Many fans playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are stuck on the Great Sky Island, which is essentially the prologue of this sequel.
It seems to have given players too much freedom, as anyone who has played Tears of the Kingdom early on Steam Deck knows. Even those replaying Breath of the Wild on Steam Deck or Switch were caught off guard by how big the opening area ended up being.
For now, here’s what we know about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Great Sky Island and how to get out of it. Even games that have huge open worlds deserve some clarification once in a while, so we’re here to help our fellow gamers out.
How do we get stuck on the Great Sky Island in Tears of the Kingdom?
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players end up in Great Sky Island at the beginning of the game, after the opening area. Without spoiling anything, players are quickly sent sky-high into the clouds and then into this mysterious island.
Great Sky Island is a neat introduction to the game, as it introduces players to the new diving mechanics and the new tools. Link ends up with Ultra Hand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall by the time his journey here ends.
Despite all of these tools at hand, the sheer amount of freedom Great Sky Island gives you has proven to be a detriment. It’s almost like the developers thought Breath of the Wild was too linear, which is ridiculous and made this game bigger as a result.
We can sympathize with those that got lost this early.
How do we get off Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Great Sky Island
If you’ve played Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Great Sky Island correctly, your third shrine should be in the snowy mountain area. Once you finish this area, here is what you need to do to not get stuck on the Great Sky Island in Tears of the Kingdom:
- Use Ascened to head to the top of the mountain where you’ll see some gliders. Use Ultrahand to strap some rockets to the gliders, align them properly, and then hit them so you can ride back to the Temple of Time.
- Once you’re back in the Temple of Time, you’ll need to find the fourth shrine so you can increase your health and open the door. Thankfully, this is pretty easy, as this unlocks fast travel, letting you immediately go back after completing the fourth shrine. Said shrine will also be marked on your map, so this is pretty easy.
- After that, players should be back in Hyrule and playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom properly.
While its exploration might be too non-linear for its own good, one can’t help but admire just how much Nintendo was able to put into this Switch exclusive.