I think it's pretty obvious what I'm playing tonight: why hell yes it's

Tears of the Kingdom

Unfortunately I got a new job sort of recently which is a little demanding, so I haven't played as much as I would have liked to this last month. Additionally, my husband has been away since April (though he should be home in 2 weeks or so! The trial he is on is almost over) so we have only had a little time to play together on the weekends. Most nights when I try to play a little before bed, I end up nodding off after about 5 minutes and snapping awake to find that Link has fallen out of the sky and drowned. I'm glad it's not like OoT, smacking you in the face with your total number of Game Overs every time you open your game file.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm actually ready to talk about this game, especially considering I think that it's too early to post freely, spoiler-wise. Not that I'm really far enough to spoil anything for everyone. I'm pretty happy that nothing too important has been spoiled for me yet. The only thing I'll say now is that I get a similar 'sad, desperate direct sequel to a slightly more happy game' that I did with Majora's Mask. I'm not saying Breath of the Wild or Ocarina of Time were happy, but I think the plot in those games are a bit more black and white. Majora's Mask introduces you to some of the most depressed, delusional, and desperate NPCs you can meet in a Nintendo game. Clock Town is stressful and there is no relief to be found in the surrounding cities and countryside. Everything that the people of Termina care about are ultimately pointless. Even if you save your cows today, even if you marry the love of your life tonight, even if you move somewhere that makes your wife happy, even if you find some joy in the memory of your dead son, none of it matters because tomorrow Termina will be destroyed and we all will die...

What I mean by all this is I get a bad feeling from the people in Hyrule. I feel like their reconstruction of their home has been for nothing. There are dangers all around them in the sky and down in the depths of the earth, too. Their princess is lost and their hero has no answers. People are being displaced by monsters, society's efforts to rebuild are frustrated at every turn. And I love it. I cannot wait to see where this story goes (already so much stronger than BotW's).