Spoiler Warning:
The rest of this article contains significant spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom about the story, gameplay mechanics, etc. that you might not wish to see. Continue reading at your own risk.
A forgotten land lost to time and left to ruin. A land where time seems to stand still, this dark and decrepit domain calls out only to the bravest adventurers, tempting them to Hyrule’s most ancient secrets. Tears of the Kingdom brings the Hero of the Wild to many new locations, including the haunting abyss referred to by the locals as the Depths.
The Upheavel changed the landscape of Hyrule, both figuratively and literally. Hyrule Castle disconnecting from the ground, releasing a deadly pestilence called Gloom, and then hovering above the ground midair is scary enough, but that is not everything the Upheavel brought. Giant pieces of earth diverged and floated high in the skies above Hyrule. This shift in the tectonic activity revealed a massive cavernous expanse beneath the land of Hyrule. Giant, seemingly bottomless chasms are spread across the land, the otherworldly Gloom bleeding out of it like a wound. This Gloom seems to be intimidating enough to deter most adventurers, but nothing can keep Link away.
As Link dives into one of the seemingly endless chasms, the peaceful music of Hyrule’s surface fades into a mysterious melody. The light from the sun disappears as one last haunting brass note resonates, communicating the grim reality that awaits in this nightmarish realm. Link lands on the ground to see…nothing. The very essence of this place is shrouded in otherworldly Gloom, only feeble rays of light manage to penetrate enough to see what is at your feet.
Fortunately, not all is hopeless. Link’s resourcefulness also gets a chance to shine here. On the surface in various caves, Link can collect Brightbloom seeds. In daylight, these flowers seem useless, but they shine bright in the darkness. Link can throw them to create a light path for himself, or use one as a headlight on a hoverbike. The productive way to bring light to the Depths is by discovering the Lightroots, magical, bulbous tree roots that Link can activate that will shed some light on the nearby area. A total of 120 Lightroots can be found in the Depths, which sounds like a lot until you realize that the Depths is quite literally as big as the surface of Hyrule.
Believe it or not, the inky darkness is not the biggest danger of the Depths, but rather it is the inhabitants. Many Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos reside here. These enemies are already a threat on the surface, however down here they are much stronger. The Gloom bleeds from all these monsters when in the Depths. One touch from these creatures and Link will become infected. Fighting these simpler enemies becomes a bigger challenge than on the surface. It does not stop there, though, as you can expect to find Stalnoxes and Lynels all covered in Gloom, as well. A new type of monster to add to the bestiary is the Frox. An amphibious species that likes to eat Brightbloom seeds. When they are babies, they are about the size of small dogs and serve as no challenge. But do not be fooled, because once they are fully grown, they become gargantuan monsters that have no qualms about eating the Hero. Unlike the other monsters, most of these Froxes are not infected by Gloom, which hints that they are probably the only native species here.
The only trace of human existence Link will find is an unwelcome one: the Yiga Clan. It makes sense that after Link sends him down the giant hole at the Yiga Clan base in Breath of the Wild, that the clan would follow the strong, the burly, the one, the only, Master Kohga down into the Depths. He and the Yiga Clan have set up their base down here, also attempting to discover the ancient secrets locked away by the Zonai.
With all these dangers, why would anyone want to adventure down to the Depths? In classic video game style, the scariest places have the best loot, and that goes for the Depths as well. The place is covered in Zonaite, the rare mineral that can be used to increase Link’s Zonaite battery pack. Even the monsters will drop Zonaite when you kill them. The land is also covered in treasure chests, many of them contain the nostalgic outfits from past titles, like the Hero of Time’s or the Hero of Twilight’s outfits. There are even some cool old weapons like the Sea-Breeze Boomerang. But of course, probably the most important treasure down here is the final ability that completes your ability wheel. For the sake of spoilers, I will not mention what it is, but if you are looking to finish that ability wheel, it’s time to explore the Depths.
Exploring the Depths grips your heart with both trepidation and fascination. It is amazing that this gigantic, cryptic land exists beneath Hyrule with so many secrets and the best loot to boot. Will you be brave enough to explore the Depths and emerge victorious, or will you be consumed by the unforgiving abyss?
