A new video has surfaced showing what a VR version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would 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 Wild became 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 as renovating Hyrule Castle to its pre-calamity state have 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 several Breath of the Wild locations, 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 a 4K, 60FPS mod of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, has the Breath of the Wild mod 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 of the upcoming The 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," so Zelda fans looking to get their hands on the mod will have to wait.
Nintendo has released an official VR version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Back in 2019, the company released Nintendo Labo VR versions of Breath of the Wild as well as Super Mario Odyssey. While the latter had players gathering collectibles in a set of mini-missions, the Zelda VR 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 for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks 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 marks The Legend of Zelda series' 35th anniversary.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Switch and Wii U.
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Source: Nintendo Life