Breath of the Wild Vs. Tears of the Kingdom

[@IegoDragontwo-kr9dh]

The answer is whichever one you played first

[@fricka444]

not for me?

[@jet6354]

Being completely unbiased totk is just objectively better

[@joneybaloney]

Nope lol, for you maybe

[@ObnoxiousGhast]

Probably, thought I played botw first, I never really got into it like I did TOTK

[@IegoDragontwo-kr9dh]

The world didn't change enough in tears of the kingdom when I was playing through tears of the kingdom I felt like all I had to do was beat the game unlike in breath of the wild where I had this huge world to explore the depths were really cool though

[@abadab1024]

BOTW was literally life changing so that’s my fave

[@-Alari-]

I've probably spent hundreds of hours on that game, taking a long time to figure out what I am supposed to do and how to do it. Tears of the kingdom was nowhere near the same experience for me because after playing bots for so long, everything came easy to me and the game felt more like a dlc.

[@wildsnakethatgotlost2456]

@@Maubari it was a game changer in the community when it came out and really changed up the Zelda formula. Also a lot of the people prefer the feeling and story of breath of the wild. It feels a lot more lonely and both the player and link are learning together as you progress through the game. Abilities wise- fuse, ultrahand, and zonai devices completely changed the game but otherwise, tears just really isn’t all that much but a copy to a lot of people.

[@Totkgod1]

@@wildsnakethatgotlost2456well said

[@abadab1024]

@@Maubari you can have that opinion my guy

[@2010RSHACKS]

How can you spend hundreds of hours on BOTW? There’s literally nothing to do except collect tons of poop

[@Knightstriker-o7p]

I’m 99% sure the old man is probably my grandpa

[@dailthegoat799]

I wish my grandpa could summon fireballs

[@FourthIdentity-gu2zk]

Me sitting here replaying OoT and Twilight Princess for the 69,420th time

[@paulgentili1425]

@@FourthIdentity-gu2zk I mean, I can't deny thats still fun

[@Mickers1919]

The older games just hit different (skyward sword main)

[@Twicksaa]

Twilight princess the goat of Zelda fr

[@lordturtle5680]

Same

[@Dan_Hazard]

Ha, I see what you did with them numbers 😅

[@ermacflai2391]

I love botw's vibe far more, to be honest. You really feel like you are in a broken, unconnected land, destroyed by a massive evil. Totk feels completely different, and I really can't see the stakes like in botw.

[@ihavenoidea3272]

I see both as having their positives and negatives as games because even if they roughly have the same map, how you interact with it is far different between games

[@MurkyWaters6]

I did prefer BoTW to ToTK on a lot, but my main preference for BoTW is aesthetic. BoTW has a futuristic society lost to time that Link kinda-sorta-not-really helps rediscover, with only Robbie and Purah really researching it, so it also felt like you were charting new territory. In ToTK, there's a new ancient society, and this time, nobody can decide if it's futuristic or rustic, with both super powerful devices that exceed anything we can do with our current technology, but also basic, old-fashioned buildings, like the shrines literally being huge boulders. There's more focus on lighter, natural stone colors instead of cold, dark, and manufactured blacks as well as glowing blues and oranges. There's a ton of researchers of the Zonai scattered across Hyrule, whole temples that you bring other people to, and the Depths are full of Yiga outposts where you can learn new stories and mechanics of the depths. Therefore, it doesn't feel like you're discovering anything whatsoever, or keeping a secret to yourself. It feels like Link is busy playing catch-up with the rest of the world, which is reflected in the gameplay and story. For example, in BoTW, very few people climb the Sheikah Towers. But in ToTK, still-living people are the ones who *created* those towers, fairly recently, too. And in BoTW, the ancient Sheikah were dead/crusty old monks living in shrines that only a Sheikah Slate can open, which is nearly as good as dead. But, in ToTK, the Zonai constructs are all over the place, still there to explain everything to Link, and you interact with both Mineru and Rauru, which contributes to the feeling of "Oh, wow! Well, since you guys obviously discovered everything already, what's the point in me 'discovering' a robot who tells me EVERYTHING ELSE THAT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!!!" That's all just my thoughts, though. (Also, I miss Revali :[ )

[@jellybelly8672]

I played BOTW first but TOTK is still by far my favorite. The only thing I miss about BOTW is being able to stop enemies in time. Just about everything else is an upgrade to me, and TOTK suits my craving for weird and wacky play-styles while still being able to immediately access the normal ways to play.

