A new video has surfaced showing what a VR version ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwould look like. The footage shows how several Hyrule locales could appear if players truly stepped into the shoes of Link.
Releasing as a Switch launch title back in 2017,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildbecame a watershed moment for the long-running Nintendo franchise, revolutionizing not only its own gameplay mechanics, but open-world games as a whole. While moderate mods such asrenovating Hyrule Castle to its pre-calamity statehave become increasingly commonplace, this VR mod affects the entire scope of the title.
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Posted a few days ago by YouTuber Brian Tate, the video showcases footage from severalBreath of the Wildlocations, including Lurelin Village, Link’s House, Floria Bridge, and the Great Hyrule Forest. The VR build has the ability to transition between first and third-person camera angles, allowing for some versatility depending upon the situation. The third-person angle replaces Link’s character model with Zelda, although the switch is purely a cosmetic one. Tate, who also produced a4K, 60FPS mod ofThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, has theBreath of the Wildmod running through a Wii U emulator, which means a lack of accompanying VR motion controls.
The developer is aware of this, but says adding such a feature in its current state would be a “very different modding challenge.” However, Tate goes on to explain how he plans to approach motion controls, including possibility adapting the controls ofthe upcomingThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, which according to the developer will have “smoother” and “more intuitive” motion controls. While the build looks visually impressive, any sort of public release will take at least “a few months, maybe half a year or more,” soZeldafans looking to get their hands on the mod will have to wait.
Nintendo has released an official VR version ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Back in 2019, the company releasedNintendo Labo VR versions ofBreath of the Wildas well asSuper Mario Odyssey. While the latter had players gathering collectibles in a set of mini-missions, theZeldaVR only offered 3DOF, or three degrees of freedom. What this means is that the Labo version only supports an X and Y axis, whereas this build adds the Z dimension of depth, providing 6DOF and a truly immersive 3D environment.
Despite a bit of camera shakiness, the VR mod forThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildlooks like it has the potential for great success. However, given how stringent Nintendo is with unofficial versions of its IP, this mod may run into issues. Hopefully Nintendo at least has something similar up its sleeve, as this year marksThe Legend of Zeldaseries' 35th anniversary.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis available now for Switch and Wii U.
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