It's finally time to learn more about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Today, Nintendo released a new gameplay showcase revealing more about the gameplay mechanics of Link's upcoming adventure, including how exploration will work, Link's new abilities, and more.
As the trailer starts, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma reveals that development on the game is complete, which is good considering it's due to be released in May. He then delves into gameplay, revealing Link exploring the land of Hyrule, which Aonuma says has changed considerably since Breath of the Wild.
Link's new abilities include Recall, a power that lets you rewind the movement of an object. Aonuma demonstrates this ability by rewinding a rock into the sky, where Link can ride it and then use his paraglider to soar across the game's sky islands. As the presentation continues, Aonuma reveals new enemies, too, including the Construct, a mechanical enemy with a sinister-looking eye in its head.
Another power shown off in the gameplay demonstration is Ultrahand, which essentially works similarly to Magnesis from Breath of the Wild, although Ultrahand works on non-metal objects too. Aonuma constructs a fully-functioning boat from three logs and two fans with a method that looks pretty similar to the way Breath of the Wild fans have made functioning vehicles from that game's physics.
Other systems Aonuma shows off include the ability to infuse monster parts to equipment, which lets you home arrows in on enemies, for instance, or create smoke clouds by attaching a mushroom to your shield. It looks like an ingenious system that builds on some of the systemic experimentation Breath of the Wild encouraged. There's also Link's new Ascend power, which lets him fuse through solid ceilings in order to bypass obstacles and traverse terrain.
As well as gameplay for Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo also unveiled a special Tears of the Kingdom OLED Switch model, which launches earlier than the game on April 28th. A special Pro Controller and carrying case will also be released, but you'll have to wait a little longer for those, as they're coming out alongside the game itself.
It's well worth giving the full presentation a look if you want to know what Tears of the Kingdom has in store. Characteristically, Nintendo is keeping some of its cards close to its chest, so if you're worried about spoilers, you needn't be. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches for Nintendo Switch on May 12th, and you can pre-order it right now. A Collector's Edition, which includes swanky extras like a pin set, a steelbook, and an art book, is also available to pre-order at selected retailers.