[@turtles_on_toast]

I think botw was better looking baack on it, but now i prefer totk. If you go back to botw, it just feels like your missing stuff, instead of feeling like you just have different abilities.

[@thedaggerdiver]

@@turtles_on_toast bro I was playing botw yesterday and I got confused because I thought I had Ascend 😭

[@planetoforts]

I prefer the over arching story of totk and it worked very well in a vacuum, just most people got the memories out of order. I actually got them in order so it felt good but i agree, i feel as though totk could use a little limitations. Part of it i feel is that the recency bias has worn off and the hindsight bias of botw has taken hold. Personally, i like both and consider them equals. (I'm also a sucker for continued storylines)

[@Victinitotodilepro]

I love the ease of movement in botw, you can get pretty much everywhere very quickly with windbombs, flying machines take too long to set up and move too slow in totk

[@triden1172]

If they fixed the master sword, extended the time limit on wings and balloons, and made the champion upgrades actually do something useful like reduce ability cooldowns, then I would like TotK better.

[@kiddish2762]

Nothings going to compare to when I first played breath of the wild because my brother bought it and then absolutely loving it. It reminded me of my Wii princess game from when I was young 🥹

[@BowlOSoup6661]

I just wish TotK's Shrines weren't preschool level puzzles. As well as the OVER OVER OVER saturation of tutorial and Blessing shrines.

[@killerkitty100mobile8]

The controls polish and addictively fun mechanics of Totk are just better in my eyes especially the resource gathering and use in combat

[@Bored_Overthinker]

That’s one of my favorite parts of tears of the kingdom, and why I’m reluctant to start a new breath of the wild playthrough. Doing things like collecting resources just feels more inherently useful in tears of the kingdom.

[@IamMeHere2See]

I feel BotW is the overall better experience, but I acknowledge the faster combat & fun of Ultrahand + Fusion. I also feel TotK hits a higher emotional high, but is more uneven.

[@GoronMerchant]

Botw. It’s a complete game, where as TOTK was suppose to be the ending to that game, which it failed at cause it wanted to stand on its own. Which is not how to make a sequel ending to a legacy title like Zelda, or Star Wars, or any IP. These games aren’t suppose to be “different” there suppose to be two half’s of one games, which they are not sadly. Still haven’t gotten the energy to beat TOTK, it’s been over a year, where as I’ve beat BOTW 4x

[@sugo23x]

The thing is in totk you can cheat pretty much every shrine by adding a rocket you your shield which in botw to do the same you need to learn wind bomb which makes it more fair in my opinion

[@GermanGamingofficial]

It’s like the Terraria vs Minecraft debate, Terraria is limited and Minecraft has no limitations, unless your mind is null with ideas, which also applies to Tears

[@dailthegoat799]

Bro a fellow terraria enjoyer who also is a Zelda Enjoyer. No way.

[@knatkniht]

FINALLY someone who understands game design

[@joseywhales5534]

I think ToTk was the logical next step gameplay wise to BoTW but it over did it. It gave too much freedom. Apart from that, the story and its delivery didn’t feel as well thought out. In BoTW you could find the memories in any order and it would still make sense because they covered snippets of background info that explored the relationship between the characters. While the main story memories were shown in fixed points in the main quest. ToTK tried to do this exact same thing but also tried to tell the story of what Zelda has been up to while she was back in time with Sonia and Raru. But, because there was so much freedom to find the memories, it was almost guaranteed you’d find them out of order and the story wouldn’t make sense and there’d be no connection to the characters. It gave too much of a good thing and ended up shooting itself in the foot.

[@Keeby.]

The #1 issue with TOTK by far is just that it wants to be a sequel and a dtand alone game at the same time, and achieves neither. Gameplay wise its better, but the total disregard for the events of BOTW and the staples of the map makes it a terrible sequal. Its a bad stand alone atory because theres still obviously important events that youve missed if you didn't play botw. Also TOTK is insanely fucking bloated, it feels very much so like quantity over quality While in BOTW there was alot of stuff to do, in TOTK there so much stuff to do you sont actually have the motivation to do any of it Also i think people completely focus on mindless fun style of gameplay only, which TOTK is amazing at, rather then story and world building/ exploration, which TOTK is horrible at

[@silverblade357]

TOTK also completely retconned the history of the world presented in BOTW. The Calamity went from being this recurring threat that appears every 10,000 years to a mere symptom of Demon King Ganon. TOTK also makes no attempt to explain what that means for all the ancient tech from BOTW.

