Today, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom got a delightful trailer that showed off even more of the expanded traversal challenges, wildly creative crafting system, and, yes, plenty of lore tidbits to keep us all frantically perusing Wiki pages until the game’s launch on May 12. The environments look incredible, the combat thrilling, and the puzzles intriguing.
On March 28, we were treated to a generous look at the highly anticipated follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s smash-hit modern classic RPG that launched with the Nintendo Switch back in 2017. Last month’s 10-minute gameplay trailer kept us nourished after what was a veritable drought of information. It’s not unusual for Nintendo to keep its cards close to its chest, so it was a real treat to see such a long gameplay demo with impressive new additions to traversal and crafting. Now, having witnessed the final trailer, we know a lot more...and yet there are still so many questions. We need this game in our hands.
Traversing Hyrule looks epic as hell
The new trailer from today’s event showed off more action from the “sky islands,” pieces of land drifting off in the sky. The sights sure are something to behold...and damn I hope our six-year old Nintendo Switches will be able to keep up, because that’s one impressive draw distance.
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But that wasn’t all. Whether it was link doing is best Mission Impossible laser beam scenario, the sky-high feats of acrobatics, or just the really, really neat environmental puzzles, Tears of the Kingdom damn near quadruples on the scale and scope of beautiful and interesting environments.
This combat looks wild
While we were all amazed at the new “fuse” system shown off in the last presentation, lost in the endless possibilities, it looks like we’ll finally be happy those damn weapons break. And thankfully, we’ve got some serious encounters to battle our ways through. I don’t even care what weapons I’ll be swinging around.
Be it combat on horseback, that sweet shot of a duel across mine carts, it all looks deeply challenging and engaging.
The lore mysteries are real
Waiting leads to lore crafting. We know this. Today means that some theories have been broken, others might be sustained, and yet more are likely to sprout.
For those with their PhD’s in Hyrule lore, I’m sure you’re a million steps ahead of me, but the cryptic environments, menacing bosses, and Zelda’s message to Link, this final trailer was one solid invitation to dive into this story. We can’t wait to see what it has in store.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom finally arrives on Nintendo Switch next month, May 12 for $70. It’s a new, steeper price for Nintendo...but damn does it feel worth it after today.