New content from the sequel to Breath of the Wild might not have appeared at the 2021 Game Awards (big bummer, we know), but it may have been “accidentally” discovered through several of Nintendo’s new patents. This week, Zelda fans in Europe bumped into patents with Breath of the Wild 2 gameplay concept drafts featuring player movement mirroring those featured in the latest teaser trailer. The discovery was reported by GameReactor shortly afterward.
In the patents, there is plenty of technical jargon explaining how the gameplay functions work. Much of it is similar to Link’s ability to warp vertically from one platform to the other thanks to the power in his “new” arm. More visuals also demonstrate an ability to move objects in reverse, much like that shown in the trailer. The descriptions further explain the conditions that need to be met in the program in order to perform the gameplay actions.
Patents being filed, of course, are not a big deal. Thousands of patents are filed every day. It’s a routine legal process utilized by anyone preparing to sell their work, whether it be a physical invention, an idea as a service, or in this case, a video game. Looking closer into the patent files, it appears that Nintendo has been uploading the documents since February 2021. That’s well before the last teaser trailer presented in June at the E3 show. Thus, the content may not be as new as we thought.
But wow, it sure is exciting to look at.
Much of the visuals also seem to demonstrate puzzle solving. Could Breath of the Wild 2 finally scratch the dungeon-crawling itch that was lacking in its predecessor? The answer may come sooner than we think. Or perhaps, we have to wait longer still. However the timing goes, what is visible clearly shows this will certainly be worth the wait!
