Despite the many questions still surrounding Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, fans are at least happy with its graphical improvements.
Nintendo has so far explained very little about The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, despite it being due for release in just a few months time, as one of the most anticipated new games of the year.
However, they arguably don’t need to say much. Aside from the pedigree of its predecessor, The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, the few details gleaned from trailers have been more than enough to generate excitement among fans.
This extends to how the sequel will make full use of the Nintendo Switch’s hardware, as exemplified by some comparison shots that highlight how much of an improvement the game will be in terms of graphics and presentation.
Over on a fan-made Tears Of The Kingdom subreddit, someone has posted two in-game screenshots of Link (grabbed from a trailer analysis video by Looyigi Bros.) using his paraglider above a section of Hyrule: one from Tears Of The Kingdom, the other from Breath Of The Wild.
The exact same location was used to spot the differences and though it may seem minor, you can tell that the sequel will boast improved lighting and draw distance. The latter means objects and landmarks can be seen further out in the distance and/or seen in better detail rather than with blurry and simplified textures.
‘Comparing more screenshots and looking at [distant] mountains in Tears Of The Kingdom, the LODs (level of detail) are much higher and closer, while in Breath Of The Wild you would have to get closer and then that extra detail pops in,’ explains Reddit user Re-Pingers.
The obvious reason for this, as pointed out by other users, is that Tears Of The Kingdom is a Switch exclusive whereas Breath Of The Wild also launched for the Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo’s last gen hardware.
As a result, Breath Of The Wild couldn’t make full use of the Switch’s capabilities. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to run on the Wii U. And even if that wasn’t the case Nintendo are certain to have learned how to better exploit the hardware in the last five years.
The general response is positive, with Few-Strawberry4997 saying: ‘Graphics, textures, and lightning effects seem to have been improved quite a bunch too, even the skybox and clouds look different. Very excited to see all the new changes in three months,’
‘Draw distance was one of the few niggles I had about Breath Of The Wild’s visuals, along with render and texture resolution, so it’s good to see some progress on that front!’ says manfromthedam.
A couple, however, admit that Tears Of The Kingdom will still feel like a noticeable step down after playing Horizon Forbidden West, another open world adventure game available on the far more powerful PlayStation 5.
‘I’m not trying to be a downer, but as someone in the middle of playing Horizon Forbidden West, this is gonna take an adjustment period,’ says Kidspud.
sparetheearthlings concurs, adding, ‘It just doesn’t look like a new game after Forbidden West. I’m super excited for Tears Of The Kingdom but it will be a technical step down.’
With any luck, Nintendo will provide a more in-depth look at the game ahead of its launch, perhaps in the form of a dedicated Nintendo Direct. Which would also be the perfect time to unveil the leaked Zelda themed OLED model.
While various trailers have confirmed the addition of a series of floating islands above the land of Hyrule, and some new powers for Link, there remain a lot of questions about the game’s structure and story. Plus, many fans are still holding out hope for Zelda herself to be playable.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom launches for Nintendo Switch on May 12.
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