Daily Debate: Would You Be Happy With Breath of the Wild 2 Prioritizing Dungeons Over Its World Map?

When Breath of the Wild was announced at E3 2014, Producer Eiji Aonuma made his intentions for the game abundantly clear — to create a vast, interconnected world in which individual areas had no clearly defined entrance or exit. Upon its release in 2017, the world that was showcased in that trailer may not have looked exactly the same, but overall, that first impression was definitely in line with the spirit of the finished product.

Conversely, Breath of the Wild 2’s announcement trailer is set almost entirely in dark, underground ruins. Indeed, the environment showcased here is eerily similar to a classic — dare I say traditional — Zelda dungeon. Even the awakening of what is presumably Ganondorf’s corpse is reminiscent of dungeon boss introductions found in Twilight Princess. Could Nintendo be hinting at the return of classic temples, and if so — given that this is our first glimpse of the game — could they play a much greater role than the original title’s Divine Beasts?

Just to be clear, Aonuma has pretty much confirmed that the “open air” template Breath of the Wild set is here to stay. The specifics of what that could mean for the next game remain to be seen, but for the sake of today’s discussion, let’s just entertain this idea: that Breath of the Wild 2’s world map will effectively be a hub for its myriad dungeons, with not nearly as much “above-ground” activity as the original game. Would you be happy about that?

As much as I love Link’s 2017 adventure, my biggest disappointment with the game — even more than the not-so-stellar story — was the lack of varied, distinct dungeons and bosses. There are so many elements that go into my love for the Zelda series, but chief among them has got to be its dungeons.

Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword — these are my favorites, thanks in no small part to their temple-heavy nature. Again, I’m extremely excited to see where the series goes with its approach to open-world adventures. That said, if I were to find out tomorrow that Breath of the Wild 2 was going to place a greater emphasis on dungeons than its overworld, then I’d probably be even more excited. What can I say? I’m stuck in my ways.

What about you, though? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!