Does Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have dungeons?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is just a few weeks away from launch and fans are in shock after watching the latest Nintendo Direct. There were no signs of dungeons in the gameplay we have seen so far and it is making players wonder if Nintendo is doing away with dungeons in Zelda.

There seem to be no Ancient Shrines in Tears of the Kingdom and we don’t know if Nintendo is planning to shake up the gameplay formula. Dungeons have been around in Zelda since 1986 and it would be disappointing if Nintendo got rid of them for Tears of the Kingdom.

Before we discuss whether dungeons are making a return to Tears of the Kingdom or not, consider checking out our definitive Legend of Zelda game rankings. If you want to preorder Tears of the Kingdom, here’s what you need to know about the pre-order bonuses.

Does Tears of the Kingdom have dungeons?

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Breath of the Wild shook the Zelda format by offering dungeons in the form of Ancient Shrines. Hyrule Castle is also technically an endgame dungeon and there is DLC content that may be classified as dungeons as well. But when Tears of the Kingdom’s gameplay was revealed, players noticed that there are no Ancient Shrines anywhere to be found.

It is completely possible that Nintendo has a new system in place instead of the shrines, and players should not sink into disappointment just yet. It is possible that the recent Nintendo Direct showed content from an early development build which is why the shrines were not visible.

Dungeons were hotly debated within the Breath of the Wild community and it remains to be seen if Nintendo has dungeons in store for us, or if they have been scrapped completely.

Why dungeons might not be coming to Tears of the Kingdom

Dungeons are a staple in the Zelda franchise. We received dungeon content right from the original The Legend of Zelda in 1986 to Breath of the Wild in 2017. A Zelda game without dungeon content might be shocking to some fans and we don’t think Nintendo will get rid of dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom.

When Breath of the Wild was released, many players complained about how disappointing the dungeons were in the game. They were short and did not have the same kind of atmosphere that other iconic games in the franchise offered. Breath of the Wild surpassed expectations on most fronts but the dungeons may have been disappointing for a part of the player base. There might be a surprise in store for us so before jumping into any opinions, players should wait until Tears of the Kingdom releases.

For more Zelda content consider checking out Tears of the Kingdom’s map size or the new enemies in Tears of the Kingdom. If you don’t know when the game is coming out, you can head to our Tears of the Kingdom release date coverage.