The entirety of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom recently leaked online over a week before the game’s May 12 release date. Now, some players are stepping out and streaming their journey for all to see while hackers comb through the game’s files for more clues. As a result, we’ve already learned a lot more about Nintendo most anticipated switch game of the year.
Spoiler alert: We’ll stay away from story information below, but obviously anyone looking to jump into Tears of the Kingdom with limited knowledge of what to expect should probably turn back.
It’s a big snack so far Tears of the Kingdom is even bigger than all the trailers and previews have suggested so far. While the main surface map is borrowed breath of Wild, the floating islands and a sprawling underground region Effectively expand the map by two additional vertical levels. There are also some welcome additions to the previous game’s formula, as well as a few disappointments. Here’s what players have discovered so far.
The game begins with Link at full strength
You may have wondered how Link ended up walking away from the powerhouse breath of the wild to be at three hearts again at the beginning Tears of the Kingdom. The answer is essentially that he gets Metroided. The game begins with he and Zelda (all 20 heart containers intact) exploring an underground tunnel, only to discover the remains of dehydrated Ganon.
The Demon King then comes back to life and creates a giant pit into which Zelda and Link fall. As the princess plunges toward a mysterious fate, Link is pulled back through a portal by a magical arm. Then he wakes up on one of the floating islands With no strength and little health, ready to embark on a new adventure.
Dungeons are confirmed, sort of
Probably the most requested feature is missing breath of the wild was traditional dungeons. Tears of the Kingdom seems to have five temples and a sixth dungeon consisting of Ganon’s castle. Hackers have already datamined the floor plans of some of these multi-level locations. Similar to before zeldaEach temple appears to have an initial mini-puzzle area leading into it.
Once inside, a special companion ability that matches the element of the temple helps players solve puzzles leading up to a familiar boss fight. I’ve seen parts of the Temple of Wind and Fire streamed, and while they might not be as complex as some of the series’ more infamous labyrinths, they look a bit more thematic than the first game’s Divine Beats.
There are still shrines
Do not worry, breath of the wildThe mini-puzzle sanctuaries of have returned, and there’s a ton scattered throughout the map. Some players say there are over 100 in addition to all the sky islands and caves to explore.
The underworld map is huge
Implied in the launch commercial, Tears of the Kingdom features an entire area that lies deep beneath the surface of Hyrule. The map actually makes it look as big as the overworld. Most of it is shrouded in darkness, with Link illuminating areas as he progresses, but it seems to be spreading. Only time will tell how many things there are to discover.
Companions help in boss fights
A new generation of champions Link will be helping out this time around, and from the streams I’ve seen, it looks like they’ll be present in at least some of the game’s boss encounters. Each accompanies Link through their local temple area, with a special ability that can be triggered to help against the boss or solve puzzles. It’s not clear how much more involved they’ll be this time, but it seems a lot closer to having an NPC ally for the ride than breath of the wild‘s Champions did.
You can’t rush to the end
breath of the wild It was old fashioned to have Link face off against Calamity Ganon right at the start of the game if players choose to do so. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. So far I haven’t seen any footage of players managing to initiate the final boss fight right at the start of the game, and it seems while the temples can be tackled out of order, the end of the game is out of bounds until to the end.
There are some wild outfits
Tears of the Kingdom will have new weapons and armor, as well as a range of amiibo outfits. The Armor of the Great Deity from the Majora’s mask amiibo returns from breath of the wild, For example. But I also slammed into a stream just to see Link walking around in one giant Toon Link costume. It was ridiculous, super scary, and kind of amazing.
Dragons are back
Players speculated about it breath of the wild‘s flying kites after appearing to have spotted one in the back of a mountain range in some advance shots. Screenshots show they are indeed returning, although it’s not entirely clear what role they’ll be playing just yet. Besides Dinraal (Fire), Farosh (Electric) and Naydra (Ice) there are also other a light dragon and a darkness dragon.
Gleeoks come in all sorts of varieties
The three-headed hydra from the original The Legend of Zelda that fans spotted in recent trailers actually come in different forms. remembers breath of the wild‘s various Lynel types so far, players seem to have discovered Electric, Fire, and Ice types, as well as Baby Gleeoks and a Tri-Elemental type that mixes all types.
The music is surprisingly restrained
I had various streams of Tears of the Kingdom for much of the last 24 hours, and while there are occasional pauses like the previous game, something about the music overall feels on a different level. How Main theme song which is an absolute bangerthe tracks for exploration, boss fights and other moments feel very individual and full of personality.
Probably no underwater exploration yet
One of the things that players wanted to discover the most is full-fledged scuba diving. Unfortunately, players don’t seem to have found any new items or abilities that Link can use to explore the underwater world Tears of the Kingdom. No one seems to have actually beaten the game, so there’s always a chance of something being hidden late in the game. At the moment, however, it seems so breath of the wild‘s lack of diving is carried over.
Your horses carry over
A breath of the wild save doesn’t seem to be carrying much Tears of the Kingdombut players report that their staple is for horses will remain intact. And with the new building mechanics, they will be more useful than ever. Link’s Ultrahand can craft carriages and other horse-drawn vehicles. All the ranching in his previous life will soon pay off.
You can’t pet the dogs
Some developers, even in large studios, have adopted the “can you pet the dog“Memes while gaming. Not Nintendo. Six years later Tears of the Kingdom adds and repeats much of the previous open world gameplay. Show some love to the pets is not one of them. Or maybe Link just hates dogs.
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