A lot has changed since the release of Breath of the Wild on Switch, but not so far as to ruin the familiar experience. After all, as the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? That being said, new innovations in any game help keep interest alive. And with this game’s trailers and previews, there are already significant things to address. So let’s take a look at what’s changed so far in the latest installment of the Zelda franchise, Tears of the Kingdom.

Link the Mechanic Making Vehicles Galore

Get ready to build your very own custom vehicles in Tears of the Kingdom. And every domain is accessible, whether land, sea, or air, and depending on what parts you put together, you just might up with something that does more than one. Nintendo’s showcase video wowed fans with an example of Link assembling a raft that’s not only fan-powered, but it was also able to fly. It’s going to be fantastic to see just how limitless this mechanic will be, and gamers are also looking forward to the capabilities and benefits that vehicles will bring in both travel and combat.

Weapon Fusion For Even More Variety

Item crafting was one of the standout innovations in Breath of the Wild, especially for the Zelda series. Now things are about to be taken to the next level by the introduction of not just new items, but also the Ability to fuse them into more evolved versions. Find yourself running low on breakable weapons. Looking for a useful weapon ability that other weapons can’t provide? Then it’s time to fuse. Take a common stick and a boulder to create a stronger hammer rather than just a stick. This can increase attack power, durability, attack range, and other unique characteristics. You can also fuse a basic arrow with an object like a leaf and an ice elemental to create an ice arrow or fuse a monster eye to make a homing arrow.

Recall

The Recall ability allows you to perform a combination of a time rewind and reversing the position of an object in Hyrule. For example, if a log was stuck in a position and then ended up moving and rolling down a hill, once it stops, you would be able to recall the log to travel backward so it returns to the original position it was stuck in. Really nice and useful ability to have for sure.

Sky Islands

Giant land masses float high above Hyrule. They are super high up in the sky but you can see them from the ground. You’ll have to do more climbing and searching to find giant rocks that fall from the sky. Once you find the rock, you can use your new ability of recall to rewind the rock up to the sky island, and also use your paraglider fly across. There will be other methods to discover that are specific to each sky island. And each of these islands has different enemies to defeat and treasures to find as well as interesting landscapes.

UltraHand

Ultrahand is a neat new way to arrange, attach, and detach fused creations that you put together in Hyrule. It basically gives you a powerful way to interact with objects and makeshift items more easily and intuitively. You can grab multiple objects with intricately place them on specific parts of your creation or vehicle so they will function purposefully.

Ascend

Ascend is a game-breaking ability that is very reminiscent of being able to flatten yourself onto walls in Link Between Worlds. It’s more of a shortcut now because all you need to do instead of walking on a wall, you can simply look up at a ceiling and teleport through it. This is incredibly powerful and time-saving because it allows you to cover various heights quickly. You won’t be able to ascend certain ceilings that are too high, but this ability also lets your shortcut your way to the top of mountains through caves without spending any stamina. This ability is rock solid!

Allies That Have Your Back

Sadly, there is no co-op multiplayer upon release, as creators have stated that Zelda has always been envisioned to be a single-player story experience, at least for the main games. However, this time around, it has been shown how Link can gather several NPC allies that will actually fight in battle with him Dynasty Warriors style. This might expand to just more than combat, but this will give some sense of team multiplayer, although AI, so that portions of your adventure won’t feel too lonely.

More Interactable Environments

Looks like there’s going to be some new geographical features and additions to the environment that will make for some fun and challenging times. We’ve seen Link slide down what looks to be a small and narrow mine cart rail system, but that’s all we need to know before fully jumping into the vast world of Tears of the Kingdom. With more interactable environments, Link’s journey will be that much more challenging and rewarding. 

That does it for now with what’s new in the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom? And everything that’s different from Breath of the Wild. You’ll want to jump into the adventure without too many spoilers so make sure to pick this exclusive game up for your Nintendo Switch ASAP. And may the Triforce be with you!