Nintendo has announced the first fully-featured DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, now dubbed “The Master Trials”. Launching this summer, it comes with a wealth of gameplay features, a new mode of battle, and gear that pays homage to Zelda games of the past.

The first major addition is Trial of the Sword, a trial gauntlet formerly know as Cave of Trials Challenge. Not dissimilar to past Zelda dungeons such as Cave of Shadows, this trail has a procession of 45 rooms with enemies to defeat. Uniquely, Link starts off the ordeal with no weapons or armor. Clearing the Trial will power up the Master Sword.

The previously-promised Hard Mode turns up the game’s difficulty by raising the ranking of overworld enemies by one (i.e. red Bokoblins are now the tougher-level blue). In addition, platforms held alot by balloons will now appear in the Hyrulian sky and hold enemies and treasure chests alike.

Weary travelers will benefit from the inclusion of both Hero’s Path Mode, the Travel Medallion, and Korok Mask. The Hero’s Path will track the movement of the player throughout Hyrule for the last 200 hours of playtime. The Travel Medallion, meanwhile, creates a temporary warp point where the player is standing. Finally, the Korok Mask makes it easier to locate hidden Koroks (and their seeds) while equipped.

Finally, the new DLC adds 8 sets of gear based on past Zelda games. This includes headwear and outfits inspired by Spirit Tracks, Majora’s Mask, and Twilight Princess. This also includes a set-up inspired by the dandy elf man Tingle.

The Master Trials DLC will be out on an unspecified date this summer. It comes packaged exclusively with a $20 season pass for Breath of the Wild, including a second pack due this holiday. Until then, a new language pack is now available to download for free across both the Switch and Wii U versions, allowing you to view cutscenes in multiple language options, from Japanese to German.

Alex Irish
When he's not writing about games, Alex Irish is an illustrator and animation expert. His favorite gaming franchise is Pokémon, full-stop, but his favorite game of all time is Resident Evil 4. He attended the first-ever IGN House Party and is a five-time attendee of the Ottowa International Animation Festival.