[@shevv5263]

This sums up my problem with the game perfectly totk it's so bloated

[@michaellane5381]

​​@@silverblade357I take it as TotK's past is Calamity2, where DKG is born after the first calamity, then successive Calamities are created by his will and partly absorbed into breaking his seal, Calamity 3 was when the guardians were made and thus why they blamed themselves afterwards.

[@jbcoolerninja]

The endless creativity and freedom to solve problems makes it better imo which is why i choose tears.

[@MrEditor6000]

I didn't build my first hover bike until probably half way through the game of TOTK. Once I did I cleared the rest of the depths rather quickly.

[@VioletTheGeek]

I think the divide comes from the different experiences of people who played BotW repeatedly/obsessively for years before TotK, versus those who either played through BotW once or not at all before TotK. As someone from the latter group, I absolutely loved TotK and have a hard time empathizing with those who prefer BotW.

[@jmnlego9556]

Both are good. End of the debate

[@uneterostardust8233]

You *like* both, Neither are perfect, but *Quality* wise Totk seems to drop it like a kid droping the birthday cake, it's worse.

[@lazyladVI]

Pffft nah it’s fun

[@trick2jee]

I just remember how everyone was saying TOTK’s story would be darker than Majora’s Mask, so I was expecting something like that at least storywise, The wild games have been lackluster in good story and even cutscenes, which sucks considering these are the games with actual voice actors.

[@0mqrLives4416]

We don’t talk about the cdi games

[@yang6642]

The darker than Majora's Mask thing was just Zelda fans misunderstanding something Eiji Aonuma said regarding the reveal trailer for TOTK

[@AlliSinned]

The differences in design philosophy make TotK an impeccable sequel. The same world, years later, after another massive supernatural change to it. Now you can more easily tread that same world, so you can hit the same hotspots you already know exist to see what has changed, and come across completely new things as you make your way to these familiar places.

[@T1AN1112]

That is kind of debatable, the world just gets retconned, almost no mention of the champions nor events in botw, the story is a little weird grabbing the info that was on botw, for example the calamity was supposed to be 1 every 10,000 years but in reality it started to happen technically 105 years after(I mean calamity in botw, then link take a Lil nap and then 5 years after link whooped Ganon ass) and I say that since the miasma started to get people sick and stuff, then for some weird ass reason everything related to the Sheila just stops existing after 5 years, that's so weird, like I get that zelda could have ordered to take out the functioning guardians for safety but like, ruins, temples, almost everything goes to the backrooms, for me the game is good but it's not a good sequel, it leaves too much loose end and the story is just mid

[@Tazerboy_10]

BoTW was the first open world 3D Zelda game! I had another point to make, but I don't want to end up like the Old Man at the end of the short...

[@RandomZeldaPlayer]

Rip wind waker (It’s mostly a open world)

[@thegoodman5761]

What about Ocarina of Time?

[@Tazerboy_10]

​@@thegoodman5761 I guess OoT is, but you need progressive items to progress though! Jojo has a video on this exact topic!

[@theguywhodoesthings9608]

what about zelda 1

[@dablindscooter1973]

botw wasnt the first open world zelda....

[@carbful]

I just miss master mode and the Mastercycles but throwing down with Gleeoks and having two entire new maps makes TOTK better for me

[@hogonalog406]

I play Legend of Zelda for the story, and ToTK had basically none. Nothing coherant anyway. I know they were going for trying to tell more of Zeldas' story, but there was nothing for I as the player, playing as Link, to grab onto. There were no stakes for him, and it all felt very detatched. Never mind the fact that the whole Zonai thing throws a massive wrench in the overall lore, wasn't adequatly fleshed out, and left me with more questions than answers. They did a huge misstep with Ganondorf because they had a beautifully animated character with an amazing presence and accomplished nothing with him. The Wind Waker Ganon was almost sympathetic with his convictions, and, big shocker, actually had a reason for doing what he did which made him memorable and iconic. With Totk Ganon, what were his motivations besides power? How did he convince the other Gerudo, who were nomadic thieves, to launch a full-scale attack on Hyrule? What was the reaction of the Gerudo when he became the demon king? Was it looked at as a win or a betrayal? They had so much opportunity to really delve into both Zelda and Ganon to flesh them out in an organic and compelling way as they are mirrors of each other, but they did none of it. Its like they thought if they added enough cool game mechanics, made Ganon hot, and got Matt Mercer to voice him that we wouldn't notice the story is absolute dog water. But I noticed, and that's why i I have never beaten the game. I have beaten Botw many times, so I guess that is an answer to the question.

