As its release date draws ever closer, The Legend of Zelda fans have been impatiently waiting for any new information regarding Breath of the Wild's direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom. In response to their loyalty, series producer Eiji Aonuma finally offered players a brief ten-minute clip of Tears of the Kingdom's gameplay, and it somehow raised expectations even higher for the most anticipated game of 2023.

The gameplay demonstration showed off some incredible new powers imbued in Link's arm. For example, his new Ascend ability allows him to phase through ceilings, while Recall lets him turn back time for any object. However, perhaps the most interesting of Link's new skills are his Fuse and Ultrahand abilities which let him combine objects he finds throughout his travels to create unique weapons and vehicles. These two abilities, in particular, are certain to allow Link to dive even deeper into the forms of creativity that were first explored in Breath of the Wild.

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Breath of the Wild Fostered a New Level of Creativity for Zelda Players

Link riding a makeshift airship in Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild's unique Sheikah slate abilities, coupled with the game's realistic physics, gave players the power to put together some pretty interesting creations. Players streamed videos featuring Link flying through the sky on doors, building houses out of boxes, and even floating through the air using Octo Balloons. The possibilities seemed limited only by the player's own creativity.

One of the most infamous uses of these designs became the fan-named Flying Machine. This makeshift object lets players fly through the air on two mine carts by using Magnesis to lift the bottom one through the air. These kinds of endless possibilities made Breath of the Wild an incredibly replayable game that saw players still discovering and creating new things six years after its release.

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Tears of the Kingdom's Fuse and Ultrahand Abilities Take Creativity Even Further

Link using Fuse on two weapons in Tears of the Kingdom

In Tears of the Kingdom, the level of creativity players will be able to employ has been given a new dimension with Link's Fuse ability. Fuse seemingly allows Link to combine any two objects that he finds in the world around him. In the gameplay demonstration, Link was shown combining items with arrows to give them unique effects, combining two weapons together to make something stronger, and even fusing random items in the wild like sticks and rocks to create his own makeshift weapons.

Even more excitingly, players will be able to combine random objects to create new vehicles using Link's Ultrahand. In the demonstration, Link was seen combining logs with two mechanical fans to create an automatic boat. Eiji Aonuma explained that this method was also the source of the various vehicles Link was shown riding in previous trailers. Given the amazing things players were able to create in Breath of the Wild, there's seemingly no limit to what players can do now with even more tools at their disposal.

With its renewed emphasis on creativity, Tears of the Kingdom is shaping up to be a truly worthy successor to Breath of the Wild that will expand even further on the best aspect of the game: player freedom. Though fans were only able to see ten minutes of gameplay so far, many of their burning questions about what type of game TOTK will be were answered in that short amount of time. Still, considering how tight-lipped Nintendo has been with Tears of the Kingdom thus far, players will likely just have to wait until May to discover all the other possibilities that Link's new abilities will provide in his latest adventure.