《薩爾達傳說 王國之淚》（ゼルダの伝説 ティアーズ オブ ザ キングダム/The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom）於2023年5月12日正式發售。遊戲繼續保留《曠野之息》的主要系統和操作方式。

故事背景仍然設定在海拉魯大陸，仍然完全採用開放式解謎模式，讓玩家可以自由探索各個地點。此外，遊戲允許角色在地下和天空之間穿越，不過進入地下地區需要特別注意照明，因為那可能會遇到被瘴氣感染的敵人，接觸或遭受攻擊都會損害生命值，但幸運的是，一旦返回地面或破魔之根，生命值可以迅速回復。

遊戲畫面完全採用3D技術呈現，玩家需要使用跳躍按鍵進行角色移動、攀爬山脈以及跨越城牆。武器的耐久性有限，長時間使用可能導致損壞，然而，可以解開地圖上的謎題以獲得果實，從而增加武器、盾牌和箭矢的數量。

完成神廟的挑戰將贈送祝福之光，如果積累四個祝福之光，可以兌換成一個心之容器或精力容器。此版本中，以前的特殊能力已被移除，新增的功能是可以將遊戲中的物品整合到武器或盾牌上，使得遊戲更加具有自由度。此外遊戲還提供設計圖，用於協助組裝各種左納烏裝置，但需要注意電池容量的限制，不過這個容量是可升級提升。

延續前作的劇情，薩爾達公主與林克一同前往海拉魯城堡地下，調查瘴氣的問題。意外的在地下洞穴發現古老文明左納烏遺跡，並驚然發現加儂多夫的遺體，手臂上有一顆神秘的秘石。出乎預料的是，這具屍體突然復活，為保護薩爾達，林克的手臂受到瘴氣的侵蝕，攜帶的大師之劍也受到腐化。與此同時，薩爾達掉進地下世界的崩塌處從此失踪。

林克在空島醒來時，驚訝地發現他的腐蝕手臂變成加農屍體上的左納烏人勞魯的手臂。一顆神秘的秘石帶領林克穿越時空，來到海拉魯王國剛剛建立的年代。在那裡，他遇到初代國王勞魯，並了解到返回原來時間的方法。

加儂多夫假冒薩爾達的身份挑起各種族之間的矛盾。為平息這些衝突，林克前往風、火、水和雷四大神殿，最終解開誤會。隨後，與林克一同繼承秘石力量的四位賢者，深入海拉魯城堡，最終成功擊敗加儂多夫。這一戰，白龍重新變回薩爾達，同時林克的手臂也得以恢復正常。海拉魯的和平終於再次降臨。

《薩爾達傳說 王國之淚》受到高度的讚譽，許多專業機構給予滿分或接近滿分的評價。這款遊戲具有引人入勝的遊玩體驗，被全球玩家廣泛讚譽，是2023年最受好評及暢銷的Nintendo Switch遊戲。

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Japanese: ゼルダの伝説 ティアーズ オブ ザ キングダム) was officially released on May 12, 2023. The game continues the core mechanics and controls from Breath of the Wild, retaining its signature open-world exploration and puzzle-solving gameplay.

Set once again in the vast land of Hyrule, the game maintains its open-ended puzzle design, allowing players to freely explore a wide variety of locations at their own pace. A major new feature is the ability to travel between the sky islands and the underground world. However, navigating the underground requires careful attention to lighting, as players may encounter enemies infected by Gloom—a dark energy that damages Link’s maximum health upon contact or attack. Fortunately, health can be restored by returning to the surface or activating Lightroots.

The game’s visuals are fully rendered in 3D, and players must use the jump button to traverse terrain, climb mountains, and scale walls. Weapons in the game still have limited durability and will break after extended use. However, solving puzzles throughout the map grants fruits and items that increase the inventory space for weapons, shields, and arrows.

Completing Shrine challenges rewards players with a Light of Blessing. Collecting four of these allows players to exchange them for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel. Unlike the previous game, the special abilities from Breath of the Wild have been replaced with new mechanics that offer greater creative freedom—such as fusing items found in the world with weapons or shields to enhance their effects. Players can also make use of blueprints to construct Zonai devices. While these devices rely on energy cells with limited capacity, the battery system is upgradable over time.

The story continues directly from Breath of the Wild. Princess Zelda and Link travel to the depths beneath Hyrule Castle to investigate the mysterious emergence of Gloom. Deep underground, they discover the ruins of the ancient Zonai civilization and a long-dormant corpse of Ganondorf, with a mysterious Secret Stone embedded in his arm. Unexpectedly, the corpse awakens. In the ensuing chaos, Link’s right arm is severely damaged by the Gloom, and the Master Sword becomes corrupted. Zelda falls into a chasm and disappears.

Link later awakens on a sky island, discovering that his right arm has been replaced by that of Rauru, a Zonai sage. Guided by a Secret Stone, Link travels through time to the early days of Hyrule’s founding. There, he meets Rauru, the first king of Hyrule, and learns how to return to his original era.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf disguises himself as Zelda to incite conflict among Hyrule’s various tribes. To resolve the growing unrest, Link journeys to the four elemental temples—Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning—and helps restore harmony. Alongside the four new Sages who inherit the power of the Secret Stones, Link leads an assault on Hyrule Castle and ultimately defeats Ganondorf. In the final moments, the Light Dragon reverts to Princess Zelda, and Link’s arm is fully restored. Peace finally returns to the kingdom of Hyrule.

Tears of the Kingdom received widespread acclaim upon release, with many major gaming publications awarding it perfect or near-perfect scores. Its expansive gameplay, emotional narrative, and impressive creative freedom have earned it praise from players worldwide. It was not only one of the highest-rated titles of 2023 but also became one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games to date.