Newly revealed patents for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 explore more of the upcoming sequel’s sky combat and time rewind mechanics. The sequel to Breath of the Wild is due to release sometime in 2022, however a firm date has not yet been specified by Nintendo.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is widely considered one of the greatest games of all time. Its open-world gameplay and nonlinear story offer some of the most player-friendly freedom in recent memory, and as such, has influenced many other video game titles. As a game that is clearly held in such high regard by fans and developers, it is no wonder that Breath of the Wild’s sequel is already one of the most keenly anticipated releases of 2022. Even FromSoftware’s upcoming RPG Elden Ring has been compared to BOTW’s Kingdom of Hyrule, despite the developer favoring a tone far darker than is typical of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series.
As spotted by GameReactor, three new patents have been filed by Nintendo that detail sky combat, the player’s ability to pass through a suspended platform, and the ability to rewind time on a specific object. The latter two of these patents have both previously been witnessed in the most recent gameplay trailer for Breath of the Wild 2. However, the sky combat for Breath of the Wild’s sequel sounds as though it could be more advanced than that in BOTW, where it is limited to Link firing an arrow in slow motion while fighting in the air. This particular BOTW2 patent reveals: “… to perform a special action including a shooting action of shooting a predetermined object, an example of an information processing apparatus changes the posture of the player character that is falling.” This seems to imply that Link will be able to be more dynamic when he is in the air, and potentially more acrobatic as a result. Images of the patents, seen below, were shared to Twitter by SamusHunter2.
Nintendo has been keeping very quiet of late, not even revealing the official name of Breath of the Wild’s sequel, and the new gameplay information revealed by the patents has pleased many fans across the internet. While an exciting discovery for those eager to hear more about Nintendo’s plans for Breath of the Wild 2, it should be stressed that these mechanics are not guaranteed to be included within the final release. Rather, these patents could simply be an example of things that Nintendo has tried out during the game’s ongoing development.
It’s hoped that Nintendo itself will soon release some more concrete information about Breath of the Wild 2. With 2022 just around the corner, it would make sense for the company to start revealing more about its upcoming, and potentially imminent, releases soon. This is especially true as many long-term fans were left unimpressed by Nintendo’s celebrations for Zelda’s 35th anniversary this year, with the rerelease of Skyward Sword thought by many to be a lackluster release for the milestone. Thankfully, if these patents do turn out to bare fruit, it sounds as though whatever Nintendo may have up its sleeve, Breath of the Wild 2 will be unlikely to disappoint.