[@robertgiven8075]

A lot of people gonna agree with you on this.

[@inarencommander4663]

Lol there's less of a story with BotW. Your critiques of TotK, while valid, apply so much more to its predecessor. Ganondorf may not have much in the way of motivation, but how much less does Calamity Ganon have?

[@inarencommander4663]

At least there are real characters in TotK. Everyone important in BotW that has actual personality has been dead for a hundred years.

[@HungryWarden]

@@inarencommander4663yeah, and? Being dead doesn’t make them less of a character. Besides, the Sages are all idiots who operate on a single braincell. Just like everyone in Tears of the Kingdom. Also, Yunobo, Sidon, Teba and Riju exist. In fact, I’d argue that they were better there than Tears of the Kingdom.

[@HungryWarden]

@@inarencommander4663Calamity Ganon isn’t supposed to have one. That’s the point. He can’t even talk for Hylia’s sake. Ganondorf should, but he doesn’t.

[@DinRosen2015]

this is exactly like the creative vs survival mode debate in mc.

[@Matanumi]

Except these are two seperate games

[@Lauren2284]

I think that botw is better bc it was revolutionary. An open world game where you can do what you want. Totk took the same map, same plot of finding memories, and helping the four areas. Also the two games didn't feel very connected. As if everything from botw just didn't happen. Over all I think botw was more creative and original and totk just expanded on the ideas.

[@Bearic1024]

Then again, BotW was all new in this way of making a 3D world for link. Personally, it would be harder to make BotW because TotK took the files and some animations from it. I see how this is overlooked and it doesn’t really tie into the gameplay, but for me, it does. I personally like BotW more because then, it was new and brought out a much more open world game and weapons that break was an amazing addition. Don’t get me wrong, I still love TotK, but I gotta say, I like BotW more.

[@CrazyDragonGirl333]

@@Bearic1024 Well said!

[@OlovPennerud]

Weapons that break is good? Huh

[@Bearic1024]

@@OlovPennerud I wasn’t saying it’s good, just that it was revolutionary since not many other games did things like this. It really makes you think about what weapons to use and save.

[@auramaster2068]

I can go back and play botw without any problems but I just can’t really motivate myself to beat tears of the kingdom. Playing it feels like a chore to me.

[@Toon_Lucario]

Me when you’re not required to build the hover bike and can actually use your brain and get creative

[@Bryce1360]

BOTW has the better atmosphere while TOTK has better gameplay

[@Matanumi]

If you like minecraft Zelda.... powered up abilities in botw were better

[@lpstweetytv5242]

Yeah, this is how I feel for the most part

[@eduregueiro414]

ToTK will be always the best for me, not only for its gameplay, but also for the story, characters, Lore, soundtrack and tone. I know the narrative of this game had some issues but in my case it didn’t affect at all to my gameplay experience. I think that after some years people will give the credit it actually deserves, it’s the biggest adventure I’ve ever played and it touched me much more than BoTW. With all that said, both are incredible games ❤️🙌🏻

[@seabicuit7247]

As someone who didn’t care for either. BOTW. A lot of the mechanics from BOTW that I disliked were double downed on in TOTK and then the Minecraft building mechanic being added was just not for me. I recall making it half way through BOTW before being bored of it vs being a quarter of the way through TOTK’s Sky tutorial and just being over it. Also come on, BOTW ragdoll physics was just entertaining.

[@eboroni]

Breath of the wild has a much better story

[@MicahMotion]

What story 😂

[@eboroni]

@@MicahMotion the memories. It’s not really that good compared to the older games, but it’s still better than the tears

[@MicahMotion]

@@eboroni i guess yeah 👍

[@crane2724]

@@MicahMotionjust because there’s not a long plot doesn’t mean it’s a weak story. It’s about character dynamics and slowly learning more about Link, Zelda, and the champions, and making saving her all the more rewarding. Tears has a bigger plot but I don’t care much for a lot of its characters, except for a few parts of it

[@inarencommander4663]

There's not really a story. At least TotK had an emotional twist.

[@customincisivecomment]

TOTK executed the early stage ideas from BOTW much, much more effectively. TOTK for me, and it’s not close.

[@Totkgod1]

FIRST:botw is better in my opinion bc Botw brings back so many memories and nostalgia.

[@-Alari-]

I like the doodle pfp!

