Fans are desperately hoping that Tears of the Kingdom finally reintroduces dungeons to mainline Zelda games after Breath of the Wild left them out.
Fortunately, some of the recent trailers have indicated that they might be making a return. Here is everything we know about dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom.
Are There Dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom?
Yes, Nintendo has now confirmed that there will be traditional dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
According to game developers Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Takuhiro Dohta, and Satoru Takizawa in a recent Ask the Developer interview, the iconic Zelda game mechanic is making a welcome return.
“We haven’t talked about the dungeons yet,” Fujibayashi comments. “They’ve changed from the previous game. For example, there is a dungeon that connects directly from Hyrule’s surface. If you dive from the sky straight into the dungeon, you’ll trigger an event.”
Dohta goes on to confirm that dungeons will be ‘unique to their respective environments’, allowing players to enjoy a wide variety of regional characteristics.
In Breath of the Wild, dungeons were more or less restricted to the four Divine Beasts. This time around, Takizawa reports that each dungeon feels and looks more unique, with massive sprawling designs akin to the traditional Zelda games.
In the third official Tears of the Kingdom trailer, we see several large buildings in the open world that could be dungeons.
Additionally, Link is seen solving a variety of puzzles as well as undergoing more linear and seemingly scripted events. These are elements synonymous with traditional Zelda dungeons.
The more linear and visually scripted sequences, such as Link fighting a monster in a moving mine cart, certainly make it seem like instanced story-focused dungeons separated from the open world are a real possibility.
You can watch the third official trailer for yourself below:
How Many Dungeons Does TOTK Have?
Some fans have speculated there will be seven dungeons across Hyrule and sky islands, including ones beneath the surface.
This is because the first official TOTK trailer revealed what appears to be the seven tears that Link will likely have to collect to give to Zelda.
Link may have to explore seven unique locations, potentially dungeons, to retrieve those Tears. This wouldn’t be unlike BOTW, where Link had to explore the four Divine Beasts in order to free them.
Despite the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom having already been revealed, Link may visit a dungeon as early as the first few hours.
