The Depths are Tears of the Kingdom’s Dark World

There are many great moments in Tears of the Kingdom, but there’s one that really stands out in my memory, one that still makes the hairs on the back of my next stand up and send a tingle down my spine… and that’s the first time going down into The Depths. It reminds me of another great moment in the Legend of Zelda series, and that’s the first time I entered the Dark World in A Link To The Past. Today I want to take a closer look at The Depths, plus take a closer look at how The Depths are a very similar experience to a Dark World in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

The Depths

The Depths were one of the best kept secrets related to Tears of the Kingdom before the game released. Much of the marketing was focused on the Sky Islands, and the changes we would encounter in Hyrule. When Tears of the Kingdom was released, it wasn’t long before we found our first chasm, and dove down into the Depths of Hyrule for the first time.

As you make your way through the main quest, you’ll encounter Josha and Robbie in Lookout Landing, and they will introduce you to chasms and The Depths. During The Great Upheaval Hyrule Castle was raised into the sky alongside other ruins, and huge chasms opened up below Hyrule. The Depths are dark, dangerous and covered with Gloom, the tar-like red and black substance that drains the life from Link. Josha became obsessed with The Depths, and helping her out opens up some cruical new tools and techniques like Autobuild and the camera feature of the Pura Pad.

The Depths aren’t just a cave in the ground, they are expansive and cover the whole of the Hyrule map. While we learned about caves pre-release, Nintendo was careful not to reveal the extent of The Depths. This is a whole new map under Hyrule, it has its own checkpoints and secrets, plus side adventure and useful abilities and hidden loot in the form of armor and weapons.

The Depths stand out as one of the most inticing landscapes we’ve seen in a Legend of Zelda game, it calls to you to explore, and also fight for your survival. It’s challenging from the word go, and for those looking for that tougher experience The Depths are where you can find it. Its entirely possible to go through the main story in Tears of the Kingdom and not interact with the Depths too much, there are a few key quests and story beats that take place there, but if you don’t want to explore, you don’t have to.

The Depths challenge you in various ways. First of all, much of it is shrouded in complete darkness. You’ll be able to see the glint of something shining in the distance like the glow of a Poe or a fire from a latern. The deadly gloom glistens from any light that touches it, and you have to have your wits about you exploring the Depths because one flase move and you can tread in the red and black stuff, and quickly lose your hearts. There are cliffs to fall off too in the darkness. The terrain down in The Depths is similar to Hyrule above, there are hills and cliffs, plus huge roots that tangle and twist through the landscape.

Light plays a major factor down in the Depths, and it’s not something we’ve had to worry about on the surface. Brightbloom seeds are a new item added to Tears of the Kingdom, that allow us to shoot out little shoots of light that then spring up into torches. These can either be thrown by hand, or attached to arrows and shot at surfaces. Lightroots are another major source of Light, and these are huge bulb-like plants seen below the surface. They are similar to Shrines from the Hyrule overworld, they act as quick navigation points, plus they restore gloom-inflicted hearts. Most importantly they light up the Depths, and uncovering all the Lightroots is a major undertaking in Tears of the Kingdom.

The Depths are also crawling with enemies, and they’re much tougher than the surface enemies. First of all they are covered in Gloom, and so are you if they hit you. Lynels are tough on the surface, but wait until you get down into the Depths and you find one covered in armor – then you’ll know the definition of pain. Mini-bosses and bosses also live down in the Depths. Gleeoks, Stone Talus, and many more. I was in the north eastern part of the Depths searching for some armor, floating down gently with my paraglider when all of a sudden I found a Colgera just flying about. All the bosses from the Temple are gathered down in the depths and you can just stumble upon them, whether you are ready or not.

The Depths are dark and full of danger, but it’s also a place brimming with loot and treasure. Many of the game’s armor sets can be found in the Depths. One of the most precious resources in Tears of the Kingdom can also be found in the Depths, and this is called Zonaite. You can mine this resource, or kill enemies and they will drop it, and it can be turned into Crystalised Charges and then turned into Energy Cells, which allows Link to use Zonai Devices for longer. Poes are another valuable resource found in the Depths which can be exchanged with Bargainer Statues for armor sets, and Dark Clumps, which can be mixed in with food to create Gloom resistance – and you’ll need this later on to battle Phantom Ganon. Schema Stones are another valuable reward found in the Depths. You can add these items to your Autobuild menu and this will allow you to quickly create Zonai Vehicles from various Zonai Devices. SO while the Depths are dangerous, there’s significant incentive to get down there and explore, and ultimately unlock all the Lightroots and discover all the secrets the Depths are hiding.

Dark World

Alternative worlds are not a new concept to Legend of Zelda games, and The Depths share a lot in common with The Dark World from A Link To The Past. I still remember that moment when we were first introduced to the Dark World in A Link To The Past, the sound effect, the environment, and the tough enemies. There’s this moment of realisation when you understand that Link is no longer in Hyrule, and you are surrounded by even tougher enemies, given this place has been overrun by Ganon’s forces. The Dark World is especially frightening given you are turned into a bunny when you first go in, leaving you feeling even more helpless.

While the Depths aren’t another realm or a parallel dimension, they certainly have a lot in common with The Dark World. The map is pretty much one-to-one for Hyrule, much like The Dark World, the enemies are tough as nails, it’s full of ruins, plus they are ancient and perhaps a people older than the Zonai lived there. The Zonai mined The Depths for Zonaite 10,000 years ago, so it’s hihgly likely they are significantly older.

The Depths may not be a Dark World, but the similarities between above ground Hyrule and The Depths are striking. The Depths are huge, and have significant locations and structures that link to sites above ground. For example, where you find Shrines, you’ll find Lightroots. Lightroots below Shrines are even named the same as the Shrines above, albeit their names being backwards.

Before Tears of the Kingdom released, I was hoping for a traditional Dark World or parallel land. I think what we got with The Depths is even better. That first time finding a chasm and then jumping down into the Depths, realising you are diving for a similar amount of time compared to diving from the Sky to the ground. The fact you can dive from the sky, down a chasm and all the way to the floor in the depths is fantastic. The Depths were one of the best kept secrets in gaming in 2023, and Tears of the Kingdom was much better for it.

Let me know in the comments what you think about the Depths in Tears of the Kingdom, and how do you think it compares to the Dark World.