Summary
The tutorial shrines inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomplay an important role, but they also have a set of flaws worth discussing. WhileThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomdoes handle theZeldaformula quite well all-around, there are still a few areas where it could stand to improve. In some instances, the new mechanics introduced since the last game have covered for a lot of previous issues, and just made the game more fun in general.Tears of the Kingdomhas earned all its praise, but it’s not immune to criticism either.
It’s safe to say thatbringing back shrines inTOTKwas wise, because they feature some of the game’s best challenges. Similar to their role inBreath of the Wild, the shrines that Link can enter throughout Hyrule have different challenges that he needs to overcome for a reward. These shrines can be likened to big puzzles or obstacle courses, and they’re a good way to include some fun side challenges for Link to tackle over the course of his adventure. Some of these shrines act as a tutorial for new abilities that Link gains, and these shrines may be the most contentious of the bunch.
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Tears of the Kingdom’s Easiest Shrines Are Helpful, but Have a Flaw
These tutorial-styled shrines are among thefirst shrines players should face inTOTKdue to their nature. The benefit that they serve is obvious. After a player gets a new ability, these shrines act as a way to help the player learn how to use it. This is accomplished through a short series of puzzles that require said power to complete. For example, after Link gains the Ultrahand ability, the Ukouh shrine shows them how to use it to move obstacles and build bridges. These shrines play the valuable role of easing players into new mechanics, rather than letting them go unexplained.
Unfortunately, the simplicity of these shrines also manages to be a downside.Tears of the Kingdomis an open-world game, so there’s no guarantee that players will find each shrine in the expected order. Some shrines that were meant to be discovered early may not be discovered until the late game. It can be disappointing to expect a serious challenge, only for it to be an easy test of an ability that the player mastered dozens of hours ago. While not every shrine can be a serious challenge, such steep sudden drops in the difficulty curve can break the game’s momentum at an inopportune time.
If there is athreequel toTOTKandBOTW, there’s a trick that could get these shrines out of the way quickly. One way would be to confine such simplistic shrines to take place immediately after the player gets the item or power in question, ensuring an immediate pass. After all,Tears of the Kingdomdid this with its first three shrines. In addition, having the tutorial puzzle take place immediately after receiving an item or power rather than a separate shrine could ensure that such simple puzzles are out of the way quickly.
Shrines were an amazing addition toThe Legend of Zelda, and hopefully they return in the next game.Tears of the Kingdom’s hardest shrinesprovide some of its most satisfying challenges, and the feature as a whole is a success. The way that the game’s easiest shrines are handled just needs to be tweaked a bit. There’s nothing wrong with having a few simple shrines to challenge in the early game. Overall,Tears of the Kingdom’s simplest shrines are a good idea, but they could have been executed a little better.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available now for the Nintendo Switch.
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