Breath of the Wild vs Tears of the Kingdom: which should you play?

A hill on the far side of a lake. A strange light on a cliff. A path you meant to follow before something else caught your eye. Both of these Zelda games make small acts of curiosity feel worth your time.

The choice is how much you want between you and that next discovery. Breath of the Wild gives you a lean set of tools and lets the land do much of the work. Tears of the Kingdom adds more places, more powers, and far more ways to make your own answer.

My pick for a first visit is Breath of the Wild. Its clear focus makes it easier to settle into Hyrule. If you already know that world, or the thought of making a flying cart appeals to you, choose Tears of the Kingdom.

Breath of the Wild vs Tears of the Kingdom at a glance

What you want	The better fit
A first trip through this Hyrule	Breath of the Wild
Vehicles, odd weapons, and room to build	Tears of the Kingdom
Fewer menus and systems to learn	Breath of the Wild
More places above and below the land	Tears of the Kingdom
A quieter sense of being alone	Breath of the Wild
A familiar world with new routes	Tears of the Kingdom

Neither choice is wrong. The two games share a great deal, but more features do not always make a better game for a given player. A busy map can be a treat or a burden. It depends on what keeps you playing.

What both games ask you to do

You play as Link, travel across Hyrule, and help its people while working toward a much larger threat. Most of the time, you choose the route. You can follow a main quest, seek a shrine, hunt for gear, or simply set off toward a shape on the horizon.

Both are open world games built around small choices. Climb now or walk around? Spend a good weapon on this foe or sneak past? Cook a meal for the cold or find warmer clothes? A little planning can turn a hard trip into a safe one.

Stamina limits how long you can climb and glide. Weather affects travel. Many weapons wear out and break. Shrines mix short puzzles with tests of skill. These are not games where one route and one set of gear carry you through every task.

If those ideas sound tiring, Tears of the Kingdom will not remove them. Its new tools change how you solve problems, but the core loop remains. The sequel asks you to gather, think, try, and adjust, just as Breath of the Wild does.

For a more guided Zelda game, look through our best Zelda games for different kinds of players. A shorter or more directed adventure may suit you better than either open world.

The open world: a first view or a fresh layer?

Breath of the Wild makes the land the main event

Breath of the Wild begins on the Great Plateau. That opening gives you room to learn before you leave for the wider world. The land below soon becomes a string of choices: a tower, a village, a ridge, a road.

Its appeal is easy to miss in a feature list. Empty space gives a distant sight more weight. A long walk makes a warm stable feel like a small reward. You have room to notice the shape of the land rather than chase one marker after another.

This is the strongest reason to start here. You only get one first look at this version of Hyrule. Breath of the Wild lets that look carry much of the adventure. It is my choice if you want to explore at your own pace without learning a large set of crafting tools.

Tears of the Kingdom gives familiar places new uses

Tears of the Kingdom returns to the same broad setting. It adds sky islands, caves, and the Depths, a vast region below the surface. Familiar landmarks can help you find your way, but they do not tell you everything that waits there now.

In Nintendo's discussion of the expanded world, the team explains how caves and travel between the land and skies changed its design. That shift matters more than a claim that the map is simply bigger.

You can look at a high ledge and think about a ceiling, a falling rock, or a machine. The sky islands offer trips between scattered pieces of land. The Depths change the mood again, asking you to think about light and safe routes.

Choose Tears of the Kingdom if you enjoy finding new uses for a place you know. Choose Breath of the Wild if a completely fresh landscape matters most. Playing the sequel first may make some later discoveries in the previous game feel less surprising.

Would you rather solve a puzzle or build the answer?

Both games reward creative thought. Their game mechanics give that thought a different shape.

Breath of the Wild has a compact set of early powers. You can move metal objects, make ice pillars, stop certain objects for a short time, and use remote bombs. The fun comes from spotting how a familiar tool can work in a new place.

Tears of the Kingdom puts more of the design in your hands. Ultrahand lets Link move and join objects. Fuse adds materials to weapons, shields, and arrows. Ascend lets him pass through suitable ceilings. Recall sends an object back along its recent path.

Nintendo's guide to Link's powers shows what each one does. Together, they give you more ways to cross gaps, reach high ground, and deal with enemies.

A bridge can be a few planks. A cart can become a vehicle with Zonai devices. A shield can do more than block. The clever part is that the same object may solve a travel problem one moment and a fight the next.

That freedom has a cost. You spend time choosing parts, turning them, and seeing whether your idea works. Sometimes a machine tips over. Sometimes the simple path would have been faster. If the failed attempt is still fun to you, the sequel is a strong fit.

If you dislike building stuff, Breath of the Wild is the safer buy. You do not need a huge machine for each task in Tears of the Kingdom. But building is part of its puzzles and travel. You should want to try the tools, not merely put up with them.

Do not judge your own ideas against elaborate clips online. A rough raft that gets Link across a river has done its job. You do not need to turn a game into a design contest.

Combat and weapons: more choice, more upkeep

Breath of the Wild asks you to make good use of what you find. A bow, a shield, a spear, and a heavy weapon offer different ways to approach a camp. You can use height or the land itself to gain an edge.

