Summary
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received numerous nominations at TGA 2023, including Game of the Year and Best Art Direction, but only took home the Best Action/Adventure award.
- The game faced tough competition from other impressive titles in 2023, such as Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2, which may have impacted its chances of winning multiple awards.
- Despite not winning multiple awards, Tears of the Kingdom is still recognized for its boundary-pushing gameplay, innovative features like Fuse and Ultrahand abilities, and its overall high quality as a worthy addition to the Zelda franchise.
2023 was a banner year for Nintendo, with the famed company releasing hits like Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Pikmin 4, and, of course, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. TOTK is one of the best-selling games of the year and nearly universally praised by Zelda fans, with its high quality, innovative design, and peerless degree of charm and vision being applauded across the globe.
Tears of the Kingdom has a 96 on Metacritric, tied for the highest-reviewed game of the year alongside Baldur's Gate 3.
Tears of the Kingdom was nominated for several prestigious TGA categories, including Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Score and Music, and Best Game Direction. Of course, it was also nominated for the top award of the ceremony, Game of the Year, for which it battled some of the other landmark releases of 2023, including Alan Wake 2 and fellow Nintendo hit Super Mario Bros. Wonder. However, amid a sea of innovative and massively popular games, and alongside several high-profile reveals from top industry figures like Hideo Kojima, Tears of the Kingdom only ended up with a single win.
All Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nominations at TGA 2023
- Game of the Year
- Best Game Direction
- Best Art Direction
- Best Score and Music
- Best Action/Adventure Game
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Proves Armor Needs to Become a Franchise Staple
Link's many sets of armor are a great feature in Tears of the Kingdom that deserves to become a tradition for future games to follow.
Tears of the Kingdom Only Took Home the Best Action/Adventure Award
Despite the impressive five nominations, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom only snagged a trophy for Best Action/Adventure Game. This might come as a surprise to some, as the most recent Zelda game has enjoyed near-universal praise, with many considering it a massive improvement over its predecessor, which won Best Action/Adventure Game along with Game of the Year at TGA 2017.
Why Tears of the Kingdom Only Nabbed One Game Award
Zelda's singular win says more about 2023's spate of impressive games than it does about the quality or reception of Tears of the Kingdom. TOTK was up against games like Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, and fellow Nintendo hit Super Mario Wonder, all of which push their respective genres forward in meaningful and robust ways. If this year's Zelda had launched during any other year, there's a solid chance it would have taken home several additional awards, including Game of the Year.
Having said that, something that could have held Tears of the Kingdom back at the awards is its similarity to its predecessor. Although TOTK introduced several revolutionary mechanics, its overworld, art design, general structure, and approach to storytelling still have a good amount in common with Breath of the Wild. Moreover, the sense of discovery, which was so powerful in BOTW, might have been somewhat undermined in TOTK, at least for returning players, as this rendition of Hyrule (sans Hyrule Sky and The Depths) has already been explored.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may have been edged out for Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Game Direction, and Best Score and Music, but its achievement in the Best Action/Adventure category proves how impressive, unique, and boundary-pushing the game truly is. The Game Awards is meant to celebrate titles that push the gaming medium forward and, at the end of the day, Tears of the Kingdom managed to do just that, with masterful features like its groundbreaking Fuse and Ultrahand abilities that essentially spawned a new genre of online content from Zelda players. TOTK simply had remarkably stiff competition, which doesn't detract from the overall quality of the experience. The franchise may be set to take a different approach for future installments, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a worthy send-off for this style of Zelda game, and one that will be remembered for years to come.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Cross-Platform Play
- N/A
- Cross Save
- N/A
WHERE TO PLAY
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
- How Long To Beat
- 59 Hours
- Metascore
- 96