[@Totkgod1]

@@-Alari-Tysm!

[@zenitsuischasingmehelp]

@@Totkgod1 smallant

[@Totkgod1]

@@zenitsuischasingmehelp ???

[@zenitsuischasingmehelp]

@@Totkgod1 or was it pointcrow

[@hoel7367]

You cannot just go anywhere right away in tears due to the battery limitations. You have to work for it by farming in the depths.

[@jjtheenton]

BotW is just a more cohesive, focused adventure. TotK often feels sloppy in comparison due to attempting to tell a more traditional narrative in a non-linear fashion the exact same way BotW did - except without us knowing what happened in the past, since Rauru omitted that for no reason.

[@silverblade357]

TOTK fumbles that narrative because getting a later one too soon can spoil the whole thing. This didn't matter much in BOTW as we already knew things went badly. The memories were more about seeing glimpses of Link's forgotten past.

[@Orapoid]

OLD GRANDPA LIKES BREATH OF THE WILD!?

[@Koopa2007]

Ok like how you said botw is a bit more limited game and all But my main concern is that people wont understand that there are a ton of ways to attack navigate, items, travel in totk which makes every gameplay waaay more different from another. So when people compare both games they dont find that totk is a better game Bcuz they were limited to the stuff Personally i cant decide which game is better. But totk is such a good game that i would never imagine nintendo making it more better tbh

[@BreadsticksFN]

Botw and the literal goat of the two games, for me there is a clear winner to the game I would play if I only had these two on a long roadtrip. Another thing I wanna bring up is how much easier it is for me at least to go on another playthrough of breath than it is tears. Also sub to jojo or a Zelda 2 fan will be in your room tomorrow night watching you sleep.

[@Sky-gb4ch]

I think it just depends on which style you like better. For me, I basically never build anything in ToTK, so it’s still pretty limited for me, but I get why people see very little limitations.

[@LePetitArtiste09]

Not me sitting down and enjoying Ocarina of Time on my 3ds

[@michaeldeboer]

Except before you can build anything or fly anywhere for any amount of time you need to grind and harvest for hours in the underworld.

[@cannedtails5617]

Both are good in their own ways, but i like botw better because 1. It fits slightly better in the timeline, whereas totk barely fits with botw. 2. Pure nostalgia

[@HylianBull]

If TotK came out first, BotW would have been shunned as inferior. BotW has that Magic, while TotK has that McGuiver. I love them both.

[@Shroomie_22]

Totk was advertised to be able to play however you wanted with the new abilities. But when I played, it felt to me like you can play however you want, as long as you use Ultrahand. I hate using Ultrahand, I feel like you have to be a professional engineer to make things work. The realistic physics was cool, but made it so building had to be perfect or it didn't work. Botw had the perfect amount of freedom in gameplay, with the abilities not being necessary outside of shrines, but still versatile. I also just couldn't get used to the ability wheel, I always miss whatever I'm trying to pick. The story and atmosphere was weak in Totk. While it makes sense for the people of Hyrule to be more prepared for the Upheaval after the events of BOTW, the sense of urgency to save Hyrule was lost. The Sages especially don't help with this, because they end up way better off after you help them, as opposed to the Champions being dead and unable to pass into the afterlife until Link defeats Ganon. BOTW is superior in every aspect

[@skrewwey]

KING JOJO NOT THE OLD MAN. HE JUST WANTED TO PLAY OLD MARIO 😭

[@vabs4998]

I played bouth First i played BOTW and i can say that it is an incredible game Then i played TOKT and i can say it is also an incredible game (the best in my opinion) BOTW was my first expirience with zelda games Just dont rush to finish it or you will get disapointed becouse there r a lot fo things to do not just the main quests

[@Henryakadawgno]

I think totk is more efficient and convenient, and I love the sky island part, and purah, as usual, but I would say botw is more engaging and skill based. That’s just my opinion

[@mrkrabz9564]

The limitations of botw made the made feel big and exploring it was fun, just randomly finding shrines while exploring was refreshing I don’t think totk was able to capture that.

[@kevinclass2010]

BOTW has a better story

[@dingus4260]

I think BOTW was a better progression than TOTK. plus there are a lot of weird continuity issues in TOTK that I just can’t look past. It’s weird and awkward and the champions/sages in tears were amazing until they were implemented in the dumbest way possible TULIN WHY DID YOU BLOW AWAY MY ITEMS AGAIN?!?! It just… Feels like Nintendo tried to reskin BOTW as TOTK by using the same map, and all that, but never really thought out the actual STORY they had planned for it. It really could have been great if not for a few things that are extremely specific but too much of a deal breaker to let me love TOTK. There’s a reason I have 500+ hours in BOTW and less than 60 in TOTK. all I’m saying.

