The first The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom vs Breath of the Wild comparison video has been released, comparing the visuals and performance of both games to each other.
With reviews for the highly-anticipated sequel now dropping, we also have the very first tech comparison video, showing both Tears of the Kingdom and its prequel, 2017’s Breath of the Wild, running on the Nintendo Switch. As you might have guessed, this video is courtesy of ‘ElAnalistaDebits‘, and highlights both the improvements and setbacks in Tears of the Kingdom compared to Breath of the Wild.
As can be seen in this comparison video, Tears of the Kingdom runs in dynamic 900p in docked mode, and dynamic 720p in handheld mode. As already noted in our review, there are some framerate dips (drops of up to 20fps) when the Switch is tasked heavily in areas with much graphic load. Interesting to note is that with Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo appears to have fixed the stuttering issues that were present in some areas in Breath of the Wild.
In addition, Tears of the Kingdom benefits from lower drawing distances in shadows as well as slightly improved vegetation and geometry level of detail. Also, loading times have been improved while fast-traveling, but Breath of the Wild benefits from faster loading while starting the game. Interestingly, Breath of the Wild also has additional grass density in some areas compared to the Tears of the Kingdom. We’ve added some more details from the comparison video below, per the creator of this video:
- The sun has changed its position in TOTK. The general illumination has been retouched and improved.
- Some areas are almost unrecognizable with respect to BOTW given the large amount of assets and new structures added.
- Improvements in some textures.
- Less grass density in some areas with respect to BOTW.
- Faster loading times in TOTK in fast travel, but faster in BOTW when starting the game.
- Improved water and splash quality.
– Overall, TOTK is some of the most technically meritorious games I’ve seen on Switch. However, the performance at certain times tarnishes the experience considerably.
Check out the Tears of the Kingdom vs Breath of the Wild comparison video below and judge for yourself.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases globally tomorrow for the Switch. Here’s what we wrote about this gem in our launch review:
“Of course, Hyrule itself has also changed, with one of the smaller-sounding changes actually being one of the most significant”, Nathan Birch wrote. “The Sheikah Towers from Breath of the Wild have been replaced by a new set of towers that aren’t just in new locations but literally shoot Link into the sky like a giant circus cannon. This not only lets you get a lay of the land, but it allows you to glide nearly anywhere once you boost your stamina enough. The new towers, combined with your Ultrahand building ability, almost trivializes exploration. Add the fact that the intimidating Guardians are no longer lurking around, and that feeling of danger you got from BotW, that every new discovery is truly earned, is sometimes missing.”
