Nintendo just released some new gameplay footage for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, highlighting some of the new magical abilities Link can use in the vast open world of Hyrule. 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild quickly became one of the defining titles on the Nintendo Switch, and fans have been eagerly awaiting a follow-up over the past few years. They won’t have to wait too much longer, as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will finally launch on May 12 following a brief delay last year.
Details about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have been slowly coming to light over the past year or so in the form of several cryptic trailers that have provided players a glimpse into the highly-anticipated sequel’s story and gameplay. Much speculation has been made about Link’s mysterious stone-like arm, the return of Ganondorf, and even the corrupted Master Sword that has been featured heavily in past Tears of the Kingdom trailers. Now, Nintendo is pulling back the curtain on some of the new tricks Link will have up his possibly bewitched sleeve in his latest adventure.
Earlier today, Nintendo's official YouTube channel released a new gameplay demonstration video for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, in which Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma sat down and played the game for over 10 minutes. During this time, he showed off a few of Link’s new magical abilities and how useful they are in both exploration and combat. The first is Recall, which allows the hero of Hyrule to rewind time on certain objects - as shown when Link rides a fallen rock back up toward Tears of the Kingdom’s mysterious Sky islands.
Once Link has ascended to one of these floating islands, Aonuma shows off the next new ability: Fuse. This combines two items, allowing players to create new weapons to battle Tears of the Kingdom enemies like the newly-revealed Constructs. Fusing weapons can also repair broken weapons and add elemental effects and seeking abilities to Link’s arrows. Link can also move and attach objects together using Ultrahand, which is demonstrated by Aounma putting together a makeshift raft. Finally, Link can phase through ceilings above his head with Ascend, allowing him to reach otherwise inaccessible vantage points.
Part of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s appeal came from players being able to experiment with Link’s skills and tools to explore the world of Hyrule as they saw fit, and it looks like this is continuing in Tears of the Kingdom. Thanks to Link’s new skills, players will likely be able to discover new and interesting ways to get around once The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom finally hits the Nintendo Switch later this year.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released on May 12 for the Nintendo Switch.