The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's latest trailer suggests that players will once again be venturing to Death Mountain, and that the mountain itself is having serious problems. After over a year of silence, Nintendo finally released the third trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and while it was brief, it did confirm some interesting details about the game's version of Death Mountain.
Death Mountain is a location that has been popped up in various Legend of Zelda games over the years, like in Ocarina of Time, where it served as the home for the Gorons. Death Mountain most recently appeared in the open world Zelda game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it looks like it will be making a comeback in the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.
In the latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, fans can spot Death Mountain off in the distance. However, it looks like Death Mountain is having serious problems relating to Malice. Malice, for the uninitiated, is a dangerous, mysterious, evil substance that played a key role in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Malice appears to be coming out of Death Mountain, suggesting that players will need to purify the location somehow in Tears of the Kingdom.
Malice has been seen multiple times in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailers. In fact, it's featured prominently in the first-ever Tears of the Kingdom trailer, and it reappeared in the second trailer. Malice appears to be what corrupts Link's arm in the Tears of the Kingdom E3 2021 trailer, and it also seems to play a major role in sending Hyrule Castle floating into the air.
This is merely speculation, but based on what's been shown so far, it appears as though the Malice is coming from underneath Hyrule, wreaking havoc on the surface world. This could explain why it seems Tears of the Kingdom has a more aerial focus than its predecessor, as areas may be too dangerous for Link to traverse because of the corruption from the Malice, like Death Mountain, for instance.
Ultimately, fans will have to wait for more information from Nintendo before they will have more concrete answers about Malice and the role it will play in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's possible that Nintendo will give fans their answers in the months leading up to the game, but it's also possible that fans will have to wait for the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date to roll around to find out more.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.