Zelda fans have been crying out for an update on the Breath of the Wild sequel ever since March's 'Nintendo Direct Mini' broadcast, and can we blame them?
For almost a year now, Nintendo has been dropping small pieces of information about their upcoming project.
An official BOTW 2 trailer here, a small statement in an interview there, and still no confirmed release date!
It's about time we put you out of your misery, so continue reading for all the latest news and speculation we've found on Breath of the Wild 2.
Map Changes
A Twitch streamer has been spreading rumours since the (rather uneventful) Nintendo Direct Mini, revealing some information related to the new themes being explored.
UNDERGROUND: The most recent trailer featured Link and Zelda exploring a dungeon, before we see a skeleton rising from the dead
For those of you who have played BOTW, you will remember waking up from a 100-year slumber at the start of the game - only for Link to remember nothing about his Hyrulian surroundings.
READ MORE: Will there be a playable Zelda in the BOTW sequel?
How the map will look is still anyone's guess, but we've dedicated a whole article to the likely map changes, so you really ought to check it out.
New paths to explore for Link...
In BOTW 2, Link will likely have recaptured most of his memories from before Ganon took over the kingdom of Hyrule, so the map will not be new to him.
FORMIDABLE FOES: We are hoping to see some improvements to the combat mechanics too
With so much emphasis in the prequel being placed on exploring the unknown map, we're still unsure of how the developers will come up with a solution!
READ MORE: Information about BOTW 2’s location has been revealed
The Twitch streamer in question has claimed that:
“The developers have filled the world with a miasmic version of Ganon, and until the infection is cleared from location to location, it will be impossible to move around the entire Hyrule.”
It is a rather bold claim to make without any official backing, but in some ways, this theory could tackle the problem at hand.
Playable Zelda?
We usually see Zelda relying on Link to help save the fate of the Kingdom of Hyrule, but this time around it could be Zelda who saves the day.
CO-OP: Nothing will get the community more excited than an option to play as Zelda
We have been waiting for an official statement from Nintendo to confirm our suspicions, but a leak has emerged with some unofficial details on the matter.
The leak, coming from French gaming websites Nintendo Town and Jeux Video, implied that Zelda will become a playable character in the upcoming game, the same way that Ciri did in The Witcher 3.
While we can't take this as gospel, we hope that some standalone DLC focused on Zelda is under discussion at Nintendo!