Washed Out Colors in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I’ve been playing it since it was released, and overall I give it a thumbs up. There’s quite a bit in the game, lots to do, and the world itself is huge, with the sky, ground, and depths areas to explore. However, there is one thing I wish were better: the color palette.

Tears of the Kingdom looks washed out in terms of colors if you compare it to previous Zelda games or something like Super Mario Galaxy on Switch. I noticed this when I took a break from TOTK and started playing SMG. The colors on SMG were so much brighter, solid, and more appealing. When I returned to TOTK, it looked pale and washed out.

I wonder why Nintendo made TOTK and BOTW this way? Other Zelda games had more distinct, solid colors, and I wish they’d make the next open-world Zelda game that way.
I play primarily in handheld mode on an OLED Switch, and most games have vibrant colors on the OLED Switch. Parts of TOTK look good, but too often, it seems washed out. It may just be my color preferences here. I’m not an artist, so I might be describing this badly, but if you play the game, you know what I mean.

On a gaming monitor, it doesn’t look any better. I wish Nintendo included some color toggle or something that would make it look like previous Zelda games in terms of colors. The art is beautiful, but the colors seem unnecessarily drab sometimes.

I don’t want to bash the game here; I’m still enjoying it. But it would be so much better if players could change the color palette or whatever it is to make it more vibrant and appealing, like the older Zelda games.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, you are welcome to buy me a coffee. I thank you in advance for your kindness and support.