I’m no grump, but I’m not excited about ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’

wegotthiscovered.com:

It’s Friday, May 12, and while the rest of the world takes to the skies of a newly renovated Hyrule in the blockbuster mega-hit The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I’m sitting in a café, drinking an iced Matcha latte, contemplating why I don’t feel the need to join them. The Legend of Zelda has been my favorite franchise since childhood; memories of being psychologically scarred by ReDeads in Ocarina of Time and stealing the official Twilight Princess guide to help me through the game’s difficult (but incredible) dungeons sit fondly within my heart. When Breath of the Wild came out in 2017, I pulled an all-nighter playing it alongside my best friend while we both explored the desolate Hyrule on our shiny, new Nintendo Switch consoles. But after putting dozens of hours into the game, I inexplicably stopped playing, only opening the software a spare few times over the next six years. 

It’s difficult for me to pin down what exactly happened. Was it exhaustion? A steadily-growing disinterest? The allure of a newer, shinier game? All were equally possible, as long games tire out my focus, and newer experiences — from Super Mario Odyssey to Hollow Knight to Hades — beckoned my attention. Still, the inkling to jump back into Hyrule was rarely indulged — or outright rejected when I would realize (again and again) that I simply forgot how to play the game during my time away. It was difficult to enjoy roaming the rolling hills when monsters could easily ruin my day while I struggled to remember how to fight back. 

I thought everything would change when Tears of the Kingdom — originally blatantly called The Sequel to Breath of the Wild, which has a nice ring to it —  was announced at E3 2019. The trailer was darker, the world