‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ sequel gets title and release date from Nintendo

September 13, 2022

Nintendo has announced the title and release date for the highly anticipated sequel to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”

“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” was revealed during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, alongside an announcement trailer that shares a glimpse at the new explorable landscape and abilities.

Taking place once again in the breathtaking lands of Hyrule, the kingdom’s landscape has been altered significantly for the sequel. Although fans of the franchise can still recognize certain landmarks present in “Breath of the Wild,” such as Hyrule Castle, there’s one major detail that sets the sequel apart from its predecessor: the castle, along with other chunks of explorable space, are now floating in the air.

It seems verticality will be a major aspect of “Tears of the Kingdom’s” gameplay. The new trailer shows off the new free-falling animation — in “Breath of the Wild,” Link would fall feet-first until his glider was deployed or he made a harsh landing — which was last seen in the game’s E3 2021 teaser.

To reach the floating islands high above the clouds, Link makes use of another mechanic seen in the previous teaser: a new Sheikah Slate ability that reverses the momentum of objects, which the player can use to ride falling rocks back up to the islands from which they toppled. While the glider has previously been shown to be making a return in the sequel, the new trailer also shows off a floating, bird-like stone structure that Link can land on and glide through the skies above Hyrule. It is not clear if players can control the gliding structure.

Although little about the sequel’s gameplay is revealed that hasn’t already been seen in previous trailers, a mysterious mural featured heavily in the trailer hints at story details for Zelda fans to speculate about until the game’s release. Figures resembling Princess Zelda, enemy Bokoblins and Moblins, Hylian warriors and a new, mysterious entity seem to tell a story still unknown to players, although the seven “tears” surrounding the new entity may signal a new objective for Link to collect.

“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” will be released on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.

Featured Image via @IGN (left), Gamespot (right)

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