You’re all excited to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and you’ve just sat down with your Switch in hand (or with the machine docked nicely in its hub and the Joy-Con in your hand, philistine) and you get to the first dungeon. ‘Here you go’, you think, licking your lips and leaning forward in your seat. ‘Puzzle me, baby.’
But then – as you get to grips with the unique new Ultrahand mechanic and set to grafting items together and propping up makeshift bridges in the stone temple – you realise with horror Link is moving in tandem with… you. Your shaky hands wobbling as you direct the shirtless twink to pick up stone slabs make the screen jitter, your uncertain physical umming and ahhing as you decide where to plant your creations are reflected in game as the camera vibrates and wobbles, trying to keep up with you.
It’s not great. After some practice, you can make it all a bit smoother – get more confident in your movements, be more assertive in how you move about – but there’s still awkwardness and a bit of shake. Even in the (Ultra)hands of the most experienced Link.