On the Nintendo Direct of Sept. 13, 2022, Nintendo showed off a brand new teaser for the sequel to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” not only the revealing the name to be “Tears of the Kingdom,” but also that the game will be releasing on May 12, 2023. And with all this new information, there is a lot to be looking forward to about the upcoming sequel to “Breath of the Wild.”

Sky Islands:

One of the important new areas shown off in the trailers for “Tears of the Kingdom” have been sky islands. Link can be seen running across islands located above many parts of Hyrule. It also seems that there are several ways and areas in which a player can traverse from the ground to the sky. It’s unclear how these will play into the story or what major landmarks there will be up there, but it is surely one of the ways Nintendo plans to differentiate this new world from that of “Breath of the Wild.”

New Mechanics: 

Several new game mechanics have been shown off so far. Skydiving looks to be one of the ways Link can travel from island to island. The player also seems to be able to use time reversal. This can be seen in a couple shots from the trailers where time stops and  then continues with certain objects moving backwards. Additionally, at the end of the most recent trailer, Link is shown to be skydiving before getting picked up by some sort of stone bird. This bird could just be something the player can land on while skydiving or could possibly be summoned akin to how one whistles for their horse in the first game. 

Return of Ganondorf:

The centerpiece of the first teaser for “Tears of the Kingdom” was a corpse being held down by a ghostly hand, with malice pouring out of it. Based on current evidence, this could possibly be Ganondorf, who first appeared in “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.” Ganondorf is shown to be a very cunning character who manipulates people to get what he wants. This is far different from the villain of “Breath of the Wild,” Calamity Ganon, who is treated more as a force of nature. While that worked in the context of “Breath of the Wild,” Ganondorf isn’t just a mindless beast but a powerful strategist who will likely pose much more of a threat to Link and Zelda.

The Zonai:

Deep in the Faron region of “Breath of the Wild’s” overworld, mysterious ruins can be found belonging to an ancient race known as the Zonai, who mysteriously disappeared. Many of their ruins consist of imagery relating to boars, owls and dragons, along with their signature logo, a swirl. That’s about all the player learns about the Zonai in the first game, however, the sequel seems to be developing on them. Their ruins can be seen in several shots from the trailers and is even incorporated into the logo for the game. 

The Unknown:

What’s truly most exciting is still how little is known about the “Tears of the Kingdom.” The fact that the title for the game was only just revealed is telling of just how much we don’t know. The game has been in development for about five years, so Nintendo clearly isn’t showing their full hand. But what might those mysteries entail is just about anyone’s guess. 

There are many things to get excited about when it comes to “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” Despite all that, there is also so much that is being kept in the dark about the game, which makes it one of the most anticipated games of 2023.