what’s subsequent legend of zelda?That appears to be the massive query on everybody’s thoughts this yr.?
2026 remains to be a clean seeker slate. We’re actually in uncharted territory now that the Swap 2 console has actually taken off and it seems to be just like the Wild Age is lastly accelerating into Gerudo’s sundown. We all know that The Legend of Zelda film is popping out in 2027, however apart from that we’re as blind as wayward Keith within the snowhead blizzard. Nobody is aware of what’s going to occur with the primary major non-partner Nintendo Direct of 2026, or if a Zelda recreation will likely be launched within the coming months.
Thankfully, the legendary employees behind this collection has by no means been misplaced. They knew what they had been doing and left us with cryptic however vital clues. In an interview with 4Gamer and the Koei Tecmo growth group, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma stated he drew an enormous quantity of inspiration from co-developing Age of Imprisonment with Koei Tecmo and the brand new AAA studio employees.
“Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the primary Zelda title for the Nintendo Swap 2. To be sincere, we needed to try this first,” Aonuma laughed, as translated by TheGamer. “Nevertheless, the inspiration we get from this collaboration with Koei Tecmo could also be mirrored within the (subsequent) Zelda we make. Think about that whereas enjoying Age of Imprisonment, and stay up for our Zelda.”
However it’s not jail for you
Maintain on, earlier than you head to the again button in disgust, I do know what you are pondering. Lots of you (not all) are a little bit uninterested in dwelling in virtually a decade of untamed instances. And the very last thing you need in a Zelda recreation is a bunch of hack-and-slash video games.
That is comprehensible. I am 99.99% positive that is not the case with the following Zelda. Depart 0.01%. As a result of what we’re speaking about is The Legend of Zelda. What the Zelda group is pondering has at all times been shrouded in thriller to some extent.
That being stated, I consider that their inspiration from Age of Imprisonment when creating the following Zelda recreation has to do with the brand new narrative fashion. The truth is, Age of Imprisonment could maintain the important thing to resolving the “nice gulf” between the previous and new Zelda faculties. Think about a model new Hyrule period recreation the place open world and conventional Zelda formulation lastly mix to create a singular cinematic and interactive expertise.
How is that potential? Please let me clarify.
The Legend of Zelda: Suppose Video Recreation Film
Certainly, Breath of the Wild modified historical past. Not solely did it revolutionize the open-world style throughout the {industry} (taking a look at you, Elden Ring), it additionally launched full voice appearing to the collection for the primary time. This format facilitated superb artwork route and introduced the characters to life like by no means earlier than in a Zelda recreation. However there was an issue. The sheer freedom of motion of the open world restricted narrative potentialities for gamers, comparable to flashback cutscenes scattered throughout the map, exploration of geographical lore, and a artistic however considerably disconnected last boss.
Its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, introduces a much more highly effective last boss expertise with the return of Ganondorf, and has a wealth of geographical lore exploration, however this too is proscribed to cinematic flashbacks that may both uplift or derail the participant’s expertise relying on who you ask, what order they had been present in, and what the context of the participant’s private state of affairs consists of. Or possibly the scenes we get are so lavishly staged that we simply need to see extra.
One factor is for positive: they’re highly effective sufficient to trigger huge fights on the web. It is an open world for you. So do what you need.
Placing all of it collectively
Now, I arrive on the largest level of Age of Imprisonment: the story.
The intention is to permit gamers to expertise the traditional Imprisonment Battle first-hand, filling the hole left by Tears of the Kingdom with an unbelievable three hours value of seamless, audio cutscenes that transcend the constraints of Breath of the Wild because of the extra linear Purah Pad map format.
What’s attention-grabbing is that the sport is not utterly linear. Not like its predecessor, Hyrule Warriors’ Age of Calamity, Age of Imprisonment’s battle challenges are constructed into the principle story with a map. There’s quite a lot of freedom in selecting battles with out breaking the story. Whenever you clear a sure variety of battles, a story-linked milestone battle with cutscenes will seem. The map itself additionally interacts with you, drawing you into the high-stakes rigidity of a jail conflict. You actually really feel such as you’re within the trenches with the characters, sharing of their blood, sweat, and tears as they struggle towards the overwhelming energy of the Demon King. That is by design.
Hidemaro Fujihashi, director of Tears of the Kingdom, defined that for Age of Imprisonment, “Performance and participant expertise had been our high priorities, however we put collectively a well-balanced set of situations and terrain, though the order could change.”
Koei Tecmo director Koki Aoyagi additional defined that Age of Imprisoning has the “appeal of a historic drama” primarily based on the Jail Battle, an vital occasion for Zelda followers. βWe aimed to create a construction that echoed the stream of our shared historical past at first and made it a part of the Warriors expertise, permitting gamers to really feel like they had been a part of that historical past as they fought.β
Does this imply that the narrative limitations of open-world methods will lastly be overcome within the subsequent Zelda recreation? Does this imply we’ll not solely be capable to as soon as once more expertise the naturally flowing full-length cinematic cutscenes of conventional Zelda mainline video games, but in addition the fun of dwelling and interacting in a vibrant Hyrule fortress city, exploring huge dungeons and tenting underneath the celebrities in Hyrule Area? Maybe a completely interactive cinematic world?
Please think about such a feat. That looks like an unattainable fantasy now. But when the Zelda group can pull off such a feat, it could not solely revolutionize Zelda gaming as soon as once more, however ignite an industry-wide pattern.
As soon as once more, that is the every day lifetime of the Zelda group. They’ve a cussed behavior of making an attempt to make breakthrough historical past.