The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild sequel. Credit: Nintendo
Nintendo has finally lifted the lid on Breath of the Wild 2, even giving it a full title and release date. It’s called Tears of the Kingdom, and will launch in May of 2023.
Finally revealed with a proper trailer in June 2021, Breath Of The Wild 2 looks set to continue where things were left off in the first Breath Of The Wild, with Link and Zelda finally reunited. Things don’t stay normal in Hyrule for long however, and soon we see Link soaring above the clouds and exploring a world that looks like it’s been significantly shaken up since our last stint there.
Though details are still light – it’s to be expected – there’s a surprising amount to be gleaned from the game’s latest gameplay demonstration/trailer. With that being said, here’s everything we know about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date, platforms and price
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2. Credit: Nintendo.
The game is coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch. It was just revealed that there will be two different editions of Tears of the Kingdom at launch. The standard edition is £59.99/ $69.99, marking a price increase for first-party Nintendo titles. The collectors edition will set you back $129.99, with no UK price confirmed yet.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom first look and trailers
A gameplay trailer was shown during a Nintendo Direct in February 2023. It showed off some new gameplay, a look at new enemies, and even ground-level and flying vehicles. Check it out below:
The latest trailer, however, is apparently the last one we are getting, now that we’re under a month away from the launch of Tears of the Kingdom. It’s story heavy, showing the return of Ganon as the main antagonist. You can check it out below:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom story and setting
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Credit: Nintendo
As the placeholder title suggested, The Legend Of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to the events of Breath Of The Wild released in 2017. However, we still don’t have any concrete information on how long after that game it is set, and whether or not it will have any relation to the events from the spin-off Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity.
What we do know is that the game will be set in the open world of Hyrule introduced in Breath Of The Wild – albeit it with new structures such as the floating islands in the sky. This feels reminiscent of the world of Skyward Sword but also Wind Waker, which featured a Hyrule submerged in water while small scattered islands resided above.
The latest trailer is the best look at Tears of the Kingdom’s story we’ve seen so far. It looks as though Zelda may be missing, and Ganon is back at full power and laying waste to the kingdom. Link is the final line of defence, and will team up with friends and champions to stave off the encroaching forces, and hopefully save Princess Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay
In late March of 2023, Nintendo published a 10-minute gameplay demonstration hosted by series producer, Eiji Aonuma. This is our best look at the game so far, with a whole host of new abilities being showcased. We got a look at Hyrule, and the floating sky islands that can be seen way up high. Link uses an ability called Recall to reverse the falling trajectory of a boulder, essentially turning it into an elevator.
Then, Fuse was shown off. This can be used to fuse two objects together in Tears of the Kingdom. Some examples include fusing a mushroom to a shield to create a smokescreen bomb that’s triggered after being struck, as well as a boulder fused to a stick to create a rock hammer.
Ultrahand is an ability that glues larger objects together. In the demonstration, Link builds a fully functioning raft to cross a river. Finally, Ascend allows you to move through the ceiling of caves, to reach the topside of them. This has many uses, and may even be available when exploring underwater sections.
Tears of the Kingdom’s main difference to its predecessor appears to be its focus on the skies, so it’s unsurprising that Link will be able to skydive. This can be used to scout out new locations, and to quickly return to the surface after exploring a sky island.
That’s everything you need to know about Tears of the Kingdom. As more info is revealed, we’ll be sure to update this page.
