Update:
Since this was discovered fans have started to chime in how the animation for Ascend already looks to give Link a swimming animation. It’s looking more likely that we’ll get some underwater exploration when this game drops.
Yeah this is compelling. So we know Ascend works wherever there’s a ceiling, whether it was a cave or a manmade one. Ascend already uses a ‘swimming’ animation. So it being enabled for underwater diving makes perfect sense, with the surface of the water being a ‘ceiling’.
OkDepartment6077 – Reddit Comment
Original Story…
The Legend of Zelda fans were treated to a brief gameplay demonstration of the next major installment for the franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While we don’t have too much of a wait to endure before we can get our hands on the game, plenty of questions remain on our minds. Fortunately, the gameplay footage demonstration offered quite a bit of useful details regarding the gameplay mechanics that were added to the new installment. One of those new mechanics might have clued us in on a feature that has yet to be unveiled.
Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild didn’t allow Link to go underwater. You could pull it off by jumping from a greater distance, but typically Link pops right back up. So instead, to gather stuff from under the depths below, you’ll need to use the Magnesis Rune. But that might be changing with the upcoming installment. As mentioned yesterday, Nintendo highlighted a bit of the gameplay for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, in which new abilities for Link were showcased. One of those abilities is Ascend, which allows Link to ascend through the ceiling of structures. This feature is useful because Link can simply ascend to the top of a structure rather than players using their stamina to climb up.
However, thanks to a viewer on Reddit, Xiaonann, there might be a clue to underwater exploration. It’s noted that the Ascend ability becomes gray when Link falls, indicating that players couldn’t use this feature to transport them back to the surface during a freefall. However, in the gameplay footage, Link drops down into the water, where he’s underwater for a brief moment. At that moment, the icon lights back up, meaning Link can use the Ascend to reach the surface.
That could be a significant indicator that there will now be some exploration underwater in the game. This means not only are we exploring the floating islands above the land but also under the water depths. Again, that’s not a confirmation, as we don’t have any official word from Nintendo about whether Link can explore under the water. But that could be a new highlight feature coming before The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches into the marketplace. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will launch on May 12, 2023, for the Nintendo Switch platform.
