Tears of the Game Awards

Not sure why I keep getting my hopes up to see something about the next Zelda at the Game Awards year after year... Well, it is mainly because Breath of the Wild had quite the presence at this event: we saw the first ever gameplay at the Game Awards 2014, we got a new trailer at the Game Awards 2016, and The Champions' Ballad was released right after the Game Awards 2017, where Breath of the Wild won game of the years.

Hopefully the last bit will repeat next year, but so far Tears of the Kingdom has been absent from Geoff Keighley's big show, other than being the most anticipated game for 2023. And when you have to sit through Christopher Judge slowly thanking everyone and their mother for existing (which was adorable), you kind of hope that it will lead to something. At least the event was somewhat shorter this time and there have been some huge announcements, just not from Nintendo.

Nintendo has been more concerned about promoting the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is fine and certainly fitting for an event that focuses a lot on the cinematic side of gaming. It looks like fun and I'm going to see it, but... it's not what I'm excited about at the moment.

The other announcements from my favorite video game company also have been laughable. The Bayonetta Origins game looks very cute, but this was surely something for a Nintendo Direct, even when Bayonetta 3 won best action game.

And announcing a day one Expansion Pass for any game will always leave a bad taste in one's mouth, where Fire Emblem Engage is no exception. Bringing back units from previous Fire Emblem games also isn't exactly exciting, when this has been done before... Maybe not as glamorously, but it's something where they could just keep milking the cow once more. Yes, by that I mean that they will bring back Camilla.

Anyway, they are keeping things tight with Tears of the Kingdom. The game will come out in five months and we have seen little about it. On the hand it's not really necessary, because this is not Breath of the Wild – it's the sequel to Breath of the Wild. People already know what kind of gameplay they can expect here and it's better when Nintendo keeps the game close to their chest, instead of spoiling half of it months in advance. It will be more fun to find things out for ourselves.

On the other hand it makes you wonder if there is even much to show. I would love for them to dive into some of the new gameplay mechanics and also into the underground world, if there really is one. Maybe in the next Nintendo Direct, then, which should be around February...