When a video game as vast, varied and freedom-forward as Tears of the Kingdom comes along, players often set themselves limitations in their playthroughs that spur creative thinking and offer interesting challenges. Recently, one Reddit user embarked on a truly ambitious challenge run that aimed to eliminate the largest portion of the map from their playthrough, determining that it’s possible to beat the game without touching the surface at all.
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.
Player Black_Hand_Gotthard shared their results on Reddit in late September 2023. Their screenshot showed that they did not activate the surface’s map whatsoever, moving directly from the sky islands to the Depths on their quest to complete this sprawling version of “the floor is lava.” If you’ll recall, you need to visit the surface to attain the paraglider, which means this challenge run excluded one of the game’s most fundamental traversal items, forcing Black_Hand_Gotthard to take a craftier approach.
They explained that it was thanks to a few handy tricks and tools, including Zonai wings for gliding, the lightweight and versatile “hoverbike” constructed of two fans and a steering stick, and a liberal stock of fairies which eliminated the fear of fall damage. After completing all of the shrines in the sky (and nabbing just about every piece of loot, too), they were ready to descend. They glided towards the suspended Hyrule Castle on a wing, dove into the chasm below with the high maneuverability of the Glide armor, and face-planted at the bottom with a quick fairy revival. After that, all that was left was to polish off the final boss and roll the credits.
The dedication and creativity of Tears of the Kingdom’s player base is truly remarkable at times. How long will it be before a speedrunning category is formed around this no-surface challenge run? At this point, anything is possible.
