There's so much to love about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK). It's an amazing sequel to the original Breath of the Wild game, and adds so much more. The basic plot is simple: Zelda vanishes again, and you lose all your power due to a new big bad. You get new powers, the ability to build stuff, soar through the air, and explore the depths of the world. And best of all, you can play it on the go.

As much as I really loved last year's Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, TotK easily blows them out of the water. As mentioned, it's a huge sprawling world filled with things to do. You can explore floating islands in the sky, or head underground and explore the scary chasms. Mechanics from the previous game, such as shield surfing, cooking, and gliding make a return. New powers such as Ultrahand, Ascend, Recall, and Fuse add more facets to the game. You can build stuff such as rocket gliders with Ultrahand, access odd places with Ascend, and reverse time with Recall. Fuse lets you combine items to your weapon and shields for new effects — it's a game changer for combat.

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Speaking of which, combat is a tad iffy. The dodge mechanic is tied to using the lock-on button, and trying to switch targets to dodge is pretty clunky. You're better off making an extra-long spear to poke someone from far away or running away instead of taking on more than three at a time. I can't count the amount of times I've died — surrounded and being unable to dodge as I was locked on another target. Combat is actually a lot easier when you're not rushing in headfirst. Instead, play smart with the tools the game gives you, such a mushroom to confuse your enemies,

TotK rewards players who think creatively and take time to explore. If you don't feel like following the main story, you can roam around the vast map. I love looking for shrines, which are mostly little puzzle rooms that you can solve with your powers or fight enemies with just basic items. The overall story is also intriguing, and honestly feels a lot more engaging than the BotW plot (which I barely remember, despite beating the game). The visuals and performance on the Switch are surprisingly good, considering how dated the hardware is. I did notice the frame rate dipping sometimes when using Ultrahand, though. But overall, it handles really well even though the game is huge.

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At around S$70 or more, the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an amazing sequel to one of the best Nintendo Switch games around. It's a lot of fun, and will keep you entertained for hours on end. You'll love just how much there is to do. Get it from Amazon (cheapest), Shopee, or Lazada.