Recently, several people were given exclusive access to a two-hour preview demo of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom and they are now sharing their experiences and giving highlights of what things set the game apart from its predecessor, Breath of the Wild. Though many of them took different directions with how they explored what was presented to them, they seemed to agree that a major focus for this massive new Zelda game is on creation and creativity.
In this sequel to Breath of the Wild, Link has been given many new abilities that will offer players almost innumerable possibilities for how to play TOTK. The Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall abilities were each explored and were clearly the central focus of the demo. Out of these abilities, Ultrahand and Fuse took the lead in allowing players to use their imaginations in creating anything they could think of, whether it worked as planned or not.
10 Puzzles In TOTK Are Integrated More Organically With The World
The Zelda series has always included puzzles for players to solve, such as the shrine puzzles in BOTW. Tech Crunch explained that in the demo for Tears of the Kingdom, the puzzles were not as formally set up as in BOTW but seemed designed to be more organically stumbled upon within the world of Hyrule. As is common in any Zelda game, the puzzles still rely heavily on Link’s new abilities and give players a chance to stretch their thinking to come up with how to solve them, but often there are many solutions that could work.
9 Ascend Lets Link Rise Through Ceilings, But May Not Be The Most Impressive
The Ascend ability in TOTK looks magical with swirling lights emanating around Link as he floats upward and crosses through ceilings to reach higher platforms. Several people who previewed the demo of the game noted that although it is useful, it is more like another movement possibility and not quite as valuable or memorable as other abilities given. Passing through solid objects, and even some enemies, sounds as though it could be incredibly beneficial, and it will be necessary with certain puzzle environments, but the game offers so many other options that it is maybe not as worthwhile as it could be.
8 Players Could Find Recall Is A Lot More Satisfying Than It Originally Seemed
Link’s Recall ability in TOTK will allow him to reverse the movement of an object, such as letting Link ride boulders back up to the sky islands after they had tumbled off. As reported by Engadget, Recall is similar to the Stasis ability in BOTW but reversing it. The Engadget article includes a humorous example of when an enemy tried to throw a boulder down a hill at Link and, using Recall, Link sent it back up the hill to hit the Bokoblin. With good timing, this ability could create some very fun situations with enemies.
7 Link’s Ultrahand In TOTK Is A Significant Upgrade From His Sheikah Slate
TOTK providing Link with the Ultrahand gives him the ability to create all sorts of objects, including new vehicles in Tears of the Kingdom. Similar to Fuse, but on a much grander scale, Ultrahand can let Link combine materials and special Zonai devices together to construct everything from simple vehicles such as rafts to complicated ones like flying, flamethrowing tanks. Anything a player can think of can be possible, but they do have to get the physics correct in order for propulsion to work and so the whole thing doesn’t just come apart at the seams.
6 Ultrahand Could Prove Tricky To Master
According to Ars Technica, using the Ultrahand in TOTK proved to be a bit awkward to manage with the controller. Ars Technica shared that in the demo, it was a bit of a struggle to pick up each individual item and then move them into position while holding the shoulder button and rotating the objects around on an axis with the D-pad. With enough practice, it will likely become more comfortable for players, however, the process does sound as though it could be quite frustrating for many.
5 The Fuse Ability In TOTK Will Have Incredible Possibilities
So far, none of the people who were presented with the opportunity to preview TOTK have been able to find any combination of items that can not be fused together. Tears of the Kingdom‘s Fuse ability will present many opportunities for players to try to exploit and has already created some laughable situations. Surprising outcomes have been discovered in some of the fusible creations, although some of the previewers stated they were not at liberty to discuss some of the more intriguing creations at this point, so players can enjoy the discoveries on their own.
4 Giant Vending Machines In TOTK Will Provide Zonai Parts For Crafting
In order to create some of the more mechanical creations, such as vehicles, using the Ultrahand, Link needs to have access to the supplies for them. In addition to random materials in the environment, Link can get special parts for these innovations from things that look like giant gumball machines. These large dispensers can provide things like steering wheels and fans for Link to incorporate into creative designs for vehicles and are scattered throughout Hyrule to conveniently be nearby whenever Link needs a part.
3 Creativity & Imagination Reign In TOTK
The reviewer at Polygon noted that despite their best efforts to fuse random items in chaotic ways, Tears of the Kingdom never once prevented them from attempting something. Experimenting with creativity appears to be at the heart of TOTK‘s philosophy, allowing players to truly try whatever comes into their minds, even though some of those ideas may end up killing Link as well as the Bokoblins. The game encourages everyone to try different varieties of fusing items together to see what they get, with many working surprisingly well, and others being hilariously catastrophic failures. Either way, the developers of TOTK have designed it to be possible.
2 TOTK Players Can Play As They Did In BOTW, But Exploration Requires The New Abilities
For some, the idea of focusing on all this crafting, building, and fusing may not sound as fun as the classic Zelda focus on exploration and fighting. The hack-and-slash method of combat will still work just fine, but the world of TOTK will require some of the new features to be used for exploration and puzzles. If this new focus on creation does not sound fun to a player, then they can limit it to only where absolutely necessary, but it will still be a major mechanic of the game.
1 TOTK Is Truly An Innovative, Must-Play Zelda Experience
None of the previewers felt that the two-hour block of time they had to interact with this environment of TOTK was enough time to really grasp all that was available, but they did seem to agree that this Zelda takes on a new approach to the adventure series. Ars Technica even went so far as to describe some of the feelings of construction and crafting as being more similar to Minecraft or even Kerbal Space Program, because of the number of catastrophic failures, than a typical Zelda experience.
In Breath of the Wild, players loved the freedom that the game offered them with the open-world nature and new tools the game offered them. Tears of the Kingdom clearly is taking this concept a step further to allow everyone a chance to create whatever they can imagine or experiment with silly combinations. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will, no doubt, be a unique take on the world of Zelda, but many agree that it feels as though it is a must-play game, regardless of if the creation aspect sounds fun at first or not.
Sources: Tech Crunch, Nintendo of America/YouTube, Engadget, Ars Technica, Polygon
