Daily Debate: Do You Think Future Zelda Games Will Remain Open World?
Posted on January 14 2023 by Heather Beard
This probably is not a new question on everyone’s minds but as we are now a little less than four months away from Tears of the Kingdom; it makes you wonder what will be next for the Zelda series. Game developers are probably already brain storming the next Zelda title to follow Tears of the Kingdom, so do you think that future Zelda games will keep with the open world format?
Breath of the Wild was the first truly open world title in the series, and I imagine that Tears of the Kingdom will follow the open world pattern too. Open world games are incredibly popular and I’d be surprised if Zelda took a backwards turn and went for a more linear map and story pattern like past games for future titles. I feel like the open world format fits the Zelda series and with how vast Hyrule is. Personally like the option of being able to travel where I want and when I want. One of the things I loved most about Breath of the Wild was having the opportunity to just goof off and look for Koroks or do a bunch of side quests before getting back to the main plot. It made for a more unique and engaging experience.
The past games are supremely awesome, but if the Zelda team were to go back to the format of past games like Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time I think I would be pretty disappointed. Sure, those titles you could explore areas when you wanted, but sometimes you were limited into where you could go and what you could do in those areas. Sometimes in past games you could only go to one map location once, and where’s the fun in that? There were times when playing Twilight Princess that I would have loved to explore more of the Twilight Realm. All things considered, more future Zelda games, regardless of format, would be awesome. These are fun questions to consider though!
I think that Zelda should continue with an open world format! What do you think? Do you disagree? Share you thoughts in the comments below.
Hi I’m Heather! I’m Senior Editor and Art Director at Zelda Dungeon and I’ve been a member of the ZD team since 2019. I am a graphic designer, artist, and nerdy mom to an awesome little boy. When my nose isn’t in a book, working on my novel or watching anime you can find me curled up with my cats Mandy-Lynn and Daisy Mae.
