2023 has been cranking out the instant-hit classic video games, and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom may just be our favorite game of the year yet. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was “that game” from our childhood, that made us look at video games in a whole new light. Legend of Zelda games are incredibly immersive, creative, ambitious, and overall, beautiful. For those like us, who played and loved 2017’s Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom offers a rare opportunity in the Zelda franchise to return to the realm we just saved and continue our adventure with new powers, weapons, twists, and turns. For all gamers, this game is delightful, engaging, and will challenge your intuition and problem-solving skills unlike any other game. 

KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips for Switch Pro and Joy-Con 

To fully appreciate the glory that is Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, you need the right equipment to help you feel as connected and in control of Link as possible. KontrolFreek now has No-Slip Thumb Grips for Joy-Con and Switch Pro Controllers! These extra-grippy thumbstick caps are super easy to apply to any Switch Pro or Joy-Con Thumbstick. Just flip the Thumb Grip inside out, place it on the thumbstick with the opening facing up so you can see the logo in the hole, then flip the edges of the Thumb Grip securely around the corners of the joystick. 

KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips for Joy-Con come in an 8-pack with fun colors to mix and match with for only $12.99! We’re proud to share this solution for all of you Switch gamers in FreekNation that don’t use a Pro Controller. The best part about the Switch is it’s portability. We can play Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom from anywhere in the world with premium grip and control on the Nintendo Switch, while using the Joy-Con controllers, attached to the screen or not. Those Joy-Con thumbsticks aren’t the grippiest to start off with, and they can wear down over time. If you’ve been using the same Joy-Cons that came with the console since Breath of the Wild, then you can avoid having to buy another pair of Joy-Cons for close to $100 by buying an 8-pack of KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips for Joy-Con for just $12.99! With KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips for Joy-Con, upgrading the grip and control of your Joy-Cons is easier than ever.  

KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grips for Switch Pro controllers come in an 8-pack of extra-grippy thumb grips for only $12.99 as well! These grips provide all the top-of-the-line grip and control you expect from KontrolFreek, but without the added height that you normally experience with Performance Thumbsticks. If you have larger hands or you are looking for some extra height on your Switch Pro Thumbsticks, check out our Performance Thumbsticks for Switch Pro. We’re playing Tears of the Kingdom using a Switch Pro Controller with a KontrolFreek No-Slip Thumb Grip on the left stick for the added control and comfort while moving Link around, and a Mid-Rise Galaxy Performance Thumbstick  on the right stick for a slightly increased arc distance when aiming or moving the camera around. 

Settings 

Now that we’ve covered the essentials, let’s talk about any settings you are going to want to look at and adjust before you start playing. Honestly, as a Nintendo game, there aren’t too many adjustable options for Switch players to tinker with but there are a few notable settings that can make a difference. 

Starting with Camera Sensitivity, if you’ve read any of our other controller tips articles, you’ll know that we always recommend setting your sensitivity to the highest you can and still be able to do a consistent 180-degree turn. The Default setting is painfully low, in our opinion, so we recommend increasing this to Very High. 

Next up, let’s talk about Motion Controls, and this setting is going to be controversial. Personally, we loved when the Wii U Zelda games like Skyward Sword incorporated this feature into the game. It’s fun to point your controller at the screen and make fine aiming adjustments with motion controls before you let loose an arrow at your enemy’s crit spot, and you can still make the major aiming adjustments with your controller’s thumbsticks. Which is why we recommend turning motion controls ON, and we also recommend you experience how much easier it is to aim with No-Slip Thumb Grips or Performance Thumbsticks! 

We recommend Locking the Minimap to North. This helps us remain oriented in the world around us so it’s easier to keep track of where we’re going and where we came from. 

Tips For Beginners 

Since there aren’t too many settings that can help you out in this game, we thought we’d offer a few very high level (spoiler free) tips for Legend of Zelda beginners and veteran heroes that are just getting started in this new installment. 

Progress is everything in this game. Unlike recent games like Jedi Survivor, if you get a game over, you lose all progress that you made since your last save. We recommend you save as often as possible, and especially if you are low on hearts or in a scary situation. There is no shame in being scared and you will thank yourself when you prevent a major loss of progress due to game over. 

Learning to Cook is essential to success in Tears of the Kingdom. Unless you are a god that never takes any damage, you are going to need to heal, and uncooked food will heal you half of the amount as that same food cooked, sometimes even more for certain recipes. Also, be sure to read the ingredient descriptions for what the potential effects are and stack items with similar effects. If you put speed boost ingredients and heat resistance ingredients in the same pot, the results will be a weakened version of only one of those effects, so pay attention to what you are cooking together. Most importantly, you want to keep a stock of at least 10-15 cooked meals at any time that you can heal yourself with or provide resistance to any elemental obstacles that might come up in your journey. 

Fusing Weapons with other weapons and objects is not just tons of fun, it’s also very useful. A wooden stick will break easily and can only be used to smash other wooden objects, but a wooden stick fused with a boulder on the end has more durability, does more damage, and can smash boulders and other stone objects. Play around with fusing weapons and other items to create new weapons to take on your enemies and puzzles in any way you can dream of! Tears of the Kingdom offers the player and unparalleled level of freedom to create your own objects in the world of Hyrule that can change the game forever. 

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