Early this morning, millions of people around the world rushed to their Nintendo Switch to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and immerse themselves anew in this game’s vast, mythical kingdom of Hyrule.
This fresh release, a sequel to 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, has been long awaited by Zelda fans around the globe, and the subject of breathless coverage in both specialist gaming media and the mainstream press.
So, why is this game such big news – even among those who don’t necessarily see themselves as “gamers”?
I’m a game design researcher focused on creating and developing systems that allow games to be played by anyone – and there cannot be a better example of that than The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.