During promotion for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Sky Islands were obviously the main selling point. The Depths were somewhat teased in trailers and gameplay, but it wasn't until players started to progress through the game that they came to discover there was an entire map underneath Hyrule to explore.
The Depths are linked to the main story of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in many ways. The area offers new items to collect, more challenging enemies to battle, and treasures to be found. But as a new area, there are plenty of ways that the Depths could be improved — especially if there's DLC in the future, which could expand upon what's already there.
6 Unique Enemies
Traditional enemies had a makeover in Tears of the Kingdom, and those living in the Depths have been taken over by Gloom. This makes defeating them more difficult for Link because when they make contact with Link, the Gloom will reduce Link's hearts. Some Bokoblins and Lynels are covered in stone armor, providing players with an even more foreboding task.
There was an opportunity for brand-new enemies to be introduced in the Depths, much like the large Frox creatures that roam around, ready to pounce. It would have been a pleasant surprise for players to experience more enemies only found in the Depths, much like only Constructs appearing on the Sky Islands. This would have given each layer of Hyrule a unique separation from each other.
5 More New Creatures
While there are a few new creatures in the Depths, like Deep Fireflies, Little Frox, and Frox, no other unique creatures call the underworld of Hyrule their home. There could have been even more creatures to aid Link in his exploration. Possible creatures could include those who might help players make Sunny recipes to fight the Gloom that is much more prevalent down there.
Because Sundelions and Sun Pumpkins can't be harvested in the Depths, players will be stuck when they run out. Lizards, beetles, or another creature could have been introduced in the Depths to resolve this issue.
4 More Varied Locations & Things To Do
Players will gradually notice that the Depths mirror what's on Hyrule's surface. Rivers become mountains and mountains become valleys. Towns and villages usually have an associated mine beneath them, while Shrines are directly linked to Lightroots below.
Aside from other areas like Coliseums, forests, and enemy strongholds, there are a lot of empty spaces within the Depths with nothing interesting between them. The Depths could have done with more intriguing landmarks for players to explore, besides navigating through the darkness. That's the beauty of Hyrule's surface — there's always something interesting to see and even just admire in particular areas.
3 Deeper Lore
Each region of Hyrule has a corresponding abandoned mine sitting beneath its towns and villages. There are other, smaller mines that Link can visit, where players can find deposits of Zonaite and treasure chests. There was definitely a missed opportunity to include more lore within these areas of the Depths. After all, the main mines are directly linked to the main settlements of Hyrule's main races on the surface, suggesting a deep connection to the Zonai tribe.
There could have been a deeper explanation relating to how tribes like the Gorons started below ground in the Ancient City of Gorondia, or how these mines were first built. Players might also learn why they've fallen into such disrepair after the Zonai tribe ceased to exist, despite many Constructs keeping the mining processes running.
2 Varied & Unique Treasures
There's lots of treasure to be found in the Depths, particularly if players have discovered the Old Maps littered around the Sky Islands. Each X marks a chest containing special armor. However, this could have been improved by rewarding players with something unique to the Depths, like ancient Zonai weapons. These chests could have contained new armor rather than ones acting as callbacks to previous games, especially since many were already featured in Breath of the Wild.
One way to address this would be by making these outfits available to buy from Bargainer Statues (as they do become available for purchase there after Link finds the clothing in question). Then the treasude could be new outfits like different tiers of Gloom-resistant armor or overpowered weapons as a reward either. These could be either at locations marked as X on the Old Maps, or as a reward for defeating waves of enemies in the coliseums.
1 Better Reward For Discovering All Lightroots
Players are rewarded with the Ancient Hero's Aspect armor for completing all the Shrines on Hyrule's surface. This set depicts a Zonai hero of old and provides a buff of 12 additional points in defense. Players would expect a similar gift for lighting all the Lightroots in the Depths, but are given the Dispelling Darkness medal instead as proof of their efforts.
It would have been more meaningful for players to receive something that marked their efforts, like a unique weapon for conquering the Depths or a comparable set of armor to the Ancient Hero's Aspect. The Dispelling Darkness medal seems underwhelming for the amount of effort put into lighting up an entirely new map under Hyrule's surface.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.