Few games make feeling lost as fun as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom does. Players might glide off a sky island with a very clear destination in mind, only to veer off course after being intrigued by an undiscovered stable in the distance. Upon reaching said stable, they might run into an eccentric NPC wanting help tracking down their missing goats or finding out what happened to some borrowed farm tools. Before they know it, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has players distracted with something completely different from what they had originally set out to do; for the most inquisitive players, that cycle only perpetuates from there.
Of course, this is a major part of Tears of the Kingdom’s appeal, with it rarely gating its expansive world behind anything but curiosity. After its predecessor introduced the largest map ever made for a mainline Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom took it even further by adding two additional Hyrule-sized layers with its Sky Islands and Depths. However, with all that scale and the endless possibilities contained within it, there’s something to be said of the earlier Zelda games that made exploration feel like a core part of progression, rather than a constant stream of potential detours. The 2006 Zelda classic Twilight Princess, for example, made access to the world feel earned, turning Hyrule into a reward that unfolded over time rather than a massive space immediately open to distraction.
Twilight Princess Made the World Itself a Reward
Unlike Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which grants players near-unlimited access to its entire map almost from the get-go, 2006's Twilight Princess used more of a drip-feed method that caused the world to unfold in stages. At the very beginning, in Ordon Village and Hyrule Field, players didn't have the tools or access to go everywhere right away, and the main overworld had limits that would only disappear as the story advanced. Exploration was possible, but many areas were shadow-locked, blocked, or otherwise inaccessible until certain story beats were reached or specific items were obtained.
Twilight Princess' Forest Temple, for example, granted players the Gale Boomerang, which allowed them to reach new spots and solve overworld puzzles in ways they couldn't before. Later dungeons, like the Temple of Time and others, also advanced both the story and how players would travel across Hyrule. Zelda: Twilight Princess' dungeons functioned as integrated progression checkpoints rather than mere obstacles, making clearing them rewarding from a gameplay standpoint just as much as a narrative standpoint. The unique Wolf Link mechanic also allowed players to follow ghost trails, dig up secrets, and unlock shortcuts or buried doorways that human Link couldn't reach yet, making exploration feel like it had multiple layers to it rather than just being straightforward from the beginning.
How Twilight Princess Justified Its Gating
- The game told players why certain areas were blocked
- Gates were framed as problems to solve rather than walls to bypass
- Gates were removed permanently, not circumvented
- Gating served the narrative rather than the gameplay
It might be challenging to justify world design like this in modern gaming, simply because many players value the freedom that games like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offer them, and artificial gating is generally viewed as a cardinal sin. However, Twilight Princess' gating felt different because it was deeply contextualized, layered, and temporary. Firstly, the game frequently told players why certain areas were blocked, as opposed to merely giving them an invisible wall. Whether the land was corrupted by Twilight, Link wasn't in the right form, or it made sense to the narrative for the area to be temporarily inaccessible, Twilight Princess' gates were rarely unexplained.
Secondly, the game framed its world gates as problems to solve rather than barriers, making Twilight Princess feel like something of a metroidvania at times that still observed the traditions of a Zelda game. If players encountered an impasse while exploring the world, rather than thinking, "I'm not allowed to go there," a "I will fix this later" thought process was more strongly encouraged. Thirdly, each gate was permanently removed and not circumvented. Once a region or dungeon was cleared, players could access the next major region for good, showing the world as something that grows with the player's journey. In turn, they were met with a more fulfilling sense of world progression that coincided with the steady escalation of its story and mechanics.
And finally, Twilight Princess' world gating ultimately served the narrative rather than the gameplay. While games have been known to prevent players from traveling to certain areas simply due to level or skill restrictions, its exploration was walled off in accordance with its story. In the end, this is a major reason why this structure has been remembered fondly by Twilight Princess fans, as it made its exploration feel earned, like it served a greater purpose. And rather than being central to the gameplay, as it is in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Hyrule, it was central to the narrative.
Tears of the Kingdom Treats the World as a Starting Point
Rather than rewarding players with the world itself, Tears of the Kingdom buries its most rewarding elements within the world. If Twilight Princess begins as a closed book ready to be opened, then Tears of the Kingdom is like reading a book backwards. If Twilight Princess is like walking through the buffet line and piling food on a plate, then Tears of the Kingdom is like taking small bites of that food and slowly discerning its ingredients. It's not an inherently bad thing for Tears of the Kingdom to be built this way, but it does change the game significantly from the days of Twilight Princess.
Progressing through Twilight Princess' story is about unlocking parts to a greater whole, while Tears of the Kingdom is about pulling the puzzle apart and thoroughly examining the individual identity of each piece. That means exploration in Tears of the Kingdom is driven more by curiosity than progression. Players are rarely working toward access or waiting for the world to acknowledge their growth, because most of Hyrule is already willing to meet them wherever they are. What is earned instead is familiarity, system mastery, and personal stories born out of detours and experimentation. It creates a powerful sense of freedom, but it also explains why some players look back on Twilight Princess and remember a Hyrule that felt like it was slowly opening its doors in response to their journey, rather than standing wide open from the very start.
Of course, this is absolutely arguing apples and oranges because even though Twilight Princess makes its exploration feel earned and Tears of the Kingdom takes the opposite approach, the latter still makes the act of exploring a more fulfilling experience in the end. The difference is not about which approach is better, but about what each game asks players to value. Twilight Princess ties exploration to momentum, using restraint to make every newly opened stretch of Hyrule feel like a response to progress. Tears of the Kingdom, on the other hand, places its trust in player intrigue, letting meaning emerge through discovery rather than through access. Both succeed on their own terms, but they leave very different impressions. One remembers where they finally arrived, while the other remembers all the unexpected places they wandered along the way.
Twilight Princess' Drip-Fed Exploration Still Holds Value in a Post-TotK World
Ultimately, Twilight Princess stands out among Zelda games and contemporaries not because it restricted players, but because it gave progress purpose. Every newly opened area reinforced the sense that Hyrule was responding to Link's journey rather than simply existing around him. Tears of the Kingdom excels at inviting players to get lost, experiment, and choose their own path, but Twilight Princess is a reminder of a time when seeing more of the world felt like a reward in itself. For players who value that steady sense of arrival and growth, its approach to exploration still holds value nearly two decades later.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
