How to reach the sky islands in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

❘ Updated: 2023-05-12T05:02:00

link flying through the sky in the legend of zelda tears of the kingdom

Nintendo

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Hyrule has been increased thanks to the addition of sky islands. Our quick guide will show you how to reach these new areas.

Tears of the Kingdom, despite feeling familiar to Breath of the Wild, is still an entirely new game with fresh ideas and abilities.

Such new abilities and ideas have already been discovered within the game’s trailers and one of the primary elements is the brand-new location. So, here’s everything you need to know about the Sky Islands in Tears of the Kingdom as well as how they work and how you can reach them.

For our full thoughts on Tears of the Kingdom, you can check out our review here.

What are sky islands in Tears of the Kingdom?

Towering above the open lands of Hyrule are sky islands which are extensions of Tears of the Kingdom’s overall map. Players will find more buildings, different enemies, and rare scenic beauty that can only be found on these islands.

While there are special items and exploration areas that players may not find on the ground below, there are still common gameplay elements such as combat encounters, so they’re not entirely different from the rest of the map.

How to get to sky islands in Tears of the Kingdom

We know that Link will be able to ascend to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s sky islands in a multitude of ways. This includes using Link’s Recall ability, creating vehicles capable of flying, possibly utilizing flying creatures, and even just using Link’s Glider.

Recall

One of Link’s new abilities is Recall which allows him to rewind time on objects in motion or objects that have already moved and stopped.

A prime example used to demonstrate Recall saw Link stand on a rock that had fallen from the sky, and it elevated Link all the way into the sky, allowing him to jump to a sky island.

link riding rock in tears of the kingdom

Vehicles

Whether they’re already pre-made or if Link has to make them himself using another new ability called Ultrahand, vehicles can be used to transport our hero into the sky.

A reoccurring environmental object is fans, and if you attach multiple fans to a solid platform, then you can create an upward-moving platform – a bit like a portable elevator that will take you to the sky islands.

link using a flying vehicle in the legend of zelda tears of the kingdom

Creatures & animals

We’ve seen in the pre-release material for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that flying creatures will be a part of the world.

Now, we don’t know for sure if they can be manipulated in some way to help Link fly, but we would rule nothing out. After all, we’ve seen Link use something similar in the past with Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Glider

This method applies more to traveling from one sky island to another, or if you’ve already managed to get high up into the sky.

Hold down the applicable button and Link will whip out his Glider and players can use it to fly on down to the sky island that you’re looking to go to.

Sky islands will likely play a big part in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and if you want to know even more about the game, we have plenty of other guides for you right here: