Gameplay Trailer For ‘The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom’ Showcases New Core Mechanics, Unveils Limited OLED Nintendo Switch

Ryan Pearson |

Mar 29, 2023

Link (Kengo Takanashi) finds a mysterious orb of energy in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Nintendo

Nintendo has shared over ten minutes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay, revealing some of Link’s new abilities.

Link rides across the fields of Hyrule on a horse via The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Nintendo

Series producer Eiji Aonuma hosted the segment, opening with the revelation that development was now complete. Initially, we see gameplay similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Link can ride on horseback across Hyrule, and the UI from that game appears very similar.

Aonuma insisted the world “had changed in many ways,” one of the major ways being Sky Islands. When a piece of an island falls down, players can use a new ability called Recall, which allows objects to move back to where they came for a short time, to travel to them. Therefore, Sky Island pieces can help players reach new heights.

Across the presentation, we briefly see a long dragon in the distance, along with Sky Islands cloaked in a thundercloud, and oddities like perfectly spherical or cube-shaped islands.

Along with Sky Islands showing signs of an ancient civilization, some of its inhabitants appear to be hostile Constructs that slightly resemble the Guardians of Breath of the Wild — albeit powered by a teal-colored energy rather than red or blue. They also wield objects they find lying around, much like the player.

Though not directly addressed, it seems there are some peaceful Constructs players can talk to.

The next gameplay mechanic showcased was the object-combining ability called Fuse, which can be used to make new weapons in creative ways. To better illustrate, Aonuma showed off this ability by combining tree-branch with a boulder. Along with increasing attack power and durability, this can offer other bonuses.

Link protects himself with a shield fused with a puffshroom via The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Nintendo

For example, a pitchfork’s range can be extended with a long stick. Similarly, players can grant arrows elemental or even homing properties making use of monster parts. Link can be seen weaponizing a shield with a puffshroom, producing a blinding spore cloud when attacked and allowing for Sneakstrikes; an ability also present in Breath of the Wild.

It’s not just weapons and shields that benefit from fusion. As seen in prior trailers, players can fuse objects together in the world via Ultrahand. By combining logs and fans, players can make a raft to cross rivers, or angle the fans downwards to create flying machines.

Link sails across a river using a raft constructed from fused logs and fans via The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Nintendo

Another new ability showcased was Link’s Ascend ability. When under a ceiling — one with open terrain above it and without other restrictions — Link is hurled upward through the ceiling until he gets onto solid land. This can be used to get on top of buildings, get out of a cage, or even scale tall mountains from the deepest of caves beneath them.

Returning to fusion, it seems foes can wield fused weapons as well. A Construct is shown wielding what appears to be a door on a stick, producing a powerful gust when swung and knocking Link clean off the island.

Link falls high from the sky above Hyrule via The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Nintendo

When jumping off Sky Islands, Link can glide and even accelerate. Despite falling an ungodly height, the Hero of Hyrule was shown not to take damage when landing in water. At this point in the video we briefly see Hyrule Castle floating above the ground, with black energy pouring out underneath. A similar energy can be seen pouring out of a nearby mountain.

Aounuma promises some of Link’s abilities will be “updated” from Breath of the Wild, teasing that there was more information that had yet to be revealed. He also admits players must already be theorizing how to use the new powers in unique ways.

The Nintendo Switch – OLED Model – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Edition via Nintendo

The presentation concluded with the reveal of a new Nintendo Switch OLED Model The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom edition, launching April 28th for RRP $359.99. It should be noted this does not contain neither a physical nor digital version of the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches May 12th on Nintendo Switch.

The Collector’s Edition comes with the physical game, an Artbook, SteelBook® case, Steel Poster, and a set of four pin badges. A new Link amiibo will also launch May 12th, granting weapons, materials, and a new paraglider fabric when tapped.