The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition accompanied the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in June 2025, offering the sequel to Breath of the Wild in a form that finally handles what the game demands from the hardware. Hyrule has grown to include floating islands high above the landscape and a vast dark underground beneath it, so the map now has several layers, and the player constantly falls between them, drops down, and climbs back up through gaps in the ceiling. The familiar landscape gains an entirely new dimension without losing its sense of homeliness.

The heart of the game lies in new abilities, above all Ultrahand and Fuse. The first lets you gather planks, wheels, fans, or rockets and build vehicles, bridges, and flying machines out of them; the second fuses a weapon with any object, turning it into something stronger or utterly absurd. The result is a game that allows dozens of solutions to every obstacle and rewards ingenuity rather than adherence to a script. On top of that comes a more expansive story split across four regions, substantial dungeons, and a denser web of side quests than its predecessor had.

That very freedom was technically very demanding on the original console, and the Switch 2 version makes the biggest difference here: higher resolution, smoother performance even as complex constructions collapse, shorter loading times, and HDR support. It also adds a link to the mobile Zelda Notes app, through which you can share your own inventions and download other players' solutions, which suits the game's community side very well. The music stays restrained and atmospheric, with piano motifs that surface more in the pauses than in the action. Reception was very good, and many players consider this version to be the definitive edition. Today it's one of the most substantial games available on the console and a great demonstration of what a playground built on physics can look like.