Daily Debate: Would You Have Enjoyed Exploration in Tears of the Kingdom More if it Used a New Map?
Posted on January 22 2024 by Michaela El-Ters
We can all agree that Tears of the Kingdom is a sprawling game. With the Sky Islands and The Depths to explore, along with the morphed landscape of Hyrule, the sheer level of content and routes you can take as a player is almost overwhelming. I give the game huge props for telling a compelling story around Princess Zelda, and for introducing new threats and elements to the gameplay, but I can’t help but feel like exploring the same map of Hyrule — no matter how different it may appear on the surface, in the sky, or down below, feels too much like a re-tread of the familiar. There are several direct sequels in the Zelda franchise, and almost all of them take place in a new region or map: Termina in Majora’s Mask, Koholint Island in Link’s Awakening, Holodrum in Oracle of Seasons, Labrynna in Oracle of Ages, The World of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass, and New Hyrule in Spirit Tracks. A Link Between Worlds is the exception: Hyrule and Lorule are both familiar settings from A Link to the Past, but the lore is more expansive and there are new collectibles to keep things fresh and interesting.
In Tears of the Kingdom, what became the biggest hurdle for me was exploration. It’s a shame because it’s the very thing I loved about its predecessor. I adored the feeling of solitude, scale, and the massive quiet of Breath of the Wild. I spent most of my playtime doing nothing but exploring, filling in the map and finding every secret I possibly could. The world was huge, but the investment felt worth it. But with Tears of the Kingdom, I quickly lost the same level of investment to explore. For all intents and purposes, the map is essentially the same. What incentive do I have to climb the same mountains again, or traverse the desert? For new Shrines and Koroks? For an open-world game as expansive as Tears of the Kingdom is, the exploration didn’t feel as exciting as it once did, and the surprisingly sparse Sky Islands and desolate Depths weren’t enough to ignite the same spark.
I can’t help but feel that if this new story took place in another region, it would have recaptured the magic of Breath of the Wild even further. Would you have enjoyed Tears of the Kingdom more if a new region was introduced, and a new map utilized? Let us know in the comments!
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
