The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally here. In a rarity for the Zelda series, this is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild. That may be daunting if you never caught up with the 2017 game, or if you’ve just forgotten much of the story. So can you play Tears of the Kingdom if you aren’t familiar with Breath of the Wild?
To put it simply, yes. Tears of the Kingdom stands on its own, without any prior knowledge of the Breath of the Wild continuity, or even of the Zelda series itself.
Most Zelda games take advantage of the loose “legend” concept, with their own standalone stories that feature a few shared touchstones: Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, the Master Sword, etc. Usually the Link and Zelda we meet in a Legend of Zelda game are the latest in a long line of heroes and princesses who have risen over the ages. Tears of the Kingdom instead features a returning cast of characters, most notably the same iteration of Link and Zelda that we’ve seen before.
That said, the story is standalone. Returning characters are given a proper introduction, and the plot itself does not rely on remembering the events of the previous game.
If you do want to refresh your memory or get caught up before playing Tears of the Kingdom, though, we have you covered. Check out our full Breath of the Wild story recap. And for more on Tears of the Kingdom, be sure to read what critics are saying, including GameSpot’s own 10/10 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally here. In a rarity for the Zelda series, this is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild. That may be daunting if you never caught up with the 2017 game, or if you’ve just forgotten much of the story. So can you play Tears of the Kingdom if you aren’t familiar with Breath of the Wild?
To put it simply, yes. Tears of the Kingdom stands on its own, without any prior knowledge of the Breath of the Wild continuity, or even of the Zelda series itself.
Most Zelda games take advantage of the loose “legend” concept, with their own standalone stories that feature a few shared touchstones: Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, the Master Sword, etc. Usually the Link and Zelda we meet in a Legend of Zelda game are the latest in a long line of heroes and princesses who have risen over the ages. Tears of the Kingdom instead features a returning cast of characters, most notably the same iteration of Link and Zelda that we’ve seen before.
That said, the story is standalone. Returning characters are given a proper introduction, and the plot itself does not rely on remembering the events of the previous game.
If you do want to refresh your memory or get caught up before playing Tears of the Kingdom, though, we have you covered. Check out our full Breath of the Wild story recap. And for more on Tears of the Kingdom, be sure to read what critics are saying, including GameSpot’s own 10/10 Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.