an easy way to add some dosh to your stash.

i always go for the stamina over hearts all about the stamina baby

I keep forgetting about that guy who can break apart weapons without destroying the attachment.

I got an extra couple of hearts early doors and then went for two full stamina rings asap - gliding is such a big part of this you need it more.

Then I took hearts hearts hearts - up to about 16 now, and now going for more stamina.

Haven’t looked for the master sword yet!

Had a ride on a dragon this morning though…

Always stamina before hearts before me.

i kept on getting one-shotted in the depths so i prioritized hearts. there are fewer hearty items abound this time around. meanwhile, there's a restless cricket under every rock so i have more energizing elixirs than i know what to do with.

people that underprioritize stamina are shallow, people that underprioritize hearts are foolish, is how I break it down

That’s about right.

How tough do I need to be to take on a gleeok? They look scary.

I came across one in the depths. Noped out of that one.

I suck at defending myself so I do 2-3 hearts for every 1 stamina upgrade :/ I have ~14 hearts and two full circles.

Lately I've been enjoying spelunking, esp finding the cherry blossom trees and Misko's gear. I'm a bit disappointed that the game hasn't yet presented me with a nutty Yakuza-style side quest where I get to model my fashionable outfits to an adoring audience. Maybe it's coming.

I've been working my way around the map clockwise from the west, trying to do the above-ground then below-ground stuff before moving on, and I really wish there were easier options for below-ground traversal. More bone horses, or crafting stations with better item variety. Some of those lightroots are difficult to reach. I find the emptiness is also a bit of a challenge. Stumbling across Yiga hideouts or abandoned mines is joyous for the feeling of finally having achieved something down there.

Finally finished the fire temple. Yunobo was completely useless in phase 2. Lucky I had a golden bow and heaps of arrows and keese eys, or I'd never have finished the boss.

the sages just arent too helpful in general, a shield fused with a frost emitter on the other hand

I have 23 hearts and I *still* keep getting my ass handed to me by the Lake Hylia Gleeok. I think with these enemies its less about how strong you are and more about how strategic/creative you can be about taking them out. Just trying to run up to it and take it head on is almost a guaranteed failure.

Yunobo is good for spelunking/mining, saves your bomb flowers & rock hammers

yeah yunobo is good for smashing rocks and tulin is good for extending flights but all in all for people who call themselves sages its just not that impressive! this is the age of machines baby

i posted a gleeok strat that makes them pretty easy upthread fyi for all gleeok fighters

i don't like having all the sages summoned because it clutters up the screen, but i'll summon 1 or 2 as needed. also i slept on sidon for a long time until i realized he makes you wet so you get the "water warrior" bonus from zora weapons

he is pretty handsome haha

Anyone else kinda hit a burnout with these nu-Zelda games? I never finished BOTW and I’m kinda losing momentum on this one too. As inventive as they are, they still do rely a lot on the standard open world trope of dotting the map with a handful of the same activities.

Also maybe I’m misremembering, but are the shrines noticeably easier this time around? Pretty sure I relented and looked up some solutions in BOTW but been mostly cruising through these. Pretty chill level of difficulty though, not a complaint.

Anyway, quality game. Got a coupla dozen hours in. Might just take a break.

shrines are harder and better in this one imo

I agree the shrines are harder this time

Also agree a bit on burnout though, but maybe from a different angle. I usually try to complete as many quests as possible before doing final bosses, so this game feels... insurmountable. My moments of burnout come from feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff still to do.

Yeah I just got the master sword and I find myself calculating “how much” of the game I want to do before sticking to the main quest and finishing it.

I’m mostly finding the shrines easier, but I’d never played a puzzle based game before BOTW so the experience I had playing that has helped massively.

Some stuff feels easier than BOTW simply due to the mechanics available - like how easy it is to get on top of a Talus now (though I feel weird going up its bum).

I'm only 2 sages down, and somehow I've managed to stumble on the Mineru build-a-bear body quest by accident. I guess I thought "whats up in this cloud thing?"

I've triggered her speaking to me but not started assembling her yet and googling seems to suggest I should prob back off and do other stuff? Like, am I meant to go to actual Hyrule Castle mid game?

follow your bliss it doesnt matter

The option to do things in any order and play the game in a way that fits your personality is part of the deal. Just like in BOTW, you can go fight the final boss at any time without doing any of the other quests / dungeons. Personally I ended up playing through all main quests because I wanted to experience the adventure

That said, if you want to play through all main quests then you will need to go to Hyrule Castle at some point after getting the 4 sages - and if you want to do things "in order" then yeah do it before Mineru's quest