In each one, Link learns something new about his abilities or how Zonai devices work that have a practical application in the open world. That’s enough on its own to improve the shrine formula, but there’s something that impresses me even more: Every single shrine in Tears of the Kingdom is secretly a tutorial. It’s present anytime I break into a Moblin base with a makeshift airship or whenever I grind my way over a rail by strapping a minecart to my shield. That sensation isn’t just in shrines either. Whenever I pull off a clearly unintended trick, it makes me feel like the world’s greatest engineering genius. The entire game challenges players to outsmart the developers, creating ingenious solutions to their puzzles. This isn’t a bug or an oversight it’s exactly what Tears of the Kingdom wants you to do.

I have no idea what I was supposed to do, but that didn’t stop me from claiming my blessing of light. In another puzzle, I simply placed a ball on the edge of a platform and ascended through it.

That would allow me to raise it to an upper level I could climb to via ladder and walk it across the waterway. I fused every plank of wood I could find together and attached the ball to the end of it. Rather than trying to figure out the intended solution, I decided to create my own. In one shrine, I had to get a ball across a river on a boat, but the current was working against me. That’s thanks to Tears of the Kingdom’s powerful crafting systems, which allow Link to create inventive solutions to problems. One big difference, though, is that shrines don’t always have one set solution. Even combat-focused shrines have specific gimmicks this time, testing players’ mastery of specific item fusions or environmental interactions. One has players solving puzzles using buoyancy physics, while another has them ascending their way to the top of a rotating cube. Each one functions like a Portal test chamber built around a specific gameplay mechanic or theme. Tears of the Kingdom’s shrines aren’t much different from Breath of the Wild’s on paper.

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