Tears of the Kingdom vs. Breath of the Wild - WHICH GAME IS BETTER?

Six years ago, if somebody told you after the launch of Breath of the Wild that the next Zelda game the developer makes will surpass it in almost every way possible, most would find that hard to believe. Making a direct sequel to one of the greatest games of all time is difficult enough as it is, but to make one that unquestionably improves upon an unabashed, genre-defining masterpiece? That's close to impossible. And yet, Tears of the Kingdom does it in a way that seems almost effortless.

No, we're not anywhere close to as gobsmacked by its newness or its novelty as we were with Breath of the Wild when it came out in 2017, but in nearly every other way, incredibly enough, Zelda's newest outing touches heights even its predecessor couldn't (and yes, I am going to ruin that pun by saying "pun intended").

[vxprojv]

BOTW will always be the OG. So many memories from that game… I came into TOTK having an idea about what the game is going to be. But BOTW I knew nothing and it was amazing learning everything for the first time. SOOOO MANY MEMORIES. But TOTK is an awesome way to bring me back to the realm.

[quetzalarts]

TOTK is better. But that first time you played BOTW can't be beaten.

[alec]

The most bizarre thing is I played nearly 400 hrs of BOTW, yet TOTK does not feel as familiar as I thought it would be. Looking back, I realize that much of my familiarity in BOTW has to do with the frequent routes that I would take. TOTK is the same but because so much has been added and changed, I find myself frequenting different routes than the ones I took in BOTW. Areas in the world that previously felt very homely like the great plateau now feels so inhospitable. On the other hand, hyrule field, which used to be crawling with guardians, now feels like the safest area in the game. IMO TOTK added and changed enough to reinforce that sense of wonder and discovery.

[Pau]

The feeling you get playing botw for the first time just can not be topped by totk. Botw was discovering a new world while totk was like let's go to that village and see how it changed

[MollyHuffle]

Personally, I loved the overall story more in BOTW. I connected with the champions and enjoyed the divine beasts. However, ToTK takes the cake on the mechanics and the world feels more full now too (surface level).

[The_Ostrich]

Objectively TotK is better of course, but it all feels like we've done and seen it before. The memories I have of playing BotW are better than the time I'm having playing TotK right now because everything was new. Most people subconciously feel that way, which is why the game has a slightly lower score on Metacritic than BotW.

[Rockerfella]

A lot of people commenting that TOTK doesn't have the same sense of discovery as BOTW because you already know the world, which is true... for the surface world at least. I still got a massive new sense of discovery in TOTK from the new Sky Islands, the HUGE depths, the countless caves and underground systems, the temples and also the altered parts of hyrule. Sure the other parts of hyrule didn't give the same sense of exploration as they did in BOTW but they just felt nostalgic and like coming home until I went off again to discover the tons of new places and explore them in completely new ways.

[echos]

Tears of the Kingdom is definitely the better game in terms of the mechanics and overall world design. Breath of the Wild may have had the better impact sure but Tears of the Kingdom takes everything Breath of the Wild did and took it to unbelievable heights and depths (pun intended).

[sion]

TOTK, for me, has the same level of awe botw had. just in a different way. it feels like a second season. coming home after you have been gone for years. still the same but also changed. i never experienced that with a game!

[abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzsus]

I've had this overarching feeling that I couldn't explain for a while, and now I understand what it is.
The world of Breath of the Wild simply isn't made for Tears of the Kingdom's core gameplay, and it shows. The ability to drop from the sky to any location kills off the magic of exploration that was so impressive in the first game.

[pedrochevez]

I picked up Tears on release day. So far, having only played Tears for a collective amount of hours (about 10 to 15 maybe) due to life and family, it gives me the same adventurous feeling as Breath did. The difference is that this time everything is much more refined and densely packed, not to mention the sky, ground and chasm maps to explore. I have yet to watch any videos as people are bombarding the comment sections with spoilers. But as far as i can tell from my own experience i am surprised that the developers managed to give us something entirely new yet also entirely familiar. I am preemptively concluding this game is better than Breath. Looking back, Breath is so empty in comparison! The story in Tears is way more fleshed out as well.
I still love Breath because of the impact it gave to gaming and on a personal level. Tears has only elevated what i thought i loved and showed me what it was fully capable of doing. It is near objectively the better game all around.

[justinrisen]

I am loving TotK but i have to admit after about 30 hours in im just not loving it like i love/loved BotW. BotW is and will likely always be the greatest game ive ever played. I put over 300 hours into it trying my hardest to get and complete absolutely everything because i was so enthralled by it. Been a Zelda fan and player since the original. BotW will be remembered forever. I personally dont think TotK will though its objectively a better game there is a point where a game no matter how good it is can be overly bloated and i feel like Tears is just that.. So much to do... to the point of too much and too much of the same over and over again. I may also be in the minority with my opinion of the fuse Dont care for it because it makes zero sense most of the time and looks ridiculous as well most of the time. Because of it the weapon durability issue (which really wasnt an issue for me in BotW) now has become a huge issue for me as they break so much quicker and everything in game other than in depths is already decayed making them break significantly quicker unless you use the ability that is being forced upon you. The whole crafting thing in general while fun as hell kind of breaks the feel of it being a Zelda game imho. Breath did just enough tech stuff as to not erase the sword and scorcery core of Zelda... this nearly oversteps that and i dont care for it. However after that long tirade i will still stand by and say i love the game and the story is pretty epic especially having Big G back proper this time.

