In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players are given unlimited freedom to solve puzzles in any way they want. Shrine puzzles, for instance, usually have a developer-intended solution that can be entirely bypassed with clever thinking. However, players are already drunk with power as they find inventive ways to tackle problems … and that’s bad news for Hyrule’s Korok population.
As was the case in Breath of the Wild, Koroks are cute little creatures that act as a primary collectible in Tears of the Kingdom. Link must solve small puzzles out in the world to reveal them and get a Korok seed in exchange, which is then used to upgrade his gear slots. In a recurring puzzle, Link finds a Korok who wants to be reunited with a friend off in the distance — but it can’t move due to its gigantic backpack. It’s up to Link to move the Korok in any way he can think of.
And that’s where players are getting a little too creative.
Over the game’s opening weekend, Twitter filled up with videos of players transporting Koroks in truly horrifying ways. Some methods involved strapping rockets to them and sending them flying. Others showed off unfortunate mishaps, like ill-fated flights that ended in disaster.
Some players, however, have far more nefarious plans for their Koroks. Crucifixions have become a common fate for Koroks in the game’s early days. Others are gathering together as many Koroks as they can and subjecting them to group torture. I’ve seen horses dragging rows or Koroks and a full Korok rotisserie already.
Is it all a little cruel? Yes. Yes it is. But I suppose if you want to find some light in this, it’s that the Korok torture is already showing how much creativity Tears of the Kingdom is inspiring in its players. If people can think of this many ways to brutalize the cutest creature in Hyrule, imagine what kind of creations they’ll create years from now. May God help us all.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is out now on Nintendo Switch. Check out our guides hub to help you through some of the game’s trickier puzzles.
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