Despite plenty of rumors circulating over the past few months that a new game in The Legend of Zelda series would finally be announced, it seems they were mostly unfounded as we go into the new year without an official update. While this isn't too surprising given the timeline between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, we're getting something even better thanks to a dedicated fan.
As noted by Reddit user Jumpinghoops46, Zelda: Breath of the Wild has received a major update in the form of the unofficial fan-made BetterVR mod, which features full motion controller support and mapping for a variety of VR headsets. With support for hand tracking that allows you to fully play as Link through climbing, fighting, and interacting with the game world in a surprisingly seamless fashion, it's hard not to be excited over the announcement.
The Legend Of Zelda Returns… Kind Of
Link is back in a whole new way
Even if it's not the announcement you were hoping for regarding a major announcement or more information about the developers of Zeda's next big game, the mod dropping earlier than expected is a perfect way to send off 2025 with a bang.
Given that the mod had apparently been in progress for half a decade at this point, some fans, like nokinship were understandably "surprised it even released." Running through the Wii U version of BOTW on CEMU rather than the Switch, the BetterVR mod is a little rough around the edges visually, but it does have the added benefit of being easier to run than a potential Switch edition.
Aside from the captivating concept of experiencing Hyrule for yourself from an immersive VR experience, the open-source nature of Crementif's BetterVR mod for BOTW means that the project will still be around for you to enjoy or experiment with even if Nintendo decides to copyright strike it.
This Unofficial Release Looks Amazing
You can download it right now
If you weren't convinced by just hearing about it, Flat2VR even posted their own trailer for the VR Mod that showcases some of its more unique offerings. From fighting enemies in first-person, riding a horse across open plains, or paragliding between mountains, the VR mod is easily one of the most impressive things I've ever seen come out of Breath of the Wild's community.
If you were struggling to justify BOTW and TOTK's Switch 2 upgrades, the BetterVR mod is a tough alternative to beat in the meantime, so long as you have the hardware and technical know-how to get it running for yourself. Given that it's an early build of the first release, the BetterVR mod notably struggles to run on AMD graphics cards, while requiring a moderately strong CPU to handle its intensive performance requirements.
Even with these caveats, fan projects like the BetterVR mod are an excellent way to get even more enjoyment out of one of Nintendo's most iconic games, especially with the CEMU compatibility allowing you to access a plethora of mods for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild all at the same time.
