In the wake of Ghost of Tsushima, God of War (2018), Genshin Impact, and Elden Ring, it must be acknowledged that Breath of the Wild feels dated. Graphically, the game’s aesthetic holds up beautifully, as is common for The Legend of Zelda franchise. Mechanically, however, Tears of the Kingdom will need much more than floating islands and callbacks to prior Zelda titles to achieve the same revelatory status of its predecessor. Two titles that have drawn repeated comparisons to Breath of the Wild, HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact, and FromSoftware’s Elden Ring do an excellent job of illustrating the challenges that lie before Nintendo.

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Genshin Impact’s Rise to Power

Upon release, Genshin Impact was repeatedly referred to as a Breath of the Wild clone. Two years later, with a greatly expanded roster of characters, and a steady stream of updates that reliably reinvent the ways players can interact with Teyvat, that argument rings rather hollow. The title’s elemental mixing combat is always a blast with more magical depth than Link has in his largely physics-based toolkit, and it is also free from the frustrations caused by Breath of the Wild’s controversial durability system. Perhaps most importantly, the game’s narrative continues to progress in surprising, satisfying ways.

Despite having some of the best-loved supporting characters in all video games, The Legend of Zelda is a famously solitary franchise. Nintendo’s guide characters, like Navi, or Fi, have superficial personalities and interject only when the story requires it. Breath of the WIld did away with a guide character altogether, but made major strides with the franchise’s storytelling, via periodic flashbacks with a cast of eccentric but likable supporting characters. There is a beautiful, intimate quality in Breathe of the Wild’s isolation, and there are reasonable objections to be made against Genshin Impact’s gacha-based monetization. That said, exploring in Teyvat feels explosively lively in comparison to Link’s lone treks across Hyrule, both in terms of company and the variety of game mechanics.

Between Genshin Impact’s five core weapon types and seven elements, the huge plurality of character abilities, combat is never dull. New, region-specific traversal and puzzle mechanics ensure that there is always something new to do in the game world. In addition to Breath of the Wild’s base depth and scope, HoYoverse has layered a degree of customizability and company onto Genshin Impact’s experience. Luring existing players away to a similar experience after two years of investment may be a hard sell for Nintendo.

At the opposite end of the thematic spectrum, Elden Ring delivered a tour de force in terms of challenge, immersive beauty, and understated environmental storytelling on an epic scale. The grim and difficult nature of FromSoftware’s oeuvre may not appeal to everyone, but those who engage with Elden Ring are indulged with a haunting, enigmatic story, multiple one-of-a-kind boss encounters, and a full-featured action RPG with a robust combat system. FromSoft’s famously punishing director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, decided to do away with a weapon durability system for the sake of fun, allowing for players to gleefully experiment with a variety of builds, or rely on a favorite weapon without penalty.

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One could argue that Elden Ring feels like a more grown-up take on Zelda, mechanically as well as narratively. Elden Ring is tonally similar to Twilight Princess but taken several strides further, and delivered with a scope that exceeds the original Breath of the Wild. That is the crux of Nintendo’s challenge. It is not enough to make Breath of the Wild bigger, or to add crafting, or multiple playable characters, because Elden Ring and Genshin Impact essentially do all of those things and more. To step outside the shadow of its imitators, Tears must do something revolutionary, or revitalize something sacred to the series in a new way.

Nintendo’s Opportunity

It must be said that incorporating a large cast of playable characters, or adopting a Souls-like formula would both be major mistakes, and fortunately, there appears to be no danger of either based on the latest trailers for Tears of the Kingdom. Nevertheless, Zelda must further refine its franchise identity while doing something new with an open world game. Reclaiming older mechanics from Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and others may be a good point of departure. One series staple the original Breath of the Wild lacked were magic musical instruments that could affect the world. Given the tremendous potential of music mechanics, both in terms of input and the wide range of ways it could affect the environment, that seems like a smart place to start.

Another area where Nintendo can shine with Tears of the Kingdom is clever dungeon designs. Rather than only four guardian beasts, a return to older Zelda games that featured nearly a dozen dedicated temples or dungeons could be compelling. Even though Breath of the Wild had over a hundred small dungeons with unique puzzles, most of them were visually similar to each other. Giving different region a distinct aesthetic and discrete set of challenges rather than following a unified template would go a long way toward making Tears of the Kingdom more memorable than its forerunner.

Even though the challenges facing them are considerable, Nintendo has a tremendous opportunity with Tears of the Kingdom. Another breakout title with an innovative mechanic would demonstrate the skills of the company that is essentially the grandfather of modern video gaming. Perhaps even more excitingly, it can show the world what it has learned from its younger competitors in turn.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled to release May 12, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.MORE: How Breath of the Wild’s Towns Might Change in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom