After a long while of anticipation, we finally got an in-depth glimpse of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom this morning, thanks to a short showcase from Eiji Aonuma himself. Besides a look at gameplay, we also got a rundown of some items that will be physically sold alongside the game. Here’s a breakdown:
- Most of the showcase was spent detailing Link’s new abilities in the game – Rewind, Fuse, Ultra Hand, and Ascend. Aonuma went quite in depth over each of their quirks and capabilities, so make sure to look at the full video (and our coverage) for more details.
- The game had numerous Sky Islands, which are exactly what they sound like – large floating landmasses high in the air. You can seamlessly travel to these locations using fallen debris along with Rewind to rise high into the air. There are reportedly other methods of reaching the islands as well, but they’ve been kept secret for another time.
- A new enemy type was shown off, called a Construct – the one we saw Aonuma fight appeared to be a basic foot soldier made of fancy technology, around Link’s size. These are presumably the enemy types found around Sky Islands, and they can also find and use Fused weapons to cause trouble.
- Link can dive off the Sky Islands back to the ground at any time, accelerating his fall with the press of a button. He doesn’t take any fall damage landing in the water, but it wasn’t specified how hitting hard ground would affect him – he likely needs to hit the Paraglider button to avoid a big painful splat.
- That was the main extent of the gameplay footage shown, but several physical objects were shown off: a special TotK Switch OLED, Pro Controller, and carrying case (each sold separately). Check out our coverage for more details.
Tears of the Kingdom launches on May 12th. Looking to secure your copy? Make sure to check out our pre-order guide!
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
