The (New) Joy of Gaming Podcast - Episode ThirtyThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Early-Game Impressions

On this episode of The (New) Joy of Gaming Podcast, we are traveling to Post-Upheaval Hyrule to explore the surface, the sky and the unfathomable depths of what is quite possibly the most anticipated game release in recent memory. Because after 6 years of waiting, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally here, and we couldn’t be more excited to discuss our early-game impressions in this episode. 

We start our discussion relatively spoiler-free, by looking at all of the new features of TOTK, including the completely reworked new arsenal of abilities - Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall - and the three expansive biomes, including the reworked surface, as well as the brand new sky islands and the underground depths. Then we head into full spoilers, including the story beats and characters we’ve encountered, some important tips and tricks, and the weapons, abilities, shrines, temples and quests we’ve each experienced thus far. 

Also on this episode: we cover the latest physical game releases - including some new announcements from Limited Run Games and Super Rare Games - and all of the latest games coming to Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus between now and the end of May.

Run of Show:

00:01 - Podcast Primer

01:13 - Intro and “What’re you buying?” 

18:59 - Brandon’s Physical Games Corner (Limited Run Games, Super Rare Games)

34:34 - Rich’s Digital Picks (Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus)

52:04 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Early-Game Impressions

• Spoiler-Free Impressions
  • Initial thoughts (and how far are we, what have we done so far)
  • What’s the same, what’s different?
  • Major New Mechanics (Ultrahand, Ascend, Fuse, Recall)

  • New Biomes (Surface, Sky, Depths)

• --SPOILERS START AT 1:34:35--
  • Story impressions so far
  • Quests and Strategies
  • Final Thoughts