Due to this game's nature as a sequel, all spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the 20th main entry in The Legend of Zelda series, the 7th fully 3D installment, and the direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It released on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.
Picking up several years after the destruction of Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild, the kingdom of Hyrule has begun to restore itself to its former glory. However, reconstruction efforts are disrupted when a strange malady dubbed "the Gloom" starts bubbling up from the deepest depths of Hyrule, causing those who come in contact with it to lose their strength and vitality. Tracking the Gloom's source to beneath Hyrule Castle, Link and Zelda soon discover the ruins of an ancient tribe known as the Zonai, and at its center the cause of not only the Gloom, but the Calamity as well; Ganondorf, an ancient Gerudo king who millennia ago sought to conquer Hyrule and remake the kingdom in his image, only to be sealed through the efforts of seven sages. However, Ganondorf's seal has slowly been weakening over the ages, allowing evils like the Calamity and Gloom to spawn from his bottomless well of hatred. In hopes that Link and Zelda will now be able to put an end to Ganondorf once and for all, the remnant will of the Sage of Light whose right arm is serving as the heart of Ganondorf's seal releases the ancient evil... only for everything to go horribly wrong.
Link and the Master Sword are both grievously corrupted by Ganondorf's power and in the process of releasing the rest of his seal, Ganondorf causes "the Upheaval", an event that sends Hyrule Castle into the air, opens many chasms to the world below Hyrule, and causes numerous Zonai ruins to descend from the sky as floating islands. As the ruins collapse around them, Link and Zelda are separated, with Link being barely saved by the Sage of Light’s arm and Zelda disappearing in a flash of light. Awakening on one of the new sky islands, Link finds his corrupted right arm has been replaced with that of the ancient sage, and is tasked by the Sage's spirit, a member of the Zonai named Rauru, to seek out Princess Zelda. Now, equipped with the new powers of the Sage of Light contained within his right arm, Link must explore the reborn lands of Hyrule, learn the secrets of the ancient Zonai in search of Zelda, and put a stop to Ganondorf's millennia old ambitions once more.
Tears of the Kingdom retains much of the Survival Sandbox gameplay of the previous game, but this time around, there is significantly more emphasis placed on exploration and Item Crafting. The former comes with not only an altered world map, but two new places to explore; the mysterious Sky Islands that have emerged above Hyrule, and the dark, Gloom-infested cavernous Depths down below. The latter primarily manifests in the form of physics objects, which can be manipulated using two new systems: Fuse, which can weld objects to Link's weapons to strengthen his sword, shield, and arrows and augment them with special properties, and Ultrahand, which can pick objects up and create structures from them, their complexity ranging from simple bridges to elaborate flying machines.
Previews: E3 2019 teaser
, E3 2021 trailer, Nintendo Direct September 13, 2022 trailer, Nintendo Direct February 8, 2023 trailer, Mr. Aonuma Gameplay Demonstration, April 13, 2023 trailer, official website.
