Occasionally a patent filing will out a new piece of video game hardware or software early, or at least give info-hungry fans a new piece of information to pore over while awaiting official updates. It’s not as often though that a patent reveals deep gameplay and mechanic details from an upcoming game, especially one as otherwise shrouded in mystery as the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Reported over at Gamereactor, three new patents filed by Nintendo have appeared that give us a fairly concrete look at some new mechanics that were only glimpsed in the new Breath of the Wild’s most recent E3 teaser (well, as recent as six months ago). You can see them here, here and here.
The first relates to Link’s ability to “phase” through platforms from below, provided the entering and emerging surfaces meet certain criteria. This was seen in the trailer and was assumed by many to be a one-off or highly contextual action but going by this information players may be able to use it somewhat freely.
We can also see in the second patent a new puzzle ability that likely slots in with Link’s other Sheikah Slate abilities. This one seemingly allows Link to reverse time on objects, as evidenced again in the trailer when we see him reverse a rolling hazard back up a hill to strike an enemy.
The third patent relates to Link free-falling, Skyward Sword-style. We see a bit of this at the beginning of the trailer as he falls through the clouds to an environment below, but the patent shows that this might be a pivotal gameplay mechanic in the game and we may even be able to engage in combat with Link’s bow while falling through the air.
In case you need a refresher, here’s the full E3 2021 trailer for the Breath of the Wild sequel:
