Tears of the Kingdom Replayability

[BoxTar]

I started thinking about TotK today. I beat it about a month ago for context, and I've had this general thought: how replayable is this game going to be?

I take BotW for reference. I played over 200-300 hours total to beat it. TotK I got another maybe 120 out of. But...I never really went back and replayed BotW at all. Maybe once before TotK came out to get hype, but I never finished it. In fact, I think I've only ever "beat" (all 4 Divine Beasts + Ganon fight) BotW maybe twice out of the four times I've replayed it? And at first that didn't seem like a big deal to me, but then I thought about how BotW has been about for like, 7 years now, and how every other Zelda, from ALttP to OoT to TP, I've replayed more times than I can count.

I know its cuz those games are technically shorter, more contained experiences, and this all comes back to how Zelda is now being taken in this new open world direction, but I just struggle replaying these games at all. I really liked both of them, they're a lot of fun! But the reason I always went back to older Zelda games was to experience these specific dungeons, to obtain all the items and sniff out all the secret areas. I know that BotW and especially TotK has all this as well, but I think the massive spots of exploration in between just exhaust me before I can get to the sections I want to get to.

Anyone else feel this? Am I alone on it? I know TotK is pretty much infinitely replayable in its own right when it comes to crafting devices and messing with physics, but as an actual full, complete gaming experience, what do you think about its replayability?

Also sorry if this topic's already been posted I'm not here that often ok byeeee

 

[BokoblinBrad]

I personally feel it's a great game, and whilst still on my first play through, I already know I probably won't play it again for a few years. It will all seem like a massive chore. It's probably just me, but it feels like there's now too much to do, in return for not a lot.

 

[MW7]

I agree in theory although I have replayed BotW 5 times with all shrines and divine beasts each time. It is a huge time commitment to fully experience BotW or TotK, and that can be a barrier to wanting to replay them. It's much easier to replay Ocarina of Time in a week than sink months into BotW or TotK. Of the 3d games I certainly won't play all the way through them nearly as much as the 5 games that came before them.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

too much effort put into progressing your own character in these games to make the game bearable that starting over just feels like a sucker punch. I consider the games to have poor replayability for that reason

 

[Chevywolf30]

I have no desire to start BotW or TotK from zero again, but I do pick one or the other up now and then to mess around for a bit. So they don't have good replay value but they do have good pick up and play value, but an authentic Zelda experience needs the former.

 

[BokoblinBrad]

Don't get me wrong, I've replayed BOTW 4 or 5 times and enjoyed it each time, but there wasn't the sky and all of the depths and caves to work through as well. I just find it a bit tedious now constantly throwing/firing brightblooms or breaking wall after wall after wall after wall after wall and constantly fusing new rock hammers to do so.

 

[Azure Sage]

I've replayed BotW about a dozen times, but admittedly a dozen in 6 years is pretty small for me. I think what hurts replayability more than anything else about these games is the fact that there's only one save slot. I'm kind of like waiting for a DLC Master Mode that may or may not ever come before I replay TotK again because I don't want to lose my complete file without having Another complete file to go into. Sure, I could just start a new game in a different switch profile, but I don't want to split up my playtime like that. I want it All on one profile, yknow? So for me, its less that the content is too much to start over and more that I don't wanna lose what I have to do so.