Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Demonstration Breakdown and Theories

Slowly but surely, Nintendo is revealing more information about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Trailers have given glimpses of features, but the gameplay demonstration by Eiji Aonuma showcased these in real-time. We have broken down everything we saw in the demonstration below. Let us know if we missed anything!

Sky Islands

Sky Islands are one of the major changes in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. These float high above Hyrule but can be reached by using Link's Recall ability on the objects that fall from them. There are multiple Sky Islands, and these can be reached by using the Paraglider and gliding over to them.

Sky Islands have different structures and points of interest, man-made and natural. You can find buildings, caves, rivers, lakes, and more, including unique yellow trees not found on the ground. This provides a whole new world to explore.

The Sky Islands are also helpful for exploring the ground as well. Link can scout out locations while falling thanks to the bird's-eye view it provides. While falling, Link can dive to speed up his descent or open the Paraglider to land safely. This mechanic greatly opens up the world of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom New Abilities

Recall

Objects will fall from Sky Islands. You can use Link's Recall ability to shoot up into the sky. From there, you can use the Paraglider to reach the Sky Islands. This ability will likely have more uses, but we do not know these at the time of writing.

Fuse

This ability can stick objects together to create unique weapons and items. This lets you create new weapons, items, and even vehicles. This changes the properties of these, giving you more freedom in how you approach the world and combat. We can't wait to experiment and discover all sorts of combinations.

Ultrahand

Ultrahand allows Link to create vehicles, such as boats, flying vehicles, and cars. By attaching logs and fans, Link can quickly traverse wide bodies of water. The ability seems to be used in connection with Fuse but will have numerous applications.

Ascend

This ability allows you to pass through ceilings and reach the floor above. This opens up the world by allowing you to pass through buildings, caves, and more quickly. There are some restrictions, but so long as there is an open space on the ceiling, you can pass through. This bypasses the need to climb and rely on stamina to reach high places.

Related: Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Trailer #2 Breakdown and Theories

New Enemies Construct

A brand new enemy to The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, and the Zelda series was revealed during this demonstration. These are the Constructs, mechanical enemies found on Sky Islands. They seem to be related to the Zonai as they drop an item called Zonai Charge.

Constructs come in different forms and can use different weapons. They can even use Fused weapons, expanding their combat abilities. You will need to vary your strategies when facing these, especially if you're near an edge and one has a fan blade.

New Items and Weapons

New items can be found or crafted in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This includes weapons, vehicles, armor, and more. By combining items, Link can create unique weapons or shields with different effects. Fusing a long stick and pitchfork creates a weapon with incredible range, fusing monster drops to arrows creates special arrows that can freeze enemies or track them without the need to aim, or attaching a mushroom to your shield to create a cloud of smoke to disengage and gain an advantageous position against enemies.

Crafting Vehicles

These are not found in the game but rather must be crafted using Fuse and Ultrahand. This allows you to use your imagination to explore the world. You can create boats, cars, and flying vehicles by crafting with objects found in the world.

Related: Are there dungeons in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?

Dragons Return

The dragons are back! We spotted one flying around, though it was too hard to tell which it is from the distance. We don't know if Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra are all returning or if only one or two is. With the Sky Islands giving more verticality, players should be able to better reach the dragons.

Coordinates

A new feature in the world coordinates. This can be seen on the mini-map. This adds a new way to mark locations and explore the world. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did not have this feature, but its open world was a joy to explore, and we expect Tears of the Kingdom to be the same.

Zonai Confirmation

The Zonai were heavily hinted at throughout the promotional material of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but we now have confirmation they are in the game. Link can get Zonai Charges as a drop when defeating the new Construct enemies. We don't know what these do yet, but we also see various pieces of technology that appear similar to the Constructs. We assume that these are from the Zonai civilization as well.

Homesteading Hyrule

This is speculation, but Link may be able to use Fuse and Ultrahand to create homes. We see what looks to be a house in a state of construction. If this is true, players can set up a house anywhere in Hyrule, maybe even on the Sky Islands. It could just be an abandoned house, but we hope that Link can craft homes. This may even include the ability to farm, but there is no confirmation or footage.

Mysterious Structures

We spotted several structures and points of interest that did not appear in Breath of the Wild. This includes towers with glowing lights, more Nazca lines, bursts of Calamity, and a strange orb on a pedastal. We don't know what they are or what they do, but it is definitely interesting.

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Oled

Alongside the game, an Oled model will release with a design inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Additionally, a Pro Controller and Nintendo Switch Carrying Case are releasing as well. This allows you to deck out your Switch in Zelda fashion fully. Here are the release dates for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom accessories.

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Oled Switch - April 4, 2023
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Pro Controller - May 12, 2023
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Carrying Case - May 12, 2023

For more information on The Legend of Zelda, check out Are there Shrines in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom? and Will Zelda Tears of the Kingdom have DLC? on Pro Game Guides.