[@DivineCuts11]

LMAO we have the exact same. Less than 60 hrs in Totk and 500+ hours in botw

[@MysteriousmrR-mq9cs]

Ikr

[@Ro-qp8rb]

I don't know what you are talking about BOTW limited?! The game is built on the fact that your not limited by any story event or gates to finish the game

[@Zlatan78wakeboards45]

I just dont like how Nintendo just covered up all the best parts of Botw with no explanation. That wouldve been a really cool dlc, Ganondorf learns about the faliure of his minions and tries to revive the remaining guardians and divine beasts, which werent repurposed for more tech. They buried themselves after the great calamity after knowing that they are unneeded now. You have to go and do more unique quests and dungeons to stop the divine beasts, and the final boss could be something unique or it could be the blight ganons, but from AoC, amd the abilities could be the same as botw. At least thats what i think they hsould do with totk. in my opinion, it really matters what you play first, if you play botw first, you still get somewhat of an experience from totk. But if you play totk first, you will absolutely hate botw, thinking it is a lacking game with nothing to do.

[@silverblade357]

I would have preferred they focused more on the Imprisoning War. That is, instead of doing a time skip, Link and Zelda are *BOTH* sent to the past. Boom! The map is the same, but vastly different because you are millennia into the past. This would be better than basically nobody remembering the player.

[@Zlatan78wakeboards45]

@@silverblade357 that would be pretty cool

[@robertgiven8075]

Extremely totk threw to too much difficulty figuring out collecting stuff and figuring how to reach the items and making the right stuff out of the zoron energy things like whatever their called. The fans balloons and flying bird platforms with the engine and fans energy battery things. You learn to appreciate some of the simpler shrines figuring in botw.

[@Matanumi]

Also I really liked the combat shrines

[@agx8447]

I didn’t get into BOTW at first, when I first started playing it I got to a point and just gave up for like 6 months, TOTK captured me instantly and I prefer it visually. I’ve never understood exactly why people hate freedom in games, because the freedom means you can choose to impose rules on yourself if that’s how you prefer to play. I like when puzzles can be solved in a multitude of ways, intended or not. I still love both games and I’d probably recommend a beginner start with BOTW to get a handle on the mechanics before jumping into the craziness of TOTK but I know I prefer that one having played both.

[@joedear8323]

I still can’t get over how bad the sage mechanic is in TOTK

[@Kalislan]

Botw is a better game legacy because it inspired a new take on open world while Totk is physically a better game because its main mechanics and world are better. If Totk had choosen a new way to tell its story (not cut scenes memories) and implemented a new version of shrines then it would've surpassed Botw.

[@skyretiredtimetraveler2061]

BotW feels better to play, and that's because Nintendo decided to change things that didn't beed changing. To incentivise making vehicles, things like leaping up walls was nerfed (you don't go up as much compared to BotW). Additionally, the control scheme for TotK is just unintuitive, and didn't really need a change from BotW's controls

[@chips7451]

I would say both. I like the new features including the Depths and the Sky islands, but BOTW brings back so much memories. It’s hard to choose tbh

[@veiledowl1357]

I like TOTK more, because seeing the land heal, greenery flourishing and people lively again is wonderful. Both games are immaculate.

[@clarkkent7225]

I feel overwhelmed in ToTK. Any game that gives that much freedom makes my head hurt. I just made the hoverbike and flew to wherever I needed to go and that took away some difficulty and exploring to me. I could choose not to use the hoverbike but I was also getting burnt out and just wanted to finish the game quickly.

