What will the next Zelda game be like? (pic: Nintendo)

The Monday letters page agrees that both Xbox and PlayStation are acting foolishly at the moment, as one reader recommends Chained Echoes.

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What happens next
So Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is a massive hit bot critically and in terms of sales, but can I be the first to ask: what happens next? The next Zelda will obviously be for the Switch 2 but what does that mean? I cannot imagine that they will use the same map again, which will probably mean that this will be a separate game, unconnected to the last two – which is how Zelda usually works.

I really can’t imagine them going back to the old formula though, for the very obvious reason that the new one is much, much more successful. Nintendo might like to experiment but they like money even more and Zelda has suddenly become a new cash cow, instead of just a prestige franchise.

That said though, how will they distinguish between the next game and the last two? A new art style will make a big difference but I also imagine there’ll be a new gimmick. Perhaps destructibility? They’ve put so much effort int their physics system that expanding it into Battlefield style destruction seems like the logical next step to me.

Predicting Nintendo never works, so I’m sure I’m wrong, but I’m going to be interested in finding out… in about six years time.
Lentil

Break the formula
I’m not as down on Ubisoft as some people so I’m curious to see what they’re going to announce next week. Although I have to say right off that another The Crew game and 100 Assassin’s Creeds is not the best way to get people on board. At least not as far as I’m concerned, but I assume they have other things as well.

I’m not sure what that new game could be. As far as I could work out there was no clue and I haven’t heard anyone else suggest them either. I just hope it’s not another open world game that’s basically what they’ve already announced but with a slightly different name and theme.

It can be open world just try and do something slightly different with it and don’t follow the formula. No on-screen guides or markers, just proper gameplay, look at how well Elden Ring and Zelda have done and then look at your last few failures. That shows you just what you need to do.
Grant

Off year
Sequel to Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, sequel to 1-2-Switch? It’s 2017 all over again. So the obvious hope is sequel to Super Mario Odyssey?

You’ve got to assume that team has been busy doing something and it would make a brilliant Christmas release and swansong for the Switch. But, of course, it’d make just as much sense for the next Mario game to be a launch title for the Switch 2, so who knows?

I wish E3 still existed and Nintendo participated because then we’d have a good idea of when we’d find out one way or another.
Euclidian Boxes

GC: This is the first year without a June Nintendo Direct in some time, regardless of E3, so their silence is puzzling. The Super Mario team are well overdue announcing a new game but, as you say, it’s impossible to guess why they haven’t.

Bad timing
I just wanted to write in to heap praise on the excellent Chained Echoes. I just spent just over 40 hours (not all at once) completing everything it had to offer, I just really enjoyed it. The combat was both a homage to classic Japanese role-playing games and somehow also quite fresh and modern.

The plot subverted all expectations in a good way and the side content, away from the main quest, was so moreish I wanted more! But a particular shout out has to be the music, some of the pieces I thought were just fabulous, up there in my favourite gaming music titles. I couldn’t recommend this game highly enough.
Liam

GC: It was good. It’s a shame it released in December and got crushed by the Christmas rush, we don’t think we’ve ever heard anyone else talk about it but you.

Long way round
Well, I’ve just completed a certain shrine in Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom in the most unnecessarily convoluted and inefficient way possible, it took me half an hour.

After doing it though I thought I’d look on YouTube for the solution out of curiosity. Long story cut short, the video was three minutes long including the adverts…

Note to self going forward: do not overthink!
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)

It’s only June
My game of the year so far is Like a Dragon: Ishin! I am a big fan of the Yakuza games and it is a nice twist on the formula and setting. The story is great, with the usual twists, and I have spent hours doing all the side quests and mini-games. I love it!

I’ve also been going through XCOM 2 again and it is one of my favourite games of all time. The game often cheats you and those three super aliens are awful, but it is so addictive. Such a good game.
Simon

Expensive deal
I don’t agree with the suggestion Microsoft would be better off acquiring timed exclusivity for GTA 6 over the Activision deal. Would such a deal shift the needle much? It would more than likely cause a huge uproar. The reaction to Rise Of The Tomb Raider being a one year exclusive to Xbox is evidence enough of the backlash. PlayStation could get away with it, Xbox couldn’t.

Besides, at a crucial time of the Activision Blizzard deal, I don’t think Microsoft will be keen on validating any arguments from the CMA or FTC. I just find timed exclusivity deals annoying. I wish they would go away.

Now, if Xbox were to get GTA 6 into Game Pass day one, that may shift the needle. The CEO of Take-Two recently came out in support of the Activision Blizzard merger with Microsoft, which is interesting. It would be an expensive deal of course, but it would keep Sony fans and the media off Microsoft’s backs and would have far greater impact than any timed exclusivity nonsense.

I would be shocked if GTA 6 is included in Game Pass, but the more I consider it, the more of a no-brainer it is.
Anon

GC: We don’t think they meant as well as the Activision Blizzard deal, but instead of.

Not yet a classic
Just a bit of a question. I want the new Assassin’s Creed game but £60 is a bit too much. I’ve heard it’s coming to Ubisoft+ day one. Is it true and also is Ubisoft+, included with PS Plus Extra or PS Plus Premium?
David

GC: Assassin’s Creed Mirage is coming to Ubisoft+ on day one but only Ubisoft+ Classics is free with Plus Extra and Premium. Ubisoft+ Classics is just older games, so Mirage isn’t going to be a part of that.

Unearned arrogance
Even though I don’t have a gaming PC I found it difficult to disagree with the Reader’s Feature at the weekend, at least in terms of Microsoft and Sony acting like clowns. For such large companies the people in charge are acting like children and none of their machinations seem to be working out the way they wanted, underlying the fact that they don’t seem to know what they’re doing.

Both of them just need to get on the business of making and releasing games – proper games that people actually want, not live service rubbish – and yet that’s the one thing they seem to refuse to do. Perhaps Microsoft can redeem themselves somewhat with their showcase but frankly they’ve got a lot of catching up to do and a buggy Bethesda game and a new Fable are not exactly what I’d call guaranteed hits.

Sony are arrogant, it’s true, but at least they’ve got some basis for that. Microsoft are arrogant without having achieved very much at all. Both of them need to stop posturing and start doing. Maybe Microsoft will be it seems like Sony has already missed their chance for this year. We’ll get Spider-Man 2 and be happy about it, apparently.

It’s such a shame, this generation started off so well but it quickly went downhill as soon as Microsoft tried to buy Activision Blizzard. This year has been good for games but none of that has anything to do with PlayStation or Xbox.
Taylor Moon

Inbox also-rans
The Last Of Us Part 1 on PlayStation 5 is currently £39.99 at Smyths.
Dev.

I expected more from the Meta Quest showcase to be honest. No really big name reveals, except I guess Assassin’s Creed and no mention of GTA. Their new headset was the biggest news but I already have a Meta Quest 2.
Hegraid

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MORE : Games Inbox: GTA 6 trailer predictions, Meta Quest 3 impressions, and Etrian Odyssey pricing

MORE : Games Inbox: Single-player outselling multiplayer, Fable hopes, and Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom love

MORE : Games Inbox: Xbox sales outside the US and UK, Street Fighter 6 controls, and Ratchet & Clank on PC

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The Monday letters page agrees that both Xbox and PlayStation are acting foolishly at the moment, as one reader recommends Chained Echoes.