I’ve been desperately waiting for the sequel to Breath of the Wild ever since it dropped in March 2017, and now The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is right around the corner.
It took six years, which is a lot longer than it feels, but we’ve gotten multiple trailers at this point, revealing the creative vertical exploration and our returning villain: Ganon. Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma reprise their roles in Tears of the Kingdom.
Here’s everything we know so far about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, from the release date and story to the gameplay and PC requirements.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date
While initially planned for a 2022 release, that’s come and gone, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now slated to launch on May 12, 2023. Yes, it is coming out that soon — you best believe we are hyped as hell. Unfortunately, despite not matching current-gen consoles, Nintendo is charging $70 for Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will launch exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, and maybe some other future Nintendo console.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom story
We have a few clues about what’s going on in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Ganon is back, and he’s voiced by none other than the illustrious Matthew Mercer — or at least that’s the theory. There’s been no confirmation from Mercer or Nintendo, but that’s definitely his voice. It’s just a question of whether or not that’s Ganon.
The overarching plot features the kingdom of Hyrule under threat once again by malevolent forces. Link and Zelda team up to put a stop to it. The “it” being Hyrule presumably ripped to shreds, causing the mysterious islands floating in the vast skies above.
Zelda says, “Link, I’m not sure that you’ll be able to stop him.” I assume that may have something to do with the degraded Master Sword and Link’s corrupted arm in the trailer. Any Legend of Zelda fan knows that if there’s no Master Sword, there’s no defeating Ganon.
There’s a lot of theories and mysteries that still revolve around what could potentially be happening in Tears of the Kingdom, but we do know one thing. Cars, baby.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay
When I first heard that there would be a Breath of the Wild sequel, I was worried that it would be a rehashed version of the same game. However, what we’ve seen so far from Tears of the Kingdom gameplay quelled those fears.
Floating islands, new weapons and abilities, vehicles of bokoblin destruction and just straight up hovercrafts made an appearance in the most recent Tears of the Kingdom trailer. We saw some new enemy types as well, like a dragon, a golem, and some zombie-esque entity.
Fun fact: Tears of the Kingdom was initially an idea for DLC, but one too many ideas piled up and turned into a whole game. This does clue us into a few things gameplay-wise. I wouldn’t expect a completely new world. We’re still on the same map — just with a few major differences, including an entirely separate map that floats above the previous one.
I do hope that there are some noticeable changes in the world that not only reflect the current threat, but also the progress that players made in the previous game. For example, Link helps build up an entire village, and it would be cool to see that village thriving in this game.
Calamity Ganon was weak sauce in Breath of the Wild, so hopefully Tears of the Kingdom can really scare our pants off.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailers
These are all of the trailers we’ve seen so far of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. There’s plenty to pick apart and see, but overall, we haven’t confirmed much apart from having to save the world all over again.
Outlook
If its predecessor is any indication, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is bound to be a top contender for Game of the Year in 2023. As long as Nintendo played it smart with properly changing Hyrule enough that it feels different, I can’t see how Tears of the Kingdom won’t be a hit. From the new abilities to the new vehicles, I’m so excited to jump in and get lost in this world for another hundred-plus hours.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is slated to launch on May 12, 2023, so stay tuned for our full review.
