Well folks, a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has now dropped online. What’s more, it highlights some very interesting things indeed.

Why? Because not only does it show many of the places Zelda travels through in her quest, but it also showcases some new abilities in the game too.

Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it already:

As you can see, the areas you explore seem to be a mix of modern and retro Zelda locations, with a mix of interesting NPCs and locations from all across the series.

For example, you’ve got the Gorons, Zora and Gerudo as they are in most games, complete with similar hometowns and cultures to their appearance in the wild era games…

But you’ve also got the River Zora and Deku Scrubs too, who seem to take more inspiration from their appearances in A Link Between Worlds and Majora’s Mask respectively. It’s an interesting mix for sure, and goes a long way to making Hyrule feel more alive in this title.

Yet returning species and similarly themed locations aren’t the only Zelda staples appearing here. No, Zelda can also ride horses in this game too.

Yep, just like the 3D titles and Four Swords Adventures, horses play a pivotal role in the gameplay for Echoes of Wisdom. What’s more, they also fit into the whole ‘echo’ system in a very interesting way too.

Since in this one, you can use a carrot echo to summon them from everywhere. So yeah, forget Ancient Horse Armour this time around. Creating a carrot from nothing is apparently all it takes to summon your horse this time around.

Regardless, as cool as the horse mechanics and locations are, they’re nothing in comparison to the other feature highlighted by the trailer. The other major mechanic that governs Echoes of Wisdom as much as echoes do. The Ultrahand to its Fuse.

Binding.

This is basically Echoes of Wisdom’s equivalent to Magnesis or Ultrahand. You can pick up and move objects, regardless of their size or weight.

And while the trailer starts by demonstrating it with a giant boulder, that’s certainly not the extent of its powers.

No, you can use it with objects, echoes and even enemies this time around.

Yep, you literally have the ability to pick up enemies and throw them around. Or if you’re cruel, right off a cliff or into hazardous substances.

It’s absolutely insane, and reminds us of the Ultrahand mod made for Ocarina of Time rather than the one in TotK. Where like here, Link can pick up NPCs and objects regardless of whether they’re alive or not.

What’s more, its uses don’t end there. No, you can also reverse bond with it too.

This lets you cling to enemies and objects grappling hook style, and let them carry you through the kingdom. So, you can hang onto Tektites to climb walls, bats to cross gaps or fast-moving enemies to blast across the land in style. It’s all great stuff, and shows just how much freedom the game gives you here.

But it does raise a few questions nonetheless. Most importantly, how will the game restrict your abilities here?

Because Tears of the Kingdom’s design had its issues in that regard. Thanks to Ultrahand and Recall being so powerful, it was trivial to skip literally every puzzle in the game by brute force alone, and dungeons felt rather lacking due to their need to accommodate this.

So how will Echoes of Wisdom avoid that pitfall? How can a game that lets you use echoes and binding like this get the player to solve meaningful puzzles when everything can seemingly be skipped with one or two familiar tricks?

That’s the million-dollar question here, and with trailers not showing any dungeons, one we’ll have to wait and see to find out the answer to.

Regardless, that’s the latest trailer for Echoes of Wisdom. It shows some interesting areas and NPCs, highlights the role horses play in the game, and demonstrates an absolutely incredible new ability in the form of Bind.

So, what are your thoughts on it? Are you more excited for the game after seeing this? How do you think Echoes of Wisdom can be designed to make the most of its crazy physics engine and abilities?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below, on social media, or over on our Discord server today!

Source:

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Traversing Hyrule Trailer – Nintendo Switch (YouTube)