I can play Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom fearlessly, thanks to Elden Ring

I didn’t expect to get sucked into Tears of the Kingdom – The Legend of Zelda so quickly. I’ve spent the majority of my 50 hours plowing through the Depths and taking out the Yiga Clan, tearing through Bokoblin camps as I explore the game’s overworld, and refusing to shy away from any Frox or Flux Construct I find. It’s a completely different approach from the way I played The Legend of Zelda Breath of the WildI was initially shocked by the play style.

My newfound confidence is at least partially thanks to Link’s new skills, particularly Fuse, which lets me combine items and weapons, like adding bomb flowers to arrows or sticking elemental crystals onto swords. It could have been the time I spent on the computer. Elden RingLast year I wrote about how the game changed my view on games that have open worlds and fearsome enemies.

The first time I delayed the playing Breath Of The Wild until 2018, saving it for a 14-hour flight to see family in Taiwan — at which point it had been declared 2017’s game of the year at numerous outlets, including Polygon. The game was also, evidently, accessible to newcomers — a statement that foolishly made me think it would be easy. I was actually intimidated, unable to use the same strategies I’d historically relied on when playing open-world games, because I’d historically mostly played RPGs: I typically avoid head-on combat, preferring to rely on stealth traits instead. I choose thief or ranger classes — ones that let me backstab and steal, or shoot from a safe vantage point. You can read more about it here. SkyrimI am the best at sneaking, picking pockets, archery and conjuring. Let Atronachs handle my dirty work and I then sell stolen items for profit. If you want to make money, then it’s important that you understand how the system works. Divinity Original Sin 2,Playing as two characters: one as a Ranger, the other as an Rogue.

In the fantasy city bowels, I spent years acting as a disgusting rat. Breath Of The WildI felt empty and vast, but full of unexpected and random threats. The Bokoblins and Chuchus would encamp in the fields I ran across. As I approached them, I found that my weapons had broken and was reluctant to use the bow, which would have burned through my five remaining arrows. Even worse was the nightfall, which brought with it more skeletal opponents, many of whom reassembled themselves after I scattered their bones in the wind. Fighting random creatures, with sticks that were constantly breaking, I felt as if I were running in circles. Every time I got comfortable with the weapon I was using, I’d suddenly have to find a new one.

Thankfully, I powered through those first few hours, collected my paraglider, left the Great Plateau, and made my way into the game’s massive open world. Here’s when Breath Of The WildThe adventure became more appealing to me and I was able to spend hundreds of hours on it. I found secret passageways, scaled mountains and jumped from ledges. Even though I was hopelessly addicted to the game, it wasn’t until I had no choice but to fight enemies that I actually fought them. And even when I did, sometimes I just gave up. I was repeatedly frustrated by Bokoblins. Because I was constantly running into the Yiga Clan, I stopped speaking to people on footpaths.

I kept expecting the game to get easier — and yes, exploration got easier as I grew my stamina wheel — but even with more hearts, combat continued to be difficult, verging on inscrutable. I’d try to sneak past enemies, but I’d panic when groups of them ran toward me, and fast travel somewhere else just to get out of fights. While I did manage to make it through several of the Divine Beasts temples, my interest in the bosses was waning. I didn’t feel much incentive to mess with them; the entire game’s map was available regardless, and I could spend countless hours unpacking its mysteries. Although beating the bosses could reward me in terms of story details and power, I was happy to live without those.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

While I love much of what I do, it is not enough to mention that there are some things which I dislike. Breath Of The WildI didn’t replay it before the event Tears Of The Kingdom. I went to Tears Of The Kingdom assuming I’d enjoy it as much as Breath Of The WildThe word ‘which is to say’ to a point, and then I’d call it a day — I was ready to live vicariously through others’ stories of taking down Lynels or Stone Taluses. In the end, I spent many hours playing Tears Of The KingdomIt clicked instantly. My weapons cache, which I had accumulated over the course of about twenty hours, was full of lethal Zonai swords and Shields along with the most ungodly combinations. Far from fearing the Depths, I dove headfirst into every chasm I could find, sometimes running around in pure darkness because I didn’t feel like wasting brightbloom seeds.

As I reflected on the hundreds of hours I’ve spent with Elden RingSome of it was pure exposure to aesthetics and textures: I already loved a silent protagonist, but now that I’ve played a game with challenging combat system. It was partly due to my exposure to aesthetics and textures. I loved silent protagonists, but Elden Ring’s vast open spaces and varied climates helped me love the solitude of such exploration. But Elden RingMe turning into someone who is not afraid of danger or who does so in the shadows, but who instead runs straight toward it.

Part of this is thanks to boss placement on the game’s world map. Although, Elden Ring’s map is also quite open, many of the game’s bosses were at key chokepoints — and it was obvious what advantages I’d gain in slaying them. I needed that rune payload in an amount otherwise difficult to find. It’s more than that Elden Ring gave me what I jokingly call “video game nihilism,” which is to say that it made me embrace my character dying repeatedly. Elden RingIt is important to understand that your bosses will be difficult to work with. In fact, many of the attempts you make to win them over are more instructional than anything else.

The Dying of the Light Elden RingThe game is also very funny. The minute your maidenless ass tastes death, “You Died” floats across the screen, as you enjoy watching your character getting mauled by knights, or an enormous lobster, or a pack of wolves, or some birds with knives on their feet. Elden RingAnd I’ve got a lot of respect for the weird little guys who are out to get you. I’m a fan of the weird little dudes who want you dead. Tears Of The Kingdom is absolutely overflowing with weird little dudes, including Yiga Clan members who I now call “those bitches who want to kick your ass clan”— notably Master Kohga and his many vehicles — and who I now love fighting.

Thanks to this paradigm shift, I’ve been more willing to throw myself at bosses in Tears Of The KingdomJust to find out what the deal is. I’m less frustrated when a boss absolutely reams me because I know each attempt teaches me something new — a new attack pattern to exploit, a new material to attach using Fuse. Sometimes it just teaches me that I’m not strong enough yet, and that’s useful, too. (Or, if I’ve wasted a precious material in a boss fight and determined it wasn’t worth it, I can just accept death and restart the fight.) It’s been an absolute delight finally getting to see, firsthand, the silly attack formations that boss Bokoblins and their cronies take on, or the cool phases of a tough Flux Construct battle, or to stumble on Evermeans and take them out with a nice thwack of an ax.

I’ve also found failure so much funnier when playing Tears Of The Kingdom. Zonai devices have either blown up, sent me in unfortunate directions, or not worked. There’s a bleak comedy to Link dying in Tears Of The Kingdom. Wizzrobes cheer over the corpse of a Wizzrobe, and I’ve seen their bodies tumble down steep cliff sides while they shout his signature AaAAhhaAahhA falling death yelp. A “Game Over” screen comes up, and when I return to the game, the map marks where I died with a red X labeled “RIP.” Lol. Lmao.

Because I’m finally taking on these bosses, I have stronger weapons, more arrows, and better armor. I’ve also expanded my stamina wheel and added more hearts by completing shrines — but I finally have the kit that makes me feel more powerful as I fight my way through Hyrule, whether in the sky, the surface, or the Depths. When I defeated Colgera, a new skill was granted to me. In retrospect, it feels mind-numbingly dumb. Naturally, I’ve never acquired good tools. Breath Of The Wild. I fled from anyone who would drop them. Then I’ve got. Elden RingThank you for making me finally realize that I can simply confront these threats directly.