BOTW 2: Concept Art Shows What Guardians May Look Like In The Sequel

Although official information surrounding the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is scarce, the first game’s early concept art could point to potential evolutions for the Guardians. BOTW 2 has been set to launch in Spring 2023, but Nintendo has released little to no content regarding its additional features or lore. Many fans have speculated that new enemies will be added to the game, but the question of how the Guardians – ancient machines corrupted by Calamity Ganon – will appear in the BOTW sequel remains unknown.

BOTW features six types of Guardian: six-legged Guardian Stalkers, immobile Decayed Guardians, two-legged Guardian Scouts, Guardian Turrets, and airborne Skywatchers and Sentries. Each form is mechanical in its design, bearing little resemblance to any biological life form. However, the third volume of The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild: Master Works 30th Anniversary Book contains early concept art for the Breath of the Wild Guardians, which are not only more varied than those in the final gamebut also have potential for different fighting styles and environmental adaptations. BOTW 2 could potentially draw on these designs as it expands upon the universe of the original game.

While BOTW’s Guardians are robots assembled by the Sheikah, the early concept art is far more organic in nature. Certain features, such as Guardians having six legs, have carried through into their ultimate designs. However, the Guardians’ early designs are substantially darker than those of BOTW, conjuring images of alien decay. If BOTW 2 were to incorporate these sinister designs into its new Guardians, they could become one of the game’s most formidable enemies to date.

New BOTW 2 Guardians Could Add Different Fighting Styles

Certain features could drastically change the Guardians’ battle strengths and weaknesses. Since in BOTW Guardians attack with lasers, they can afford to fight from a distance and can be defeated by the player throwing weapons at it or by targeting their eyes. A more agile Guardian inspired by the early concept art could be designed with speed on its side, forcing the player to rely on twitch-based close combat against these biomorphic machines. Additionally, the Guardians were originally designed to be so big as to tower over Link. While the Guardians of BOTW were ultimately smaller, fighting Guardians of this immense scale could introduce new battle mechanics (similar to that of the mechanical bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake or the Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus) where players must topple one limb at a time in order to defeat the giant automaton.

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In the event that the Guardians ultimately remain unchanged, there is still a chance that these designs will be used to inspire new monsters, bosses, divine beasts, or even new characters in the BOTW sequel. Whether the developers choose to introduce new types of Guardians, redesign existing Guardians, or simply increase the selection of monsters in the game, these early designs would offer an intimidating and thrilling fight as some of the darkest concept arts from Breath of the Wild‘s development. While it is still unclear when, or if, fans will receive more detailed information about BOTW 2, prospective players can hope the game will include even more challenging monsters and formidable Guardians to match.