Weapons break in both games. Did that spoil Breath of the Wild for you? Do not buy Tears of the Kingdom expecting the rule to go away. The sequel gives you more control over what a weapon becomes, rather than an end to wear.

Fuse makes that trade more interesting. Materials can add power or different effects. A weak base weapon may become useful with the right part. Loot from enemies has a more direct role in what you take into the next fight.

For players who enjoy testing gear, that is a good thing. For players who want to draw a sword and move on, it can feel like extra work. There are more choices in the menus and more reasons to keep track of materials.

The Master Sword does not turn either adventure into a game where you can forget gear. Treat it as part of your kit, not a reason to ignore the wider combat system. Nor does owning a famous sword replace learning when to block, dodge, or leave a fight.

I favor Tears of the Kingdom for players who like to solve fights in odd ways. I favor Breath of the Wild for those who want fewer steps between finding equipment and using it.

Dungeons and shrines have a different feel

The Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild are large moving structures. Their puzzles often ask you to understand the whole space, then change part of it to reach a new point. They share a strong visual style.

That makes the Divine Beasts feel like parts of one lost system. It can also make them feel less distinct from each other than some players would like. If you want each dungeon to have its own look, that shared style may be a drawback.

Tears of the Kingdom gives its main dungeons clearer regional themes. Nintendo describes that design choice in its world interview. The result is a stronger sense that a dungeon belongs to the place around it.

Yet neither game is a straight return to the tightly ordered dungeon route of older games. Your broad tool set often lets you approach a problem in more than one way. If a strict sequence of keys and new items is what you want, read our Twilight Princess version comparison before choosing.

Shrines provide shorter tasks in both adventures. They are useful stopping points when you have only a little time to play. In Tears of the Kingdom, many also teach you to think with the new powers. A lesson learned in one small room can help on a much larger trip.

Story and memories, without the spoilers

Breath of the Wild builds much of its story around a past that Link must piece together. Memories fill gaps as you explore. The threat of Calamity Ganon is clear, but you have room to decide when to face it.

That structure suits the lonely mood. You see traces of what happened before you learn the full story behind them. It can also feel sparse if you want frequent scenes and a fixed sequence of dramatic events.

Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel. Princess Zelda, returning people, and familiar places carry more weight if you know the previous game. You can follow its main goal without having finished Breath of the Wild, but some connections will mean less.

The Dragon Tears quest reveals memories in the sequel. Do you want the story in order? Follow its clues. Do not open every memory as soon as you spot it. Free travel can reveal a late part of a tale before an earlier one.

Neither title needs plot spoilers to sell its strengths. Avoid watching complete story summaries merely to choose between them. If you plan to play both, release order is the cleanest route.

Side quests and the pace of a session

Breath of the Wild gives small tasks space to breathe. A side quest can lead you toward a part of the world you might have missed. You may finish very little of the main story in an evening and still feel that you found something worthwhile.

Tears of the Kingdom has more competing pulls. A cave, a sky route, a building task, and a village problem may all catch your eye during one trip. That is appealing if you love changing plans. It is less appealing if a growing task list makes you feel behind.

You do not need to clear every marker in either game. Pick a goal for the session, then let yourself stop. Trying to collect everything on a first playthrough can drain the fun from a world built to reward curiosity.

If you finished Breath of the Wild recently, leave some space before starting Tears of the Kingdom. The shared landscape and routines may feel fresher after a break. There is no prize for turning two huge adventures into one long checklist.

Price and which edition to buy

Compare the same kind of copy before judging value. A used base-game cartridge, a digital download, and a Switch 2 Edition are different purchases. A low price for an upgrade pack does not include the base game.

Check the current offers for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom before paying. Nintendo's US listing for Tears of the Kingdom shows a regular price of $69.99. Sales, used copies, and regional prices can differ.

Both games have Nintendo Switch releases and enhanced Switch 2 Editions. The upgrades improve how the games run and look. Each keeps its own powers and world. Breath of the Wild does not become Tears of the Kingdom.

If you already own a base game, check your upgrade access before buying a full edition again. Our Zelda Switch 2 upgrade review explains pack costs, membership access, and which changes matter for a replay.

Do not buy new hardware solely because you cannot decide which Zelda game to start. Make the game choice first, then compare the cost of playing it on the system you have. Spend less on a game you want to play. A costly edition is poor value if you feel obliged to like it.

Which Zelda game should you play first?

Choose Breath of the Wild for a clear first step

Buy Breath of the Wild if you are new to this Hyrule. It also suits players who want fewer tools and more focus on the world. It gives the sequel's returning places more meaning and leaves you room to grow into the series.

It is also the better fit if building does not appeal to you. A game can be less crowded with features and still be the one you would rather play.

Play Tears of the Kingdom for more room to experiment

Choose Tears of the Kingdom if you have already enjoyed Breath of the Wild and want new ways to explore. Buy it for the freedom to make things and change plans. Joining tools in a new way can feel like an idea that is yours alone.

You can start here if those powers are what drew you in. Just accept that returning to Breath of the Wild later will mean giving some of them up.

For a new player who wants both, my order stays the same: Breath of the Wild first, a break, then Tears of the Kingdom. Let the first adventure be a place you discover. Let the second be a place you learn to reshape.