While The Legend of Zelda fans have had a lot to celebrate this year, this week has been sullied by a recent interview Nintendo gave. As originally reported by Famitsu (via IGN), the Big N revealed that, unlike the post-launch support given to Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom would not be receiving any DLC, instead focusing on the next game in the franchise — whatever that might look like.
And don’t be fooled; I think Tears of the Kingdom is a fantastic game — the new Ultrahand and Fuse mechanics have completely rewritten the series’ established formula, and the game’s easily a top contender for Game of the Year (alongside Baldur’s Gate III). I can’t think of any glaring holes or content gaps that could be filled by downloadable content. That being said, Tears of the Kingdom certainly introduced several new elements to the franchise while building upon others, and I can think of a few things I would have loved for Nintendo to expand upon (minor spoilers ahead). Without further ado…
Additional content for the Depths
Okay, I’ll admit, I might have lied earlier when I said that Tears of the Kingdom was devoid of any glaring omissions. Personally, while I did enjoy exploring and mapping out the Depths (the underground zone of the game that heavily relies on building tension, with some light roguelike elements sprinkled throughout), I have to concede that there could have been more to do in the lands down under.
For starters, while the Depths is certainly home to some must-grab items and weapons, it’s not exactly bursting at the seams with notable collectibles, save for a few armor pieces (and even then, most of those are cosmetic in nature). If Nintendo had decided to focus on DLC for Tears of the Kingdom, they’d have plenty to build off of here — more side quests, more bosses, more weapons… more everything!
New Zonai devices
Let’s be clear — I am by no means a natural when it comes to building contraptions and vehicles using the game’s (many) Zonai devices, but it would be foolish to deny that these additions aren’t some of Tears of the Kingdom‘s biggest innovations. Of course, this level of crafting has been seen in other games (shout out to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, a game that was way ahead of its time), but there are certainly a few ways it can be expanded upon.
For starters, it would have been interesting to add a few wrinkles into the mix. Separate motors/engines for the left and right sides of a vehicle would go a long way, as would gears and hinges. It would also be nice to be able to create an item launcher of sorts, as opposed to having to rely on using your bow and arrow.
If Nintendo really wanted to shoot for the moon, they could have moved into Terraria and Minecraft territory by adding logic gates and some sort of Redstone equivalent. It remains to be seen how elegantly it could be integrated into the existing set of tools at your disposal, but I for one would have loved to have seen Link unleash his inner programmer.
The histories of the Zonai, Ganondorf, Hyrule itself, and… just about everything from the first game
Tears of the Kingdom is certainly a more story-heavy game — especially when compared to past Zelda titles, and most of Nintendo’s offerings for that matter. That being said, when the credits roll on this gargantuan game, there are still a few unanswered questions that I would love to be addressed.
For starters, what happened to the Zonai, the race that descended from the clouds above to establish the kingdom of Hyrule? Did they go extinct somehow? Were they massacred by another species? Have they just departed this world, or moved on to bigger and better things? Also, how exactly do they fit into the Depths? Obviously, it seems like they used this newly discovered region to house mining operations — I mean, who couldn’t get enough of that sweet, sweet Zonite — but it’s not entirely clear why the Depths were abandoned. Did the Zonai meet their demise in this dangerous region? And why exactly were the Depths (presumably) sealed up and built on top of?
And then there’s the whole matter of Ganondorf, or more specifically, which Ganondorf we’re dealing with in Tears of the Kingdom. Is he an all-new Ganondorf? Is he a reincarnation of one from a prior game? Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom don’t fit nicely into the series’ already convoluted timeline, with the only real information we have to go on is the fact that they take place thousands and thousands of years after the other games in the franchise.
It’s not entirely clear how this version of Hyrule fits into the bigger picture; heck, Tears of the Kingdom barely references its predecessor, opting to scrub much of what made Breath of the Wild unique (such as the Divine Beasts and their champions, the Guardians and other mechanical foes, and the Sheikah Slate and its Runes/powers), but at some point, Nintendo needs to address some of the questions raised by Tears of the Kingdom‘s story.
More Sky Islands
The other new “zone” in Tears of the Kingdom is the Sky Islands, a fractured collection of, well, islands that float in — you guessed it — the sky. Blasting out of a Skyview Tower and surveying the world from up on high is easily one of the best moments this year in gaming, and I’m sure most Legend of Zelda fans wouldn’t say no to more of it.
The Sky Islands are home to physics puzzles, shrines, Zonai devices, and some of the game’s most terrifying bosses — coupled with some new islands and ways of flying around (maybe we could get a helicopter Zonai device of sorts?), this could have been an easy way to introduce another questline that ends with some substantial reward, not unlike Breath of the Wild‘s Master Trials DLC. Personally, I would have loved a bigger version of the Thunderhead Isles, or better yet, completely new islands with unusual weather.
Master Mode
This one is pretty self-explanatory; Breath of the Wild‘s master mode added a new layer of difficulty to the game’s combat, and considering how Tears of the Kingdom isn’t a terribly difficult game, an optional mode with a higher level of difficulty would have extended the life of the game, especially for those like me, who are itching to replay Tears of the Kingdom but don’t have a good reason to jump back in so soon after launch.
More options to trick out your house
If you didn’t even know that you could build your own house in Tears of the Kingdom, you’re probably not the only one. Much like Tarrey Town, this game’s customization options for your house aren’t exactly on the golden path, and it’s an entirely optional part of the experience that doesn’t radically change the way you play.
Still, it was nice to flex my creative muscles when building on my shabby starter home, and there are so many possibilities for how to flesh out the level of customization on offer. For starters, there’s no way to place windows, wall decorations, or other items inside your house, as that’s largely limited to what pre-fab rooms you can purchase. Being able to hang more pictures, having the option to install a fireplace, and adding more plants into the mix — the possibilities are endless.
There are also a few noticeable omissions. A training room, for instance, would be a great addition, especially if it came complete with training dummies that don’t reduce your weapon’s durability. Also, having your own garden, with the ability to manually plant and harvest crops, would be a noticeable improvement over the single gardener in Hateno Village who will grow one type of crop for you.
A proper Temple of Time dungeon
Seeing as how we got proper dungeons for the Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning Temples — as well as a much simpler Spirit Temple — Tears of the Kingdom is just begging for a proper Temple of Time, outside of the one featured in the Sky Islands, which largely serves as a tutorial area before you descend to the Surface for the first time.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit, there’s a bit of a hurdle to clear. While the other aforementioned temples factored into Tears of the Kingdom‘s main questline, it’s not exactly clear how a more fleshed-out Temple of Time would slot into the grand scheme of things, seeing as how there’s no associated Sage of Time that needs reawakening. That being said, there are probably a few ways around this. Nintendo was able to justify the existence of the Master Trials as a precursor to giving Link a freakin’ motorcycle, so I imagine they could whip up another fun unlockable as a reward for completing a brand-new dungeon.