The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will feature "huge" dungeons according to five senior developers of the title. As The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom approaches, Nintendo has and is continuing to publish a series in which developers are questioned about various aspects of the franchise and its next entry.
Nintendo has been wary of sharing too much about the highly anticipated sequel to 2017's Breath of the Wild, especially as significant spoilers and leaks recently surfaced online. The video game giant has been understandably ruthless with its copyright enforcement, even catching an innocent Alanah Pearce in the crossfire. The content creator, and writer for Sony Santa Monica, was live on Twitch, watching fellow YouTuber Skill Up's preview of Tears of the Kingdom, when Nintendo struck down her channel. Shortly after Pearce appealed the ban, Twitch reversed the decision. But Pearce's commentary during the stream touched on something that the Zelda community has been particularly curious about - if Tears of the Kingdom herald a return to the franchise's traditional dungeons.
For all the praise that Breath of the Wild received, some dedicated Zelda fans struggled to adjust to the open-world sandbox that was introduced. Much like when Assassin's Creed transitioned away from a stealth-centered action-adventure to a roleplaying game, some feel that Zelda's focus on a sandbox is causing it to drift further from its identity. However, a new Ask the Developer published by Nintendo may settle some of those fears.
When asked if Tears of the Kingdom will feature dungeons, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi noted that the team had not yet discussed the staple of Zelda titles. He went on to confirm their existence and state that they have "changed from the previous game," referring to the Divine Beasts from Breath of the Wild. For any fans that read the entire transcript, be warned that there are what could be considered minor spoilers regarding the layout and discovery of a dungeon. The team hopes that these dungeons will present a "satisfying challenge for players," claiming that they were a challenge to develop. They added that the dungeons are "huge" and each have their own "regional look and feel."
Previous Ask the Developer interviews have discussed The Legend of Zelda in broad terms and framing Link's hand as a major theme, but this one explores the open world. Takuhiro Dohta, a technical lead for Breath of the Wild and now Tears of the Kingdom, explained that the limitations of the Wii U meant certain features, such as flying, were originally deemed "out of the question." Senior producer Eiji Aonuma joked that his natural response when playing Breath of the Wild was to think "man, I want to dig a hole right here," and it seems his wish has been somewhat granted in the sequel.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches May 12, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
