The final moments of the new trailer has Zelda asking an unknown entity to lend Link their power, followed immediately by a shot of the Hero of Time reaching out for the Princess as the ground beneath her gives way and she falls into oblivion. This particular sequence likely takes place in the opening hours beneath the ruins of Hyrule Castle, with Link and Zelda seeking out the remains of Calamity Ganon following his defeat. Nintendo has not been shy about showing his decaying corpse, radiating mythical dark energy as its hollow eye sockets lock onto whatever poor soul it encounters. And yet his role remains a mystery.

Whenever Nintendo decides to provide an answer surrounding The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , it hurls out dozens more questions and keeps the theory wheels turning in our brains. Yesterday’s Direct featured an extended glimpse at new gameplay mechanics, while also teasing a healthy dose of character and narrative details I am totally going to read too much into and come to conclusions that probably won’t end up happening.

While some fans may not recognize Tulin as a returning character (or at all), his place in the final TOTK trailer places him as something of a stand-in for his father, the more familiar Teba, aiding Link in what seems to be sky-based portion of the game, and even being present for the appearance of a giant new boss monster. Of course, this is a major step up from his BOTW appearance, where many players are likely to not even have encountered him or the archery-based minigame that he provides. With Teba suffering from an injury in BOTW , it's likely Tulin is stepping up in his pl

The addition of new tools in TOTK clearly has the potential to provide many quality-of-life improvements to the game when compared to BOTW . In some cases, there are tools that could greatly improve resource collection methods from BOTW should they be implemented. In others, Breath of the Wild ** ’s ubiquitous durability system means that what could be useful tools are instead weak weapons that come with limited uses in the open-world game. By making such items a permanent addition to Link’s toolkit, Tears of the Kingdom ** can solve several problems with its predecessor’s gameplay experie

Death Stranding differs from BOTW and TOTK mainly in its darker story and lack of puzzles. Death Stranding is set in a world where the border between life and afterlife has deteriorated. Outdoor travel is impossible for most, owing to explosive, invisible ghosts called BTs, along with rain that ages whatever it falls on. Players control Sam Porter Bridges, a courier charged with building a communication network to reconnect now-isolated American cities. However, the world is not without hope, which comes in the form of cooperation through the asynchronous multiplayer features. Death Stranding is available on PC, PS4, and PS5 - and __ Death Stranding 2 has been confirmed in developm

Once his preparations are complete, Link storms the inner sanctum of Hyrule Castle. As he does so, Zelda’s strength finally fails her, allowing Calamity Ganon to break free as a twisted combination of corrupted Sheikah technology and Breath of the Wild ’s sludge-like Malice , a substance that seems to be pure hatred in corrosive, physical form. The Divine Beasts fire their enormous energy weapons, severely weakening Ganon and helping Link defeat him. However, Ganon quickly reforms as the boar-like Dark Beast Ganon, and a still-incorporeal Zelda warns Link that Ganon has abandoned any hope of reincarnation in order to focus all of his stren

Immortals Fenyx Rising is an open-world, exploration-based game similar to BOTW and TOTK , but with a greater focus on combat than any of the games covered in this list so far. Much like the Zelda games, its art style strikes a satisfying balance between stunning landscapes and cartoonish character design. Players can explore its vast, diverse open world by scaling cliffs, riding animals, or soaring through the sky. Secrets, optional puzzles, and platforming challenges are scattered across the map, and players may discover them in any order they wish. Wielding sword, bow, and godly powers, players will face off against monsters of myth, including a snarling Cerberus and towering tit

Breath of the Wild offers many hours of story content alone, with side quests and pure exploration leading many players to easily spend countless hours exploring Hyrule. As a result, BOTW is not the easiest game to quickly replay should players want to refresh their memory ahead of Tears of the Kingdom ; and the required commitment of both time and effort can be discouraging. Fortunately, the actual narrative of Breath of the Wild is relatively straightforward and lends itself well to a written plot synopsis for those who want an easily-digested summary of the g

Sable boasts a unique, cel-shaded artstyle that's entirely unlike BOTW 's and TOTK 's, Best Hearty recipes but is beautiful just the same. The ancient ruins and megafauna skeletons dotted around the map lend it an awe-inspiring sense of scale, tempered with a feeling of quiet melancholy. In conjunction with the mellow, ambient soundtrack composed by indie pop musician Japanese Breakfast, Sable creates an evocative, memorable experience on PC, Xbox, and