Players familiar with Breath of the Wild will recall that Malice had a reasonably sedentary role, often located in areas overrun with Calamity Ganon’s influence. This included Breath of the Wild’s Divine Beasts, Hyrule castle, and a handful of other key locations throughout the game. Primarily used during gameplay as a barrier to prevent passage and force players to puzzle out a solution, Malice could also cause contact damage, spawn enemies, and was even responsible for the infection of those like Naydra or the Guardians. Since sequels often try and outdo their predecessors, this means Tears of the Kingdom will need to try and go beyond all this.
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Evidence So Far of Changes to Malice
With only a few trailers to speculate from, a few key moments have stood out that have shown Malice to be behaving in ways not yet seen compared to Breath of the Wild. For instance, though Calamity Ganon had laid claim to Hyrule castle in the first game, trailers have since shown the castle being lifted into the sky much like other islands from other trailers, but with a concentrated mass of Malice seemingly carrying it upwards. This could suggest that if Calamity Ganon were a manifestation of Ganondorf’s power, then the real villain himself must be stronger if his manipulation of Malice can do that.
However, more interestingly, Malice was shown to be less of an obstacle in these early trailers and in fact seemed almost “alive” or predatory. Certain trailer segments show Malice hunting down a rat while another shows Link appearing to be attacked by Malice. For the latter especially, Malice is attacking Link’s arm in Tears of the Kingdom, and it appears corrupted or infused with some kind of magic or technology, even paralleling the same arm that seems to have previously been holding Ganondorf captive. Based on this, it seems not only will Malice become more malignant and violent, but it has a deeper connection to Ganondorf and even to Link.
Tears of the Kingdom’s Malice Could be More Dangerous
Beyond being an explanation as to why Hyrule is rediscovering its Skyward Sword vibes in Tears of the Kingdom with floating islands in the sky, Malice could become a far more pervasive and present danger to Link. Besides the likely possibility it will be reused as an environmental hazard and barrier during gameplay, Malice could itself become an active hazard Link will need to fight. Perhaps taking inspiration from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and its own Malice-infused enemies, Tears of the Kingdom’s Malice could empower other enemies and create harder-to-beat and more aggressive opponents, from Lionels to Guardians themselves.
But not only this, Malice could be its own enemy type instead of needing others to infect. For instance, just as Link was attacked in the trailer, certain areas of the game could see the player facing concentrated Malice that will hunt down Link due to his arm. Under particular conditions or controlled environments like Tears of the Kingdom’s new dungeons or shrines, this could allow for interesting gameplay sections that could force the player to flee in a chase sequence or create new opportunities for stealth that had been underdeveloped in Breath of the Wild. As a result, Malice will likely become an even greater threat in Tears of the Kingdom, although the exact of this remains to be seen.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to release on May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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