The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the official title of the sequel to Breath of the Wild. Nintendo revealed the name during its Direct event held on Tuesday, which hosted a host of game announcements. The studio offered a fresh take on the gameplay, as Link looks like a bird-shaped hoverboard in the sky. The title was originally scheduled for a 2022 release, but faced several delays in light of further polishing. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will now launch on May 12, 2023.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer begins with some ancient, secret wall scribbles that likely provide clues to the title’s story. It then snaps a clip of the door opening the link to a giant kingdom, set in the skies above the vast land of Hyrule. A good chunk of the adventure, this time, will be set amidst the clouds, as you glide around using an stamina-powered hand glider and fire arrows floating through the air. The prequel, Breath of the Wild — launched in 2017 — set a gold standard for open-world titles by removing unnecessary markers on the map and freeing players to approach the game in any way they like. Even FromSoftware implemented those ideals in its latest, Elden Ring, creating an exploration system that’s endlessly rewarding.
With The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo plans to expand on this mechanic by creating an additional area in the skies above. Akin to Noxtella in the Elden Ring, the Eternal City area, which was fully explorable and contained a different set of enemies. As for gameplay, the BOTW sequel trailer touched on the shea slate power that allows Link to reverse timing. You can see him climbing over a boulder, which begins to fall upwards – think of it like the reversal of time in Tenet. Players can intercept incoming spike-balls and send them back to inflict damage on enemies instead of avoiding them all the time.
The Legend of Zelda’s End: Tears of the Kingdom trailer shows a gravel bird on which Link can sit himself and navigate the skies. Although details are sparse, the hoverboard doesn’t seem to reduce stamina while gliding, which is a relief compared to the strained arm gliders in the first game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023. Pre-orders are currently on Amazon US and Best Buy for $59.99 (roughly Rs.4,765).
