The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is pretty darn scary.
I do not mean in the same sense that Majora’s mask is unsettling for its entire run, and there is certainly no moment quite like it that thing cut scenes IN Twilight Princess. But even now with my heart-wrenching, ridiculously tame Link, Tears of the Kingdom worries me more than any other Zelda game.
Hyrule’s Breath of the Wild barren and desolate. The first real danger many of us may encounter is trying to get to Hyrule Castle and being surrounded by Guardians. Currently that thing pretty scary – the piano music and the beeping of the Sheikah robots as they locked the door were etched in my mind.
Tears of the Kingdom lulls you into a false sense of security. The first place on the surface that you visit is Hyrule Field, and it’s completely different, no longer inhabited by these extremely dangerous creatures. You’ll spot Bokoblins and Moblins everywhere, but that’s it. Except that Hyrule Castle was hovering behind the Observation Deck and large amounts of red and black excrement oozing out of the earth. And all the caves. And that overwhelming feeling of helplessness was raised to 20.
A quick note here – I’ll dive in some game reveal heremostly just enemy And location That was ingrained in my mind the most. I won’t touch any of the stories. However, if you don’t want the afterlife surprises (or scares) to be ruined, feel free to gallop…
so many
Not paragliding on Great Sky Island exposed my overconfidence. I got used to the controls pretty quickly but every time I’m faced with a gap that I think I can paraglider through, I just can’t. You’d think I’ve learned not to blindly jump over ledges, but I didn’t, so when I take paragliding, I plunge straight into every cave, abyss, and hole I can find. What a mistake.
Tears of the Kingdom lets you explore the wonders of the world at its own pace, but that also means you can catch the horrors of Hyrule. And the game doesn’t actually hold your hand when you do.
Horriblins are scary. The way they crawl on the ceiling, crawl around to get closer to you and the strange noises they make is really disturbing. The first time I met one, I was just wandering in a cave, smashing rocks, and then this huge creature lunged at me. They held weapons glued together, and their hideout had slabs of flesh lying around. I didn’t want to know what they were up to, but they really freaked me out. I hate the grunts they make when you walk into a room, and I especially hate fighting five Black Horriblins at once.
Dislike Like
One creature in the series has been ‘upgraded’ as Like Like. These things were strange enough in Ocarina of time but did anyone expect them to be as powerful as in Tears of the Kingdom? The first time you were able to see one of them was in a cave on Great Sky Island, and I gasped when I came across these elongated creatures. They make a horrible sound, like they’re about to party, and I’m never happy to see them.
Other terrifying creatures lurk around the Surface of Hyrule, except that they are out in the open, ready and waiting for you. The first time you meet Gleeok is like an event—at least for me. In Tabantha Tundra, I was trying to sneak past a Frost Gleeok that was flying proudly around some ruins in the middle of a field. I failed, and I started running when the scary music started. Before I knew it, it fired a bolt of ice at me and I was dead in one shot.
Three heads, one eye each, staring at me from the sky, Gleeok making me nervous in a way the Guardians never did. I enjoy their challenge now, but their huge size and ferocity are still enough to make me doubt myself, especially if you encounter the strongest variants. There’s something particularly unsettling about Thunder Gleeok in the arena or Flame Gleeok on Hylia Bridge – the restricted ground movement means you need to think fast and when you have a three-headed dragon , three eyes are trying to kill you, that is not easy.
Darkness and Doom
I mentioned gloom above, but this substance is basically the answer to all my nightmares in Tears of the Kingdom.
The first time I went into the Depths it was claustrophobic. What an incredible area to get lost in for hours on end. Hyrule’s lower abdomen is consumed by eternal darkness, only permanently illuminated by the Lightroots you find when you impromptu circling the void and powerlessly hurling Lightbloom Seeds. It was addictive, but it made me feel incredibly claustrophobic for a long time.
With patches of darkness covering the ground, and monsters infected with darkness — stronger than those on the Surface or in the Sky — knock me down in one or two hits And temporarily take away my max number of hearts, it’s enough to make you panic. I certainly did, giving up all rational thought like maybe moving quickly from danger or even, you know, retreating back to the safety of the Surface. Instead, I just died and decided not to go back there until I was so much better.
I wouldn’t even say that dispelling the darkness would solve a lot of the horrors of the Depths. Frox, a new type of enemy, can inhale you and spit you out. They are like an improved Hinox submarine, except they are very fast and very loud. Stalnox, Hinox, Gleeok, and Flux Construct all have bleak versions. Combine all of this with the stuffy music in the Depths, and somehow, despite the power that lies in (and in) your fingertips, Tears of the Kingdom still makes Link seem smaller than ever run out of.
Raise your hand
I purposely left the worst for the end, because I don’t think anyone will ever forget the first encounter with Gloom Spawn – more commonly known as the Gloomy Hand.
My first took place outdoors during the day when I was collecting material on the ground in a small forest. I thought the blood moon was rising until I realized what time of day it was and this big black spot suddenly had five hands vying for me. I have never run away faster.
Even as I fight these things now, armed to the teeth with bomb flowers and ice balls, the distorted vocals and the music playing send chills down my spine. Like Horrblins and Frox, it’s the speed with which these move and the fact that they can pick you up as if you were nothing. For me, the feeling of limitation and panic is unmatched in the Zelda game. And as for what might happen when you beat some Gloom Hands… good luck.
I’ve spent too much time in Hyrule, and weird, scary things keep happening to me. The Malanya Horse Gods are still a bit scary, and I love the Stalhourses, but seeing them in the Depths is a bit weird. We’re not even talking about height.
But Tears of the Kingdom combine surprise and fear to amazing effect — for every special thing you discover, there’s bound to be something unsettling waiting for you. there. Expect the unexpected, every time.
Do you think the Kingdom Tears are pretty scary? What is your scariest moment or encounter to date? Vote in our poll below and then have the courage to comment, but keep it light!
