'Breath of the Wild 2' Dungeons Could Take Inspiration From 'BotW' Mods

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched to rave reviews back in 2017, but one consistent criticism was that the game lacked the sprawling dungeons the Nintendo franchise is known for. Breath of the Wild 2 has a chance to fix this oversight, and fans are already showing Nintendo how to do it.

Zelda fans have been creating their own Breath of the Wild dungeons for about a month already by modding an emulated version of the original game. These impressive dungeons use all the enemies and building blocks from the original game and remix them into the sort of expansive labyrinths that previous Zelda games offered (think the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time).

On top of that, modders have extra resources that were added to the emulated game, including the ability to stylize areas with lava, fire, and even wind, giving these dungeons the elemental vibes you’d expect. Now, if we could just get something similar in Breath of the Wild 2 we’d be all set.

Here’s one awesome modded Breath of the Wild dungeon from HailToDodongo (via Polygon) called “The Sky Maze.” It’s not a traditional Zelda dungeon, but it’s still pretty awesome and gives off Skyward Sword vibes. I particularly love how they buily Guardians directly into the dungeons.

And here’s another fan-made BotW dungeon from the same modder that feels more like a classic Zelda dungeon, complete with spooky, dark rooms full of monsters to fight, puzzles, and even a boss battle.

Nintendo hasn’t confirmed that Breath of the Wild 2 will feature full-fledged dungeons, but in an interview with Kotaku, the company suggested that it’s at least considering how to improve on the Shrine system that replaced traditional dungeons in Botw.

Quote 1:

“One thing we learned from Breath of the Wild is that when we focused on creating a dungeon that has multiple solutions, it turned into this great title. That’s one thing I want to polish up and use for inspiration going forward.”

Quote 2:

“When we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that’s why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit.”

Combined, those two quotes from Nintendo executives working on Breath of the Wild 2 suggest that the company plans to iterate on the best part of Shrines (the ability to creatively solve puzzles in a variety of ways) while also offering something “bigger.” Sounds like a dungeon to me.

We still don’t know when Breath of the Wild 2 will release, but if Nintendo wants to speed up the process, it may want to consider hiring HailToDodongo to lend their skills as a Zelda dungeon design master. Just a thought.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch … eventually.