The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an enormous sequel that builds on Breath of the Wild’s sturdy foundation. I mean that quite literally, as the adventure takes place on the same Hyrule map as its predecessor. That fact gained a mixed reaction from fans prior to its release, with some questioning if Tears of the Kingdom would feel like a new game or a very expensive piece of DLC.
Related Videos To get a sense of how similar — and, in some cases, radically different — Hyrule is in the sequel, I’ve pulled together comparisons of seven classic locations as they appear in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom . That should give you a better sense of what’s changed in Hyrule following Calamity Ganon’s defeat, though there are plenty of surprises to find in the sequel.
Kakariko Village Out of every location in the game , Kakariko Village was most radically changed between games. That’s because the arrival of the Sky Islands dumped several ring-like ruins into the town. When you visit Kakariko Village this time around, you’ll find that new wooden pathways surround the village that take researchers up to the ruins. It’s a fun little twist that creates the sense that life has radically changed for the people of the small town.
Gerudo Town Gerudo Town sees a particularly interesting change in the sequel. At first glance, they look identical. All of the trees and stalls are just about exactly where you remember them. But look closely at the screenshots and you’ll notice a big difference: No one is milling the streets in the Tears of the Kingdom version. There’s a specific story reason for that, as the Gerudo people have gone into a bit of hiding in the sequel.