It’s the perfect time for another dark Zelda game

destructoid.com:

One of the many things I love about the Zelda series is that each game has its own unique vibe — from the cartoony wholesomeness of Wind Waker to the downright spooky atmosphere of Majora’s Mask. Of course, I’m excited to see how the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel, which we now know is called Tears of the Kingdom, will innovate on the gameplay mechanics from its predecessor, but even moreso, I’m pumped to see how the story of the world has changed since we last checked in with the Hylian hero.

When people ask me what my favorite video game stories are, they’re usually confused to hear that I add Breath of the Wild to that list. The game has minimal storytelling aside from the optional memories you can go around and find. What I think it does better than just about any other game, though, is creating a world that not only feels lived-in, but that has a rich history hiding just under the surface.

You’re constantly coming across these ruins and wondering exactly what happened, usually left without any definitive answers. Most importantly, though, you’re seeing the world after all of the exciting stuff has already happened — Ganon has already won, and the inhabitants of Hyrule are surviving, not flourishing. It’s an idea that probably sounded risky during early development, but paired with some of the most pitch-perfect game design we’ve ever seen, it created one of the most hauntingly peaceful and yet endlessly fascinating game worlds in recent memory.

Enter Tears of the Kingdom — from the get-go, it’s easy to see how the game will be using the same art style and building upon the same mechanics. However, the tone has shifted significantly, and rather than seeing the world through an innocent incarnation of Link, our