[brookie]

Just beat the game today, it took me 100 hours. I definitely missed a lot of shit which I’ll probably get back to but I loved this game. I didn’t think I’d love it more than Breath of the Wild but I ended up at that. After some time i’ll probably just go back and restart both games for nostalgia.

[pramath]

Breath of the Wild's impact and sense of discovery remains unmatched but Tears of the Kingdom is a significantly better game (somehow).

[affa]

as a PS5 owner... I made the plunge a few months ago and got a switch.. always wanted to try what was touted as one of the best games ever made along with some others. I decided to get BOTW first before TOTK.... absolutely glad I did... 10/10 game.. took me a bit to get into it.. to understand what the game was trying to say (especially being used to beastly games on ps5 on a 65inch in 4K lol)

got lost in the game kinda. just kept exploring.. jumped off a high mountain into the ocean and came across Eventide Island... loll I was glad... though early in the game, the difficulty and set up of the challenge in itself TAUGHT me about the game.. each time I failed, I observed and noticed things....

the kicker for me was when the Hinox was chasing me on the beach.... it stepped on some burning wood by accident, and literally reacted to it.. started hopping around... all awhile trying to catch more things to eat, find gear etc.

realized that the game was PURE "game" wrapped in some kinda SIM like structure. and I loved it.. the temperature system, cooking system, even the degradable weapons are great to me.. adds another level of strategy and hoarding lmao

cant wait to play TOTK. As BOTW is one of my favs in years... Im enjoying this more than GOW Ragnarok lmao

[ummidk]

Ive beat both games and im gonna say that tears of the kingdom is 100 percent the better game however nothing will ever beat the feeling of stepping out of the shrine of resurrection and seeing the great platou and the rest of hyrule and nothing can beat the memories of playing botw also if your deciding which one to play first play botw first if you play totk first your gonna go into botw with higher expectations that you should have

[JustinGarfield]

I like Totk. But I am not so sure why I feel BOTW is my fav. It is by feelings alone not just logic. Totk is better to me brainy wise, with all the packed stuff. I got to figure this out. I am an artist and love nature. Maybe that's why? I can't understand. Help me out here 🤔 🤔

Edited:

I got it!!!

BOTW is like the small cheap apartment you had as a backhouse infront of the ocean. Your friend loaned you it but, although you didn't have the money, they thought you would enjoy it. You only had money for food and some coffee for your coffee machine from a local store you enjoyed quietly.

TOTK, is like having a lot of money and living in a very nice and large condo in the uppy side of new york. Instead of the ocean there is a peetes coffee downstairs. Lots of eye candy with sort of hot ladies, however those wealthy ladies that come in are always rushing to their businesses to attend.

[AnomiliBeats]

WRONG ANSWER BUD. I’m 2 weeks in TOTK although a great game. BOTW is the FAR superior game. Bigger does not mean better. BOTW was fresh and new, the exploration was meaningful and the level design was far superior. I remember visiting villages and literally walking around exploring. Those location towers in BOTW were way better with each being a puzzle before getting the maps. TOTK reused many locations from BOTW. I remember the first time I visited the Zora Kingdom in BOTW it was magical. The depths in TOTK are pretty cool that was fun and gliding around in a wing pretending to be Diedara was also cool. I just feel it’s waaayyyy too much, half way through the game you can manipulate it to get almost anywhere. Oh, and the Dragons? In BOTW it was an adventure to find a dragon and Actually fight it! To get a dragon stone. In TOTK you literally walk on top of the dragon collecting stones. TOTK is Great BUT BOTW Is 😽GOAT!

[ragingsavage]

Idk I might be in the minority, but as much as I love tears of the Kingdom and of course is a great game. I went back to play Breath Of the Wild and I still enjoy it because of it’s lonely and dread atmosphere. Idk how to explain it. I will concede that TOTK improves on a lot of the mechanics but breath of the wild I still find it fun to play with. And well also because I can have wolf link 🐺 as a companion 😅.

[BibBubDude]

Ngl I feel so overwhelmed when I play TOTK.

I enjoyed BOTW so much more. It was like a breath of fresh air to the Zelda franchise.

But as I play TOTK I find myself dreading doing towers and shrines. It was fine doing it the first couple times in BOTW because it was such a new concept but now doing it in TOTK it just feels like a chore.

And honestly I’m just not enjoying TOTK as much as I enjoyed BOTW. I couldn’t put my switch down when BOTW came out for like an entire week. Now with TOTK I haven’t touched it in a couple days.