The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most highly-anticipated game releases of all time, and now it's finally here, fans and game developers are sharing their awe and asking: "how the f*ck" can it even exist? First announced back in 2019, the sequel to Breath of the Wild had big shoes to fill, but it seems to have outperformed players' wildest expectations.
Social media has been awash with praise, gameplay, and memes centered on Link's latest adventure, and game developer Josh Scherr is one of countless players who're still trying to wrap their heads around how the title even exists. Its impressive sandbox gameplay, three complete worlds to explore, and its build mechanics are just a few of the reasons why TOTK is already Metacritic's highest-rated game of the year so far. Scherr, who is the Narrative Director at Crop Circle Games and previously worked for studios including Naughty Dog, tweeted: "Hey Nintendo, quick questions regarding Tears of the Kingdom: how in the f*ck did you make this."
The tweet quickly gained attention from other agreeing developers, prompting Scherr to follow-up complimenting Tears of the Kingdom's performance despite its lofty gameplay elements, noting there's "little to no noticeable jank or breaking the game."
Tears Of The Kingdom Is A Nintendo Switch Miracle
As Scherr and his commenters noted, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom really does perform well - especially considering the limitations of the Nintendo Switch hardware. Nintendo has long been considered to be "falling behind" other modern consoles, with the Switch itself now being seven years into its lifecycle. While current-generation games like February's Hogwarts Legacy are still being released on Switch, players are expecting generally poor performance, low-quality textures, and long load times.
Asking how Tears of the Kingdom exists in such a polished state is a valid question - especially when compared to other big Nintendo releases like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which launched just six months before TOTK and yet were heavily criticized for their performance, quality dips, and poor visuals. Many players put the games' performance issues down to the Switch itself, but it seems Pokémon developer Game Freak just hasn't mastered the formula in the same way the TOTK developers managed.
Of course, TOTK and its impressive visuals and flair do come with a premium, as it's the first Nintendo Switch game to sell for $70, though for lots of players it's well worth the price hike. The game isn't entirely free from bugs and glitches, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom certainly seems to be setting a new high bar for the standard and quality of Nintendo Switch games.