The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Elden Ring are similar at first glance, both being open-world titles with plenty of opportunity for exploration, but they continue to display parallels even upon closer inspection. One specific element from the Breath of the Wild sequel seems to have taken a page out of Elden Ring's book, and the game is all the better for it.
After all, Tears of the Kingdom is shaping up to be a serious contender for 2023 Game of the Year. Scoring a perfect five stars in Screen Rant's own Tears of the Kingdom review - and receiving similar praise with other outlets - its success so far looks to be on par with Elden Ring, which was crowned Game of the Year in 2022. It wouldn't be surprising to see TOTK win the title, considering Breath of the Wild was 2017's Game of the Year, too. However, it seems that Tears of the Kingdom was willing to learn not just from its predecessor, but also from other titles, like Elden Ring.
Tears Of The Kingdom's Caves Are Like Elden Ring's Dungeons
In their structure and design, Tears of the Kingdom's caves seem inspired by Elden Ring's dungeons. The FromSoftware title boasts dozens of weaving dungeons, which contain puzzles, unique boss battles, beautifully-designed environments, and more; no two Elden Ring dungeons are quite the same. While Nintendo would have had an easier time copy-and-pasting bland, basic areas (considering the developer reused BOTW's assets), the caves in Tears of the Kingdom are surprisingly complex and fun to explore. They contain valuable resources and shiny treasures, but also genuinely engaging gameplay that's reward enough on its own. Each cave in TOTK is a unique, puzzle-filled adventure that's actually memorable and enjoyable.
Tears Of The Kingdom's Caves Benefit Overall Integrity
For a game that's focused mainly on sky exploration (and the Depths, a bit later into the story), having such thought put into side content is refreshing. Oftentimes, open-world titles glaze over such optional areas, creating overly linear and monotonous experiences for the sake of additional gameplay. Like Elden Ring, TOTK strays from this harmful philosophy and puts character into its caves. As a result, the open-world format of Tears of the Kingdom's map feels far more fulfilling, since players actually feel incentivized to explore - and they feel excited to stumble across a new location, for reasons other than just extra loot.
TOTK's cave system feels like a small study in Elden Ring's fantastic dungeon design, and the gameplay experience is better for it. There are still some things that the latter does more successfully than the former (and vice versa), but it looks like the two can certainly continue to learn from one another. In fact, it might not be a bad idea for FromSoft to take a page or two out of Nintendo's book for the upcoming DLC. But for now, it's promising enough to see that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has taken note of one of Elden Ring's most important lessons.
Source: BLAINES/YouTube