So I’ve been really into Tears of the Kingdom lately and I know that I’m playing it wrong.

What I mean by this is that the game has mechanics that are all centered around using gadgets, tools or combining weapons with other items to give them unique characteristics or just stronger. I’m not doing any of that though. I mainly stick to very basic contraptions and I’m hoarding all my items, not because I’m saving them up, I just don’t have any fun ideas on how to use them. I think this is why it took me so long to even start this game. I’d see people online post these crazy death machines and I just knew I didn’t have it in me to do that.

I can tell I’m missing out on something, but I’m honestly okay with it. This game is still really impressive and I can tell Nintendo knows when you need a little assistance when building something. Sometimes, you’ll be at a puzzle in the open world and nearby you’ll have a bunch of free tools to build something with. This solves two things, one it helps me if I haven’t been hoarding these tools and now need them to solve the puzzle. The other is that it gives me a framework, saying with these tools I can build something. If I want I can tweak it and maybe improve on the design Nintendo offered or…take the easy way out and build something that works just well enough.

I do remember one instance where I appreciated the way this game handles these build mechanics. There’s a spot where I needed to build some sort of boat to transport some folks across a lake. I think normally I would just be stuck, or try to build something too complicated or clunky. But the quest put me and the people I needed to ferry right next to some suggested materials. So I was able to just use everything they gave me to build a boat and complete the quest. This did a couple things, it did make me feel smart putting it all together and maybe helped teach me how to do something similar in the future.

All in all, I can tell the game tries to cater to both sides, the super creative folks that want to build the best tool for the job and those like me that just want to get the job done.

I want to keep writing about this game as there are a lot of things that amaze me about it. I think any other game might not have that leeway to fit multiple play styles. So it’s great when a game can do that, but also maybe a good reminder that when a game doesn’t do that, that it’s fine to walk away and find a game more your speed. I’m just glad I didn’t have to walk away from this one.