Today’s Nintendo Treehouse Live stream gave us a first look at what lies in the many shrines that litter the latest version of Hyrule. The shrines, which act as a sort of mini-dungeon of trials, are inhabited by minor deities that have constructed trials built around abilities that are tied to Link’s mysterious Sheikah Slate. The shrines all boast the future-tech aesthetic that seems to be the overarching theme of Breath of the Wild.
In one of the game’s early shrines, the Sheikah Slate is imbued with the power to remotely manipulate metal objects. In another, the slate gains the ability to produce both round and cube shaped bombs. A variety of puzzles and enemy challenges revolving around the newly acquired powers make up each shrine’s trial. The early shrines and their puzzles are Zelda 101 fare, but the abilities gained in each shrine become a permanent addition to Link’s arsenal, and can be used anywhere in the game. Not all shrines introduce new Sheikah Slate abilities, a couple of later shrines that were demonstrated showed off challenges that required the combined use of previously acquired abilities. Some of these trickier puzzles could demonstrably be approached in a variety of ways.
Upon the completion of a shrine challenge, Link meets the shrine’s deity, and is gifted with a Spirit Orb, a resource that can be traded for useful items, like the Windsail. It was confirmed during the streams that there are more than a hundred of these challenge shrines scattered throughout Breath of the Wild’s world map.
While they’re not actual dungeons, shrines seem like small, easily digestible challenges that enhance Link’s arsenal and perhaps prepare him for the tougher challenges that lay in store.
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Written by Brittin Shauers
Brittin literally grew up with Link, Mario and Samus. These three characters and their worlds collectively capture everything that he loves about video games.
