Rumor Mill: Next 3D Zelda

There are some rumors going around by Nick "Spheshal" Baker about the upcoming 3D Zelda game, following Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. He has a pretty solid track record, so it's worth listening. And I personally find these rumors quite interesting in any case, because they are lining up with what I'm expecting personally, so let's talk about them...

You can listen to them in his recent podcast with Jeff Grubb, but I'll give you a brief summary:

• The game gets developed with an updated version of the engine used for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom
• A core gameplay mechanic will be tears / rifts between dimensions, which can be used to interact with the environment

A given example is about a room with a floating ball attached to a chain. By opening a rift to the other dimension water flows in, the ball pulls the chain and this opens a pathway. Zelda games experimenting with linked realms and dimensions are nothing new, where this idea is as old as A Link to the Past, but this may become an evolution of that idea, one that is a lot more physics-based.

Anyway, there are different stances on how Nintendo should proceed with the franchise. Some fans want Nintendo to return to the classic Zelda formula, which won't happen after how successful the recent games have been. Some fans want Nintendo to move on from the Breath of the Wild style and come up with something new entirely. Zeltik even calls Age of Imprisonment the "End of the Wild Era".

However, I wouldn't be so sure about any of that. When discussing the three different options for the next game's general direction, it seemed more likely that Nintendo will continue with the Breath of the Wild brand on the Nintendo Switch 2, simply because it has been going so successful. The first thing they did on the Nintendo Switch 2 was updating both Breath and Tears for it, so they really want their audiences to catch up with these games, before they release the next adventure.

They will eventually innovate the series with a new style and direction going forward, that is for sure, but whether this will already happen with the next game or the one after remains to be seen. Of course, them re-using the engine isn't any indication for the art style, or even the gameplay. After all, Twilight Princess was based upon the engine for The Wind Waker. So, keep that in mind.

However, I'm personally thinking that we could be looking at the first major trilogy in the franchise, following the adventures of this particular Link and Zelda for a third time. And one open idea has been to explore the topic of the Triforce and the Sacred Realm, which already could have been a possible topic with Tears of the Kingdom, but which didn't happen. Instead, they focused on Ganondorf and the Sages, after they had introduced the Secret Stones of the Zonai as a new plot device.

But this leaves an important part of the Zelda lore out in the open for the Breath of the Wild era. Well, no one wants to return to the same Hyrule for a third time, since it already overstayed its welcome with Tears of the Kingdom, but the Sacred Realm is actually a great way to move Link and Zelda into a different land, one where the laws of reality don't apply... See where I'm getting with this?

Of course, Nintendo always comes up with the gameplay first and builds their stories around it, but if we're truly looking at a another game where you do things "between worlds", so to say, then the Sacred Realm could become central to the story. And with it the Triforce.

With a story about "rifts in reality", they could even go a step further and explore a more recent addition to the lore: Null from Echoes of Wisdom. It could become the ultimate evil, beyond Ganon, where it's even possible that Age of Imprisonment was already hinting at the idea with its "Shades". These were a form of the demonic energy that predated both the Gloom and Malice, but in a sentient state, looking somewhat similar to Null. The Gerudo were able to control them and maybe Ganondorf was creating them, or maybe these Shades were actually coming from another ancient evil and Ganondorf was simply tapping into Null's energy here.

Also, ever since that first teaser trailer for "the sequel to Breath of the Wild", people had this idea of Link and Zelda going on an adventure together, where both become playable. And maybe you are not able to swap between dimensions, but instead Princess Zelda is trapped in the other dimension and you can swap to her.

In any case, I'm excited to learn more about the next game. But if the rumors from Spheshal are indeed trustworthy, then I'm leaning more towards a third game in the Breath of the Wild style and era, instead of something completely new.