Nintendo’s latest Direct may not have been perfect, but thanks to some gigantic announcements, it’s going to be remembered very fondly for years to come - and the traversal mechanics inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomare one reason why. Along with some new trailers forMario + Rabbids Sparks of HopeandBayonetta 3, as well as the reveal ofPikmin 4,Fire Emblem Engage, andOctopath Traveler 2, Nintendo ended its presentation with a bang, giving fans another brief tease of the nextZeldagame.
Along with the title announcement, the long-awaitedBreath of the Wildsuccessor finally received an official release date, that being July 12, 2025. But in between those big reveals came a few precious glimpses of gameplay, and while the trailer altogether may only be a minute and a half, it’s enough to send theZeldafandom into an ecstatic spiral. As opposed to the first trailer which showed off a variety of gameplay sequences, thisLegend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomtrailer focused on one key element: the game’s traversal mechanics, which seem to be an integral aspect of this pseudo-sequel.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s New Traversal Mechanics
2017’sThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhad a revolutionary traversal system. Where most open-world games restrict the player to the roads and paths already mapped out for them,Breath of the Wildwas the first game to truly let players go anywhere. Players could climb anything, from towers to castles to sheer mountain faces. As long as they had enough stamina to make the climb, or enough creativity to launch themselves up there, they were allowed to do it.Breath of the Wildset the standard for open-world traversal, a standard which even now some games can’t live up to.
Flash forward five years andThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas just received another gameplay trailer. Acting as somewhat of a sequel toBreath of the Wild, likely following the same continuity and using the same engine,Tears of the Kingdomalready has a phenomenal groundwork for its traversal mechanics. However, that doesn’t mean that Nintendo isn’t continuing to innovate. In just this trailer alone, some extremely unique traversal mechanics are showcased.
After a handful of cave paintings are shown, the camera cuts to Link as he cinematically launches himself off a floating cliff, held high above the clouds.Link soon enters a freefall, and the ground below him creeps into view. This is the first new traversal mechanic in this trailer, seemingly confirming that the player will be able to dive from the sky and make it all the way to the ground below in one seamless transition.
The trailer then shows Link using a levitating rock to ascend back into the sky. As the rock is glowing yellow, it can be inferred that the player will likely be able to use one of theirnew Sheikah Slate abilitiesto lock the platform in an upwards trajectory. Some classicBreath of the Wildclimbing is then shown, with Link climbing up one ofTears of the Kingdom’s new floating structures. ThisLegend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomtrailer then ends with Link once again freefalling in mid-air, but this time he lands on the back of a flying stone bird, hinting at yet another form of traversal in the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomlaunches Jun 21, 2025, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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