I’m not a completionist. I don’t need to see that I’ve uncovered 100 percent of collectible pointless objects doing who-gives-a-shit sidequests. When it comes to a game - even a big one - I like to have my adventure, maybe knock off a couple sidequests to boost my stats, and then pat myself on the back once I defeat the bad guy designed to be defeated by people who want to pat themselves on the back. It’s a transaction that has worked for years. But not Tears of the Kingdom.

When I finally beat the new Zelda, I felt a wave of relief. I’d dropped over a hundred hours into the game, which isn’t something I always do anymore. Over the last month, it’s been my comfort food during a labor strike and a family health emergency. But I was ready for it to end. I’d ignored other problems so I could complete one more shrine. Find just one more useless outfit that I’d never, ever wear. I was tired.

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After destroying Ganondorf by doing the spoiler thing to his spoiler body, I was finally free. I could dive into Diablo 4. I could fully enjoy the weird nightmare funhouse that is Street Fighter 6. Hell, Final Fantasy 16 is around the corner and I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the demo. The game may sound like it was written by a middle schooler who wants to be a fantasy novelist some day, but with only two hours in, who am I to judge? Yet I keep coming back to Tears of the Kingdom.

I don’t know why. I didn’t have any particular trouble defeating Ganondorf. Whenever the inevitable DLC lands, I’m sure I’ll be good to go on the new big bad or dungeon asking me to unlock five things before a door can open. It’s not that I feel underpowered or that, with just a few more side quests, I could be the ultimate warrior. I actually don’t care much about that anymore. If I’ve won the game already, I don’t need to get better at winning the game.

Rather, I think I keep coming back to Tears of the Kingdom because it feels so welcoming and lived-in. Despite the game taking place in a post-apocalyptic Hyrule that subsequently went through another apocalypse, almost everyone is happy to be there. Almost everyone is happy to see me. Despite the fact that I hate Addison with every fiber of my being, at least he’s not the world’s most depressing man. He’s a simp, but he’s a simp who’s happy to see you.

That’s an important part of it because, in a lot of games, side quests are just a chance to feel bad while doing extra credit. I love Diablo 4’s dungeons, but I gotta say that by the third or fourth side quest, every storyline blurs into grimdark storytime theater. Save this soldier. Exorcize this child. Kill this vampire who used to be someone’s friend. It’s all running into a room and then killing something.

Don’t get me started on Elden Ring. Is anyone in that place happy? Can anyone just sit for a second and be cool? I know I’m sad, but some of those folks need Wellbutrin. You want me to go almost die so you can chuckle like a psycho and hand me some fucking magic object I won’t know how to use? Get outta here!

But I enjoy the sweetness of Tears of the Kingdom. More than any other game in the series - including Breath of the Wild - I’m enjoying just walking around Hyrule and discovering little bits and pieces I didn’t see or didn’t have time to explore. Most of the wells and mines and caves in the game may be small, little rooms full of bomb flowers and lizards, but that only makes the good ones all the more rewarding to find.

Hell, I didn’t do any of President Hudson’s quests until after I beat the game. Tarrey Town felt like the Tampa of Hyrule: I’m sure there’s stuff to do, but when would I ever have a reason to go there? But then just a couple hours into finally visiting Home Depot: The Village, I was building his young daughter a designer hot air balloon to take her to a new home. It’s beautiful and kind and sweet. The reward is the moment itself. As well as the actual reward. You can be rewarded in more than one way.

Now’s my chance to casually talk to everyone in the game and see how they’re doing. The further you get in the game, the more people from different towns and villages appear in other towns and villages. You get little updates on their lives! You find out what they’re reading in the newspaper! I can finally sit in on classes in various towns. Is it required? No. Does that make it better? Yes. Do I understand why it compels me so much? No.

Part of me wants to pull up a guide to find the things I’m missing. Despite my cynicism, there are some dumb outfits I do still want. I know Majora’s Mask is out there somewhere. There are parts of the Depths that I can’t seem to find my way to. But for one of the few times in my game-playing life, I just want to walk around. I want to feel myself lost in a beautiful world with nothing to do other than to hope for the best.

Perhaps that’s it. Now that I’ve beat the game, I don’t need to worry about beating the game. I can relax. There’s no incentive to focus on what maximizes my chances. There’s no reason to skip time-consuming side quests so I could farm blocks of Zonai shit to make my other Zonai devices last longer. The world’s been saved (sort of; afterwards, your save goes back to before the final battle).

Without the constraints or expectations of beating the game - and keeping up with everyone else beating the game - I can enjoy a second layer of Tears of the Kingdom. One in which Link isn’t in a rush to save Zelda.

I may not be someone who can savor an experience with a pressing deadline or story beat. But I can savor the experience when all my homework is done and there’s a whole world full of monsters I still need to photograph.

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