There are game releases, there are blockbuster game releases, and there are releases that arrive with the fanfare of Halley’s comet. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released by Nintendo on May 12, 2023, was the latter. A sequel to the one of the highest-selling games of all time, the release punctured mainstream culture with Barbenheimer levels of zeitgeist energy, and with the receipts to prove it: Only Barbie and Nintendo’s own billion-dollar big-screen success, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, rival the game’s grosses — and that’s before the holiday season.
The numbers come as no surprise to anyone who understands the ferocious cultural appetite for games. Breath of the Wild, the previous Zelda game, was key to the 2017 launch of Nintendo’s Switch console, which sold over 15 million units by the end of its first fiscal year. Now, between Nintendo’s legacy of inclusive gaming and the COVID-19 pandemic upheaval that drove safe-at-home gaming through the roof, the company has sold over 132 million Switch units, priming the playing field for a new blockbuster moment. And after years of hype, Tears of the Kingdom was the inevitable and explosive swan song for the console.
Tears of the Kingdom could have been a safe rehash, but to even the most devoted fans, the game was more freeform and daring, invoking games like Fortnite and Minecraft as much as titles within the franchise. In this installment, players were given the ability to manipulate almost every single object in the game, building vehicles, tools, machines, and more in seemingly limitless permutations. Every challenge and puzzle scattered across the game’s three vast landscapes offered multiple solutions, creating fun in the journey as much as in the results — and videos of those attempts made it an instant TikTok favorite.
Tears of the Kingdom can’t simply be reviewed and filed away in the annals of history. It’s Polygon’s best game of 2023, but even as the year rounds down, feels alive — and set to endure. If you’ve been wary to jump in, engage, and fully understand the breadth of this wild, you’re in luck: Polygon has gone to the end and back. Here’s everything to know about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, no matter where you are in the journey.
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