Is Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom good value? £ per hour, worked out

How the 50 to 70 hour story is spent

Nintendo Life estimates 50 to 60 hours to complete the story at a regular pace. We use 50 to 70 hours to allow for the many detours most players take.

Those hours mix travel across a large map, combat, puzzle shrines and the game's building system, which lets you combine objects into vehicles and contraptions. A lot of time goes into experimenting rather than following a set path.

The building system is the main way it differs from its predecessor. Solving problems by gluing together planks, fans and wheels is open-ended, so players who enjoy tinkering can lose hours experimenting with designs that aren't strictly needed to progress.

Combat, cooking and gathering materials also take time, and many players spend whole sessions simply wandering towards something interesting on the horizon. Those hours are part of the experience rather than a detour from it.

Shrines, side quests and the completion trap

Nintendo Life's writers reached the credits at around the 80-hour mark while having done about 40% of the game, which shows how much optional content there is: shrines, side adventures, side quests and a huge number of collectibles.

Our 120 to 250 hour full range covers players who explore extensively without necessarily reaching 100%. At that length the cost drops to around £0.24–£0.50 per hour.

Be honest with yourself about completion, though: chasing every collectible is a commitment many players start and few finish.

Shrines are a good example of how the hours stack up. Each is a short, self-contained puzzle, so they suit both quick sessions and long ones, and finding them is part of exploring the map.

Do you need to play Breath of the Wild first?

Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel, set in the same land of Hyrule. You can play it without having played the previous game, but you will get more from the story and setting if you have.

From a value angle, if you already put a lot of hours into the previous game, some of the map will feel familiar. That can make the early hours feel less fresh, but the new building tools and areas change how you explore.

Either way, the main-story range on this page assumes a first-time player. Veterans of the previous game may move a little faster through the early hours.

Players coming to the series fresh should not be put off, though. The game explains its systems and the world is large enough that much of it will feel new regardless.

Switch or Switch 2 Edition?

When checked on 3 November 2026, the Nintendo UK eShop listed the standard Nintendo Switch version at £59.99 and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at £66.99.

• On the Switch 2 Edition price, the main story works out at about £0.96–£1.34 per hour.
• If you already own the Switch version, check the eShop for upgrade options rather than buying a second full copy.
• We found no demo on the eShop listing data we checked.

Whichever version you choose, the core game is the same adventure. The value question is whether the extra £7 for the Switch 2 Edition matters to you; at this many hours it adds only a few pence per hour.

Weeks of Hyrule for £59.99

A 50-plus hour adventure is a big time commitment. On our estimated ranges, using the Switch price:

• 5 hours a week: the main goal takes roughly 10 to 14 weeks, and the fuller range 24 to 50 weeks.
• 10 hours a week: the main goal takes roughly 5 to 7 weeks, and the fuller range 12 to 25 weeks.

Big open worlds are sometimes put down partway through. On the £59.99 price:

• Stop after 10 hours and you paid about £6.00 per hour.
• Stop after 25 hours and you paid about £2.40 per hour.

Even a player who stops after 25 hours pays less per hour than Astro Bot or Split Fiction played through to the end, which shows how much the sheer size of this game helps its value.

At a steady five hours a week, the main story alone is a project of several months, which is the kind of long-term entertainment that makes the full price easier to justify.

Players who may struggle to get value from it

The game is rated PEGI 12 for violence on pegi.info.

• People who like being told where to go. The open structure leaves much of the order up to you.
• Players short on time. A 50-plus hour story is a big commitment.
• Those who dislike building or physics puzzles. The construction system is central, not optional.

For players who love exploration, few games offer as many hours for the price. If you enjoyed Breath of the Wild, the sequel is a very safe purchase on a pure value basis.

Families should note that the PEGI 12 rating reflects combat against monsters. Younger children may enjoy watching or helping, but the game is aimed at older players.