Eager to get your hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but afraid Nintendo might have one more delay up their sleeves? Worry not, as today Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed the game has officially wrapped up production. He also revealed the first significant chunk of Tears of the Kingdom gameplay. If you’re hoping for a grand overview of the game, with hints about the game’s story, dungeons, or other big moments, you might be disappointed. This was a very focused video that zeroes in on some of ToTK’s innovative new mechanics, but it still hints at a lot of exciting possibilities. You can check out the footage for yourself, below.
The footage begins at a very familiar landmark from Zelda: Breath of the Wild – the Dueling Peaks passage. Some things in the area have changed, but this is still largely the Hyrule we know. Ah, but then we see a rock falling from the sky. Once Link reaches that rock, he’s able to use his new Recall rewind power to ride the rock back up to a Sky Island. These islands dot the map and some appear to be quite large. Aonuma promises there will be all sorts of ways to get to them, with no real barriers to which ones you can visit.
Once on a larger island, Aonuma showed off what looks to be the most game-changing new power in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Fuse. This allows you to stick nearly anything together. You can use his to create new weapons, like a stick combined with a boulder or a pole combined with a pitchfork. You can also fuse arrows with various elemental items or even an eyeball to create a homing arrow. Oh, and yes, weapon durability is definitely still a thing, but combining your weapon with something sturdy like a rock will increase durability. Fuse can even be used to construct various boats, airships, and other vehicles.
Finally, Aonuma also showed off Ascend ability that allows you to pass upwards through anything with a ceiling. Caves, cages, buildings, whatever. It’s pretty clear Nintendo is taking the emergent gameplay of Breath of the Wild to an all-new level with Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launches on Nintendo Switch on May 12. A new Tears of the Kingdom limited edition Switch OLED is also on the way. What do you think? Are you all in on Link’s latest adventure or is this not the direction you were hoping for?
