Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players praise “improved” Shrine puzzles

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players have praised the game’s Shrines, stating how the puzzles are a vast improvement from Breath of the Wild. 

Ever since their introduction in Breath of the Wild, Shrines have been a divisive talking point within the Zelda community. This is largely down to them feeling like watered-down versions of dungeons and temples, which have taken a backseat when compared to earlier games. 

However, many fans believe that Tears of the Kingdom has vastly improved upon Shrines. Not only can the game’s puzzles be solved in different ways, but the added creativity offered by Ultrahand and Fuse has led to more whacky interactions. 

After all, with 120 Shrines dotted around Hyrule and the Sky Islands, having a large amount of variety is incredibly important. Fortunately, Tears of the Kingdom’s community believes Nintendo has made these once-controversial features a lot more palatable. 

Tears of the Kingdom players praise improved Shrine design 

“I am definitely enjoying these shrines so much more,” said one player. “I would get sick of BotW shrines and dreaded doing them, I’d mostly just look up the walkthrough so I could get it over and done with. But, I find solving the new ones so much more interesting. And it feels like the puzzles you’re solving are relevant to and give you ideas on how to use the abilities on the outside.”

Many commenters have noted how Tears of the Kingdom’s Shrines offer a lot more freedom thanks to Link’s new abilities. In fact, the Ultrahand feature offers huge amounts of freedom when it comes to creating the devices needed to solve puzzles. 

“It feels more like they’ve built puzzles and new types of mechanics to work with the new physics systems, said another player. “Most of the puzzles don’t have an obvious correct solution, and it’s clear that there are multiple ways you could approach them from the outset.”

So far, social media has been filled with the Tears of the Kingdom community showcasing their creations. From anti-dragon weapons that kill Gleeoks in seconds to high-flying space rockets, it’s clear Nintendo’s latest Zelda game has improved upon the sheer freedom seen in Breath of the Wild.