The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is basically a horror game

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom scares me. It’s not as a result of gamers are utilizing Hyperlink’s powers to torture poor Koroks or construct battle machines to raze enemy settlements to the bottom. It’s as a result of the whole land of Hyrule has skilled an earth-shattering occasion referred to as the Upheaval, and the once-pastoral land now oozes a viscous goop that appears like a fiery blood-and-poison cocktail. On this Hyrule, not even the timber are protected, as they’ll uproot themselves and homicide Hyperlink. Tears of the Kingdom isn’t only a sweeping fantasy journey; it’s additionally a horror sport.

In Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda is gone and the vibes are off. It’s not simply that Hyperlink can’t discover her. It’s that she retains showing in random locations all through Hyrule after which capturing off into the ether — but additionally, she’s not herself, as a substitute appearing like a doll or some kind of possessed corpse. As soon as the blood moon rises — a routine occasion in each Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom whereby the monsters that Hyperlink has killed get revived — gamers might be handled to one of many creepiest cutscenes in Zelda historical past. In Breath of the Wild, Zelda meekly calls out to Hyperlink and tells him to be on his guard. Within the new one, Patricia Summersett performs a really creepy model of Zelda’s voice narrating the revival of the monsters. All Hyperlink can do is observe the blood-red-stained sky helplessly because the ritual passes and evil springs forth.

Once more, the bigger land has undergone an occasion often known as the Upheaval, and it’s now lined with red-and-black goop that the characters name “gloom.” As Hyperlink descends down from the Sky Islands, he’ll get a chicken’s-eye view of the gaping holes within the floor of the land, each lined with a hoop of the substance. In the event you dare to enterprise into considered one of these holes — and it took me some time to work up the center — you’ll discover a horrifying underworld referred to as the Depths.

Picture: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

From the second I handed from the Floor into the Depths, a way of unease undermined my each transfer. I jumped down into pitch-darkness. I didn’t understand how far-off the bottom was, or what was round me once I landed. I fluttered my glider by taking it out and in as a result of I couldn’t be too certain of the place something started or ended. I did attain the bottom safely, however even strong floor didn’t deliver me all that a lot safety. It’s nonetheless pitch-black. Hyperlink should gentle up the realm with one orb of sunshine at a time, utilizing objects like brightbloom seeds. Their gentle solely extends up to now, although, and the specter of unseen enemies at all times lurks only a stone’s throw away.

The enemies within the Depths are much more uncommon than their counterparts on the Floor; they glow with a purple demonic aura. In the event you spend an excessive amount of time touching gloom (or if you happen to get hit by Gloom Fingers), Hyperlink’s max well being might be briefly lowered. In the event you lose two hearts, for instance, these hearts are gone — and it’s important to take particular steps, like cooking a particular meal or returning to the floor, to get them again. Hyperlink is alone in the dead of night, and if he’s not cautious sufficient, he can come away from a struggle severely weakened. It’s an exhilarating however dire expertise.

Even routine actions in Tears of the Kingdom can tackle a tinge of creepiness. Random timber referred to as Evermeans will animate themselves, violently chase down Hyperlink, and assault him. Or Hyperlink is likely to be operating round a mountain solely to discover a pack of vicious and shrieking Gloom Fingers enveloping the whole lot of their wake as they claw towards him. They’re sturdy, however the panic they induce is their most debilitating energy — sufficient to scramble a seasoned Zelda participant’s senses, as they arrive in quick and scorching.

Picture: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo by way of Polygon

And whereas all of it feels very scary and overwhelming in the mean time, the spookiness of Tears of the Kingdom runs true to type for the Zelda franchise as a complete. Take the Gloom Fingers, for instance. Creepy arms that possibly have to study what a sink is have been a function of Zelda video games for many years. Some examples embrace the purple patrolling Floormasters from Wind Waker, the creepy dangling infinite arms from Ocarina of Time, or Zant’s arms in Twilight Princess. Even the cartoony Wind Waker pitted its Hyperlink towards shrieking corpses that latched onto him and ate him.

All this to say, the gloom throughout Hyrule feels very true to the spirit of Zelda, and I for one am glad (even when I’m additionally a little bit bit scared) that Tears of the Kingdom is leaning into horror as soon as once more after Breath of the Wild.