10 minutes of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was all I needed to see

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This week, we got a solid look at Link’s next adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It was a roughly 10-minute slice of gameplay, the most we’ve seen of the game thus far. And for me, I don’t think I need to see any more of it until launch.

Zelda‘s gameplay showcase, hosted by series producer Eiji Aonuma, might seem unassuming compared to other big gameplay spotlights. It had the same tenor as the character reveals for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; rather than make a big production or splice together a sizzle reel, it was just a chopped-and-guided tour through the new Hyrule. For one of year’s biggest presumptive hits, it was a chill stream that let the game speak for itself. And it really did talk.

Showing off Link’s new abilities to Fuse weapons and Ultrahand mechanical contraptions together into makeshift cars, boats, and ships was, by itself, mind-blowing. Its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, has seen players use its simple but expressive toolset to concoct incredible evolutions of its gameplay. These new abilities felt like a recognition of that player ingenuity, as if Nintendo was giving us the “yes, and” to make even more weird stuff in Tears of the Kingdom.

Its gameplay alone was incredible, and of course there were hints of lore scattered about. There was plenty Aonuma and co. didn’t show, however. We still don’t definitively know why islands are rising into the skies of Hyrule. The origin of these mean green machines isn’t clear either, though there are plenty of theories. Heck, we don’t know why Link’s arm received the Princess Mononoke treatment. But after seeing this slice of gameplay, I think I’m content to wait.

Since Tears of the Kingdom was first revealed, known then as “the sequel to The