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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Released 12 May 2023 Developer Nintendo EPD Publisher Nintendo

Link explores a Hyrule that now has floating sky islands and a dark underground layer, using new abilities to build vehicles and contraptions from parts he finds while he searches for Zelda. It is a very large single-player action-adventure with fantasy combat, aimed at players who enjoy open-ended exploration and puzzle-solving.

Money health FairPay clearly, know the ceiling
Addictive design None0 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price A$89.95Nintendo eShop (AU)
Spending ceiling Has a ceilingEverything costs A$89.95
Australian rating ACBMFantasy themes and violence

How it makes money

Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling

A one-off purchase: A$89.95 on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch, with no paid DLC, in-game currency or in-game store. Owners can optionally move to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for a A$20 upgrade pack (free for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members), or buy that edition outright for A$109.95. The Switch 2 version improves resolution, frame rate and HDR support rather than adding a new game.

How you pay

  • Editions

    The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (June 2025) is sold as a A$20 upgrade pack for existing owners or A$109.95 as the full edition; the upgrade pack is free with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

    minor part of the game
  • Pay once

    A$89.95 on the Nintendo eShop for the whole game. There is no DLC, in-game store or currency.

What it costs

Price: A$89.95 · everything A$89.95

WhatWherePriceChecked
Standard Nintendo eShop (AU) · Switch A$89.95 Oct 2026
Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Full game plus the Switch 2 upgrade.		 Nintendo eShop (AU) · Switch 2 A$109.95 Oct 2026
Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack
For owners of the Switch version; free with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.		 Nintendo eShop (AU) · Switch 2 A$20 Oct 2026

Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.

Reviews from across the web

What the critics said

95OpenCritic
Mighty 96Metacritic
Metascore
  • 10/ 10

    IGN

    Tom Marks · 11 May 2023 · Switch

    Finds that the sequel stretches an already full world far beyond what players would have expected.

  • 10/ 10

    GameSpot

    Steve Watts · 11 May 2023 · Switch

    Praises its open-ended design as one that respects the series' history and sometimes goes beyond it.

  • 9.8/ 10

    Game Informer

    Kyle Hilliard · 11 May 2023 · Switch

    Likes how the new abilities, especially building with Ultrahand, make a familiar Hyrule feel inventive, while admitting the first game's sense of discovery is harder to recapture.

  • 10/ 10

    Nintendo Life

    Alana Hagues · 11 May 2023 · Switch

    Calls it a confident sequel with enough to do to fill hundreds of hours.

Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.

Age ratings & content

What's in it

Content labels

  • Violencemoderate

    Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.

    From ACB, ESRB and PEGI descriptors
  • Mature themesmoderate

    Crime, cruelty, death, suicide and self-harm, discrimination, and crude humour.

    From ACB descriptors
  • Sex & nuditymild

    Sexual references, innuendo, sexualised imagery, nudity and sex scenes.

    From ESRB descriptors

Classification

ACBM

Australian Classification · record

Fantasy themes and violence

ESRBE10+

ESRB (North America) · record

Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

PEGI12

PEGI (Europe)

Violence

Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards

Safety & parental controls

Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?

  • No chat
  • No contact with strangers
  • No user-made content
  • No account needed

Single-player only: there is no online play, chat or user-made content, so no contact with other players. Rated M in Australia (recommended for ages 15 and over, not legally restricted) for fantasy themes and violence, while the US ESRB rates it E10+. A Nintendo Switch Online membership is only needed for cloud saves; the Zelda Notes companion app is optional.

Who makes it

The company behind it, and its track record

Nintendo

Developer and publisher · Kyoto, Japan · founded 1889

  • Labour dispute

    Labour dispute

    US National Labor Relations Board, 2022: unfair-labour-practice charge by a fired contract tester settled for $25,910 plus union-rights notices.
  • Shut down paid games

    Shut down games people paid for

    Nintendo, March 2023 and April 2024: closed the Wii U and 3DS eShops, then ended online play for 3DS and Wii U software.
  • Competition law

    Competition-law action

    European Commission, October 2002: fined Nintendo €149 million for colluding with distributors to block cheaper cross-border sales (1991 to 1998); reduced to €119.2 million by the EU Court of First Instance in April 2009.
  • Publishes odds

    Publishes drop odds

    Nintendo, August 2019: said it would require drop-rate disclosure for paid random items in Switch games.

Latest on the record

  1. Court case

    Brazilian first-instance court ordered R$5 million in loot-box damages, subject to appeal

    Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Technical Note 55/2026)
  2. Game preservation

    Nintendo replaced Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp with a paid offline version

    Eurogamer
  3. Game preservation

    Nintendo closed the Wii U and 3DS eShops and later ended their online play

    Nintendo

Nintendo: full profile and track record →

A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records

Platforms & release

Where you can play it

PlatformReleasedStore
Nintendo Switch 2
Switch 2 Edition; the Switch version also runs on Switch 2.		 5 June 2025 Store page
Nintendo Switch 12 May 2023 Store page

Further reading

Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: www.nintendo.com, www.nintendo.com, api.ec.nintendo.com, www.esrb.org, www.metacritic.com, opencritic.com, en.wikipedia.org. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.