Daily Debate: What Never-Before-Seen Dungeon Theme Would You Like To See In A Future Zelda Game?

The Zelda series has experimented with a variety of motifs for its dungeons throughout the years. Forest, fire, ice, water, desert, shadow– heck, a couple of temples have even centered on time itself! That said, Nintendo is nothing if not imaginative. There’s got to be some ground left to cover; a dungeon theme we’ve each been dying to see in a Zelda game.

Although I’m not crazy about most of Breath of the Wild’s dungeons, one element I seriously appreciate about them thematically is the presence of Calamity Ganon’s malice. I definitely got the sense that the Divine Beasts– and Hyrule Castle, especially– were infected by this vile, poisonous substance. I’m not satisfied, though. I know Nintendo can take this concept even further.

As someone who’s a huge fan of evil forces such as Halo’s Flood, Mass Effect’s Reapers, and other H.P. Lovecraft-inspired monsters, I’d love to see a Zelda dungeon that fully embraces the “malice” motif. Well, as fully as a game can without venturing into M-rated territory. Various shadow temples– most notably Skyward Sword’s half-water, half-dark Ancient Cistern– have explored the idea of death, but I’d like to see a temple that truly feels like an interpretation of hell. I’m talking about large doorways that resemble an otherworldly beast’s maw– teeth and all– and eyeballs embedded in gooey, almost fleshy walls. Bridges made of tentacles, and towers resembling monsters’ arms! You get the idea. Surely there’s a way to portray cosmic horror with a T rating, right? At the very least, I’d want to see a locale fully consumed by something resembling Ganon’s malicious corruption– you know, while still allowing us to move around without being slowed down or poisoning ourselves, of course.

What about you, though? What never-before-seen dungeon theme would you like to see in a future installment? Let us know in the comments below!

This Daily Debate was inspired by @r2d93 on the Zelda Dungeon Discord. If you have an ideas for a Daily Debate that you would like to see published, join our Discord Channel and pitch it in #daily-debate!