It’s hard to overstate how much of an influential game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is. Nintendo’s open world take on the franchise introduced so many fresh ideas with its gameplay and world design that, four years later, games continue to emulate Breath of the Wild while trying to bring their own unique twists. Such is the case with Elements, an upcoming game from Apogee Entertainment and developer WreckIt Games.
Described as a “vibrant, go-anywhere adventure,” Elements is easy to compare to Breath of the Wild at first glance. The gameplay trailer released this week covers a lot of similar ground as it shows sibling protagonists Nyah and Beckett exploring bright, verdant forests that wouldn’t look out of place in Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule. This also includes the now-familiar climbing and gliding traversal mechanics seen in other Breath of the Wild-inspired titles like Genshin Impact and Immortals Fenyx Rising.
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But Elements might stand apart from the competition thanks to a handful of features not seen in Breath of the Wild. For starters, unlike most open world games, Elements will feature co-op, allowing players to explore vast forests, snow-covered mountains, underwater domains, and more with friends. The game’s Steam page specifically states that the co-op is local split-screen, however, so it’s possible that players won’t be able to do so online.
Apogee and WreckIt Games also state that players will have more to look forward to. On top of challenging puzzles scattered throughout the fantasy world of Elemythia, there will be plenty of resources to gather to craft gear and earn upgrades, as well as a variety of monsters that can be fought through multiple means, including swordplay and magic-wielding. Additionally, Elements will allow players to construct their own custom homesteads, akin to games like Valheim, where they can store gear, farm, and take a break from their adventure. Homesteads will also serve as fast-travel points for getting around Elemythia more easily.
Elements looks like it could find its own niche in the crowded open world market. That being said, the Breath of the Wild influence is still impossible to ignore. This is driven home even further by the fact that Nyah will be voiced by Patricia Summersett, the voice actress for Princess Zelda in Breath of the Wild, who was featured in another video released recently to hype the game.
While the marketing for Elements has already begun, it’s going to be quite a while more before it debuts. Right now the game is slated to release in the fourth quarter of 2022, and that’s assuming no delays occur. It will likely be facing some stiff competition when it launches too, as the highly-anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild is also coming out next year. It’ll be interesting to see how Elements fares against the followup to the game it takes inspiration from.
Elements is slated to launch in Q4 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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Source: Steam