[@AgentG29]

I like both but I choose which one to play based on what I want to play in a game that day

[@ghostfaceknuts]

I love BOTW. I love the Guardians and the new world to explore, where at first things seem so dangerous. I love TOTK especially for the Fuse ability, making all items useful. And the contrast between the freedom and levity of the Sky Islands vs the dark claustrophobic Depths where gloom damage has greater consequences. The Depths terrified me at first. Both games are amazing in their own right. If it weren't for the statue of Sidon and Link in TOTK I wouldn't think they exist in the same timeline

[@etherspin]

BOTW - Tears has new stuff added in but whilst awesome (e.g. Zonai tech creations) they feel a bit tacked on like its cheating VS certain enemies or they weren't made to interact Besides this the fact Tears takes place in the same world with a low to medium agree of change to terrain and NPCs means you can have this sense of not knowing if you need to go to X spot on the map or if you already explored it cause you played through BOTW. I think they should have mixed it up a bit more, couple more enemy types and expand the map boundaries depths was a good addition but is a missed opportunity for more NPCs and defined regions

[@SlenderverseTrash]

I prefer the older Zeldas but I love exploring in totk and botw. That’s basically it. It took years to end clammy ganon

[@alexthebluehermit]

Tears of the Kingdom has a worst story but gameplay wise is better because you get to explore more, And there are temples that feel slightly more like what we wanted.

[@ryanwong167]

If I were to dumb it down: BOTW: Limited Freedom, Unlimited Exploration. TOTK: Unlimited Freedom, Limited Exploration. Both: Unlimited fun

[@dilophosaurusplayz]

Whenever I watched a botw video I’m like “why doesn’t he use ascend” and then I remember. In my opinion, if totk had a postgame, master cycle zero alternative that actually worked, MIPHAS GRACE, and remote bombs, it would be a lot better, especially if there were things you could do to force a blood moon easier, like that one guy who keeps getting trapped

[@Crono_Knight]

I miss my beloved apple fueled sheikah unicorn bike... It may not fly like a hover bike, but the Master Cycle, surely is 100x better than any land contraption i've ever seen in TOTK. And also hate the fact that most TOTK weapons are unusable if you don't graft montster parts in them using fuse. I mean, the white Lynel horns are cool, but it gets repetitive when you are forced to graft them in 90% of your inventory in order to make the weapons usable. There ARE the pristine weapons down in the depths, but it is pretty annoying to visit all the soldiers, for a really small chance of finding the weapon you want.

[@brotenks8472]

Yall gotta remember that while you have to be limited at the start of a new game cuz development rules, it's still a progression of the story. They are one story, of a kingdoms fall and revival, and should be looked at as more of a whole than as separate entities.

[@thatoneguy5347]

In BOTW: “While there is a more conventional approach to this puzzle, it grants me the freedom to try other options.” In TOTK: “I was NOT supposed to do that, was I?”

[@zanzaklaus912]

Imo ToTK was more polished but BoTW made a big impact because it came first and was the reason why ToTK could have so many stuff. So both, both is good.

[@Only1WithAnE]

I've done 2 playthroughs for both games and totk is such a chore to beat the 2nd time around. I get none of the same excitement and joy playing it like I do with botw. And the sages are more annoying than useful, I miss the champion abilities. Preferred the shiekah slate runes over the purah pad abilities. The new monsters in totk were cool, having the sky islands and depths were cool too. But it was just too much and got overwhelming. I miss Kass and all the shiekah tech and the champions. It sucked that there was no closure in totk, just gone with no explanation

[@kjbirk4766]

The quality of life improvements in TOTK make it better But also BOTW had the teleporting horse harness and the Bike, and cool elemental weapons They're different but same same They're both 10/10s

[@ThePurpleNerd-y3w]

Botw is just so nostalgic to me.

[@Giggles_iJest]

*To further BotW's sheer superiority, I will say this:* TotK's story is bad, Fs with pre-established key lore aspects, absolutely shatters all the Master Sword's reputation, unga bunga buff Dorf with little to no ambition other than "me strongest there is" uninteresting, nearly everyone forgot who you were despite this game taking place a mere 4-6 years after Wild, Rauru existing is an insult, no Fi, no breaking of the Demise curse despite it being falsely hinted being the case what with all the Skyward Sword PR this game got (I distinctly remember Skyward Sword being advertised as heavily linked to TotK somehow which, again, is misleading as on Nintendo's part), no dog petting, no hookshot spiderman swinging with the physics being suuuuch a driving factor in these newer Zelda games, no underwater exploration instead a damp dark smelly overgrown cave can't see jack, COLLOSAL missed opportunity to hitch the princess with her handsome knight in shining armor, no stakes since Zelda's sacrifice was reversed giving the story little to no agency or consequence, Link as a protagonist felt nonexistent feels like everyone else was the star of the show not the guy who's saving all their 🫏s, no Link backstory before any of this went down aka no Arryl 2 or Granny 2 aka NOT WIND WAKER, didn't make me cry like Twilight Princess, dungeons are STILL NOT dungeons (pulling a couple levers to open a door and then be treated with literally the same copy-paste cutscene at the very end with each champion? Yeah naw), sky islands hardly anything worth noting although they are pretty asf to look at, I was expecting a totally NEW revamped endgame super Saiyan master sword golden tier 4 legendary new hilt new everything but naw same design with a booboo scar and hilariously less powerful... hoverbike autobuild pales in comparison to THE Master Cycle As a game, sure, it's leagues above BotW but BotW will never be topped as a one-in-a-lifetime *experience* TotK was an overblown $70 DLC and I'm tired of pretending it's not. Mid.

[@Giggles_iJest]

@cameronfield4617 dude of course the cheat hoverbike is functionally better than master cycle no duh, but as a vehicle I *FEEL* more with the cycle. I go BRRRMMMMM whereas hoverhackbike i go 😴😴😴😴 Oh that's another thing. You EARN the cycle. Hoverbike is given to you 5 minutes in.

[@hylianro]

Both games are heavily flawed for me but i might prefer totk purely because of the final boss. And also the wind temple oh my god that climb with the music was perfection

[@apersonontheinternet8354]

Simply put, totk feels bloated and the building gimmick gets old quick. When I'm playing a Zelda game, I want to play a Zelda game, not a sandbox builder with a Zelda coat of paint.

[@HungryWarden]

It would be cool if you could actually build big stuff. The 21 part limit is stupid.

[@apersonontheinternet8354]

@@HungryWarden didn't even know there was a limit, but also the time limit and nature of most of the parts having even shorter times, I would think, makes the limit kind of null

[@RP-mp4ow]

I went into Tears of the Kingdom thinking "the building doesn't appeal to me, but I look forward to be challenged to think in that way" And then that just never happened

[@Shroomie_22]

Exactly! If I want freedom to build whatever I want, I would go play Minecraft, not Totk

[@silverblade357]

I'm not sure all the zonal devices even make sense. Like, why are there caches of rockets and flamethrowers just sitting around all over?

[@tirepressurerob8553]

Botw story was waaaay better

[@Jamstaro1]

I think totk is half baked... No gold enemy... No restriction of movement. It just feels like a sandbox once you get to a certain point... I do give totk props for letting us go without the glider if we so choose to go that route...

[@XxChickenTenderXx]

😭Help I still can’t build a hoverbike. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I watched every tutorial, but it always comes off at the wrong angle and sends me flying in the wrong direction

[@twocents7509]

Totk for me, I felt much more invested in the story for that game, and I actually really wanted to defeat ganondorf and rescue Zelda for once. It brought back temples (or at least went in that direction) and there was more to explore. If I was going to pick up one of the two to play, I’d choose Totk.

[@Average-car-enjoyer_2057]

I like botw I love it but I just prefer totk a bit and yes I did play botw first but the champion abilities are so much better

[@minhavez6780]

i like both games, botw (the one im playing rn) that has like, a vanilla gameplay i think that's the word i want to use, u get weapons shield and bows and diff types of arrows and horses just like in all zelda games so u can make ur travel easily and faster TOTK is like a "sandbox" version where u can do lots of things that makes botw looks harder, like the fusion thing where instead of using bomb arrows u can farm bomb flowers and fuse with arrows or just be creative and use different combinations just like with shields and swords and the travel is way faster by the zonai techs and makes ur horse looks almost useless, i like that thing on totk of being more creative and free, and i like botw cuz it has ur "vanila" way to play and u have also to be creative to beat the game

[@Masckerdoom]

This is just such a misunderstanding of Tears

[@jonnywoods5168]

When I play totk I'm not gonna use too much hoverbike or anything like that, just to make it seem more like a quest

[@Kris.13_]

Totk was a lot more difficult to see what you were supposed to be doing next in the natural phenomena stuff

[@kachufalav]

TOTK was BOTW on steroids, i think it gave me more than 3 times the game hours when compared to the first one. It just perfected the formula, and gave us waaaay more to play with.

[@Matanumi]

You liked the minecraft part clearly

[@warmfr0gg66]

for me, the fun of fucking around in a game is so much more significant when the game doesn’t want you to fuck around like that. totks building system is like too open for me in that sense - i want to have to try to mess with things

[@jumentoqueanima]

I love both tbh. For different reasons.

[@c55411]

I say TOTK but only cause I played recently and remember it more. I was blown away by both though

[@wildberrysherbert3803]

I don't really have a preference, they both just have different ways of designing their style of Zelda game that maintains their original appeal.