The first Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Master Trials DLC introduced a series of new challenges for players including Master Mode and The Trial of the Sword. The trial act as this game’s version of the 50 floor challenge that can be found in numerous Zelda titles. This time, the trials are split into three different sections (Beginning, Middle, and Final) containing 13 floors, 17 floors, and 24 floors respectively. Although a large prize awaits the player at the end of each trial, Reddit user Sharkytheshotty discovered a hidden secret in the Middle section.
Sharkytheshotty was playing through the third room of the Middle trial when they unexpectedly glitched through the walls and discovered a low-res area. This place is normally out of bounds to players, but Sharkytheshotty had free reign to traverse the unusual scenery.
“[I] was on trial three on the Medium trials and flew up near the chest on the floating platform and just went through a wall. Couldn’t get back in… so I didn’t make it.” Sharkytheshotty wrote. Unfortunately, neither Sharkytheshotty or any other gamer has managed to recreate the conditions that allows access into the unused area. Many players have asked for more information, but Sharkytheshotty’s account just isn’t detailed enough. “I don’t really remember exactly where but I flew up with my glider on trial 3 on the Medium trials near where the floating chest was on the wall by the corner.” Thankfully, Sharkytheshotty took several screenshots before exiting the area.
Fans have been in hot debate about the nature of the assetless area and its purpose. Some have speculated that it is a playtest area the developers used to tinker with objects and mechanics. Others believe that it is a leftover area that the developers never deleted; either because the Nintendo developers believed no one would find the area or wanted to avoid any bugs that might arise.
Lake Nipigon presented a fairly plausible argument on Kotaku about the origins of the strangely beautiful location. According to Lake, this area is known as “Backstage.” During the development cycle, many developers have an extraordinarily large, blank area that they can build upon. Games normally only take a fraction of the available space. A lot of developers normally trim off the excess area, but some developers choose to leave it in on the off chance that someone manages to peek through the game’s walls. This makes it so that, instead of seeing a black and empty void, players see the low-res area instead. It’s unclear if this is the area’s true purpose in Breath of the Wild because everything varies from one studio to the next. Yet, no matter what the purpose though, players are clamoring to try and find a way in.
The new DLC offers a lot of promises and hidden secrets. For more amazing areas to see in Breath of the Wild check out our list of places you had no idea about. For more Zelda stories and game related news, be sure to follow our news page.
