Breath of the Wild 2 Gameplay Speculation
After watching the trailer for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a few more times, there was a lot I had on my mind. I mean for one I couldn’t believe this game was getting a direct sequel so soon. But I’ve noticed most people are discussing the trailer from narrative sense. Which is totally fair really. I mean they only showed us cutscenes. But I believe there’s some things we can infer about the gameplay just from what we were shown. It’s not a lot. In fact there’s a high probability I’m wrong about everything and this is just gonna end up being a compilation of some girl’s wack Zelda desires. But indulge me for a moment while I let my imagination run wild and point out some of the things I noticed in the trailer that we can expect from our next adventure in Hyrule.
1. The Master Sword
You may have noticed in the trailer that Link already has the Master Sword on him. It’s got the most recognizable hilt in gaming after all. Right away I feel like this could change the game in a pretty big way. As far as I know (and do correct me if I’m wrong), you have never before started a Zelda game already in possession of the Master Sword. Having the most important weapon in Zelda lore right from the start could shake things up. What does this mean for the weapons and durability system? Weapon durability was very divisive with players of the first game. Could it be that they have taken this feedback into account and want to focus on a single weapon again? Perhaps you solely focus on upgrading and unlocking new moves for the Master Sword as you go on. I don’t think we’re going to see them completely strip away the weapons they came up with in the first game. In fact I think they’re gonna be saved for something else. But I’ll be returning to that a little later so let’s put a pin in that for now.
2. We’re in for the some spelunking
Much of the trailer focuses on what lurks beneath Hyrule. We already have confirmation that the map of this game is mostly going to be the same as the one from the first game. So you have to wonder how you’ll be coming across new areas in a world we’ve already spent so much time exploring. The solution they came up with seems to be adding more underground areas to explore.
What we see here might be the entrance to one of these areas. Since we have Link with the Master Sword already, maybe we can also assume that he’s already completed several shrines. What would they be replaced with then from a gameplay standpoint? Maybe these bigger locations hidden beneath Hyrule will be where we get most of our Zelda style puzzling on. There may not be as many as shrines, but they could be more vast and similar to more traditional Zelda dungeons that some fans were missing from BotW.
3. This big ol boy
What’s this? A new mount? I’m thinking he’s more than that. The way he’s all stocked up with supplies makes me think we’re going to be limited in what we can bring in and out of these caves. Much of the tension in BotW’s combat is well… pretty nonexistent when you think about how you can heal any time you want instantly. So what can they do to make these areas seem a little more dangerous? I think it would be an interesting idea to limit what you’re allowed to bring into the dungeon with you and what you can bring out. Will you abandon you food or other items to free up more space in your inventory for things you may find in the depths of these caverns? Zelda games have rarely if ever played around with the idea of making the player have to plan ahead. Limited inventory in dungeons could make players have to think a little more strategically which could be an interesting way to keep the challenge consistent throughout the adventure. As much as I love the first BotW, nothing in the game really provides a challenge after you’re all decked out. The difficulty peaks right in the beginning f the game where you barely have anything to defend yourself with. Limiting your inventory to an extent should keep the game entertaining even as you’re approaching the end. We saw something similar to this in first DLC for BotW. You were stripped of all of your equipment and all of a sudden, the game was so intense again. Maybe we can have that feeling again here albeit without having to strip *everything* away from you.
4. She
Finally Zelda herself! First of all yes us short hair girls have a Zelda now thank you very much. I didn’t think I could like her more than I already did but now she’s team short hair and heck yes I vibe. But seriously, having her travel alongside Link this time is the single thing that could cause the most interesting gameplay differences. Is she playable? She likely cannot use the Master Sword but Zelda is still a very capable lady. Maybe she uses the spears and other weapon types we saw in BotW along with some magic more suited to combat than the runes on Link’s Sheikah Slate. Does she fight alongside you like a party member in an RPG? We do have some kind of a precedent for this after all. In the first BotW, you could scan in your Wolf Link amiibo and have him fight alongside you complete with his own health bar. Maybe when we aren’t controlling Zelda we can still decide on what gear she wears and what weapons she uses. We can give her a bow and have her help from a distance or give her something a little more suited for close range to help us smack down some moblins up close and personal. Maybe she can use her magic to provide support buffs to her and Link or debuff enemies if not outright smite them. And of course what most people are probably hoping for, co-op. The possibilities with this one are endless. Just imagine the amount of fun you can have in BotW’s sandbox with a friend right there with you. Sending your buddy flying with stasis, using magnesis to raise them up to a hard to reach area, not even to make mention of all the new tools the sequel will give us. You have to imagine they’ll have something in place that won’t allow the two of you to travel too far from each other or it could cause problems. I’m honestly a little wary of this one. As much as I would love playing this game with a pal, I wouldn’t want it to be at the expense of the single player experience. I don’t want players that want to play by themselves to feel as if they’re missing out on something big by deciding to play alone. But to anyone I might play with, I’m calling dibs on Zelda now.
Well that’s it! The sequel to Breath of the Wild is certain to be a great game no matter how it turns out. I hope you enjoyed reading just a few of my ideas for what the game might be like on a mechanical level. I wanted to have this conversation with friends but there was so much I wanted to say and I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone so I just put it here! Whether the things I said come true or the game ends up being completely different, I can’t help but really look forward to it. At the end of the day, all I need is another reason to live in that world again and spend some more time with some of my favorite versions of Link and Zelda. I hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am! Have a good day or night!
