Tears of the Kingdom has everyone in a tizzy, as we explore Hyrule all over again. While some players are too busy building functional engines or Korok torture devices out of Zonai parts and handy materials, most of us are exploring in a more normal fashion. You know, like in Breath of the Wild.
I’m already growing a little tired of exploring, though. Sometimes you come across something utterly brilliant, a piece of magic and wonderment that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about Hyrule. But mostly, you’re just wandering around again. And, if you don’t do the story first (a mistake I made, stupidly thinking that exploration was at this game’s core), you won’t even have the Paraglider or Skyview Towers to help you on your way.
Contrast this with exploring the skies. You see a vertical archipelago on the horizon, and you have to work hard to get there. You may not be able to even reach it right off the bat, which forces you to the ground in order to ascend vertically when you’re nearer. Traversal is a puzzle in itself, and while it’s not the most complicated 3D platforming I’ve ever come across, it’s far more fun than walking. Even the tutorial is excellent and exciting, thanks in large part to its altitude and the new mechanics that the sky islands force you to engage with.
Then you fall to the ground and everything is a little bit, well, samey. It’s lovely to see how towns have evolved, and I like helping out Sidon and other old friends, but those heartwarming spot-the-difference moments are few and far between. Returning to Link’s house to find Zelda’s underground study is a lovely touch, but I’m not compelled by the rest of Hateno Village. I don’t really care who’s going to be mayor, and I don’t really care that there are fake mushrooms everywhere now, either. Maybe I should, but if Tears of the Kingdom wanted to be as radical as its predecessor, it shouldn’t have let you touch the ground.
Think of your most memorable moments in the game so far. For me, there’s been some lovely story beats (which could have taken place anywhere), the first dive into The Depths with music swelling and darkness engulfing, and the Temples with the complex airborne platforming routes to them. For many of you, the crafting with Ultrahand will be up there too, but I’m not sold on that yet. Besides, you can do that on the sky islands, and would more often if Nintendo put more stuff up there.
Another part of the game that iterates on Breath of the Wild in more interesting ways is the underground, The Depths. Beneath Hyrule is an enormous cavern filled with ancient ruins and root systems connecting the Shrines above. I haven’t played far enough to understand the narrative implications of this, but it’s an intriguing world that’s far more interesting to explore than the fields above. It’s not just the fact that Zonai infrastructure that’s been hinted at for so long is more exciting than marginally different towns from the last game, traversal itself is more interesting down here, too.
In Hyrule, you can either walk, ride, or float around. Riding can be on horseback or vehicle if you’re into the Ultrahanded way of thinking, but that’s what it boils down to. Floating requires the use of Skyview Towers, but is quite a fun way of reaching those far-off monuments. Underground, however, it’s all different. While you’re just walking about the caverns – fundamentally the most boring mode of transportation – The Depths are pitch black, and you need to use light arrows to find your way. Between the gloom and the Gloom, it’s mysterious and perilous in equal measure, and a far more compelling area.
The same goes for the islands in the sky. You have to be clever to get from one to the next, using every ability in your arsenal and piece of Zonai tech that you can get your hands on. This is also the one area that makes good use of the Ultrahand ability, largely because there aren’t handy piles of logs and boards strategically placed to help you. Sure, it might have the minecart and fan you need instead, but fusing them together is more fun than just building a Very Long Plank, and feels like an intended mechanic rather than a cheeky shortcut.
The areas above and beneath Hyrule forge new ground for the series, literally. They innovate in ways that Breath of the Wild did, and therefore make regular old Hyrule feel old in comparison. Imagine if the entirety of Hyrule Field was consumed by Gloom, and everywhere else on the surface for that matter. Your task to defeat it, and whatever or whoever is behind it, could start in the skies, after which you dive into the chasms beneath, great rifts in Hyrule’s crust leading to The Depths and potentially the heart of the rot. Destroy it at its source, and save the world again. It would risk turning the game into a giant Hyrulian version of the floor is lava, but an increased focus on the more interesting locations would be no bad thing. These areas are the most interesting parts of Tears of the Kingdom, narratively and mechanically. There’s nothing for me in Hyrule any more.