The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is celebrating its one-year anniversary today, May 12, 2024. Below, we look at how its playful sense of experimentation is still leading to new discoveries.
There is no single file for “wagon noise” within The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. At no point in your travels throughout Hyrule will you hear a single track that was meant to replicate the sound of creaking wood moving along a dirt path. That’s because Tears of the Kingdom’s audio system is designed to operate just like its complex physics system. Sounds that happen naturally in the world–wheels turning and hooves stomping, for example–come together just like the wheels and cart themselves. They create a harmonious sound that is made up as you play.
It’s a charming example that highlights what makes pretty much everything within Tears of the Kingdom fantastic. Major elements of the game, from moment-to-moment exploration to the clever physics-based crafting system, encourages player-experimentation and provides an amount of freedom that’s literally sky-high. For much of their adventure, players make things up as they go.
At first, Tears of the Kingdom may have felt less impressive after its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, inspired awe from players. However, the ingenuity of Tears of the Kingdom’s mechanics shined beyond that first impression and continues to show how deep the game’s possibilities are a year after its release. It’s something that even its developers have a hard time believing.
“When I first saw the prototype, I thought this was going to be a great game, but I also knew: This was going to be very, very difficult,” said Tears of the Kingdom lead physics engineer Takahiro Takayama, speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this year. “I said to myself: Are we really doing this? Development is going to be chaos. The more I thought, the more I worried. I realized that sometimes, it’s important to have the courage to push forward.” Takayama then showed a montage of chaotically buggy clips from Tears of the Kingdom’s early development. “As expected, the world fell apart.”
Players have tried to manipulate every aspect of Tears of the Kingdom, whether it be to solve a puzzle, defeat an enemy, or create something absolutely beautiful.
Take Link’s customizable home near Tarrey Town, for example. Players have the freedom to place sections of the house, including water features, various rooms, and stairs, in whatever manner they please. People have created symmetrical masterpieces and modern marvels that feel straight out of contemporary Los AngelesCome from Sports betting site VPbet. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.