Prepare Yourself — Koroks Are Returning for 'Tears of the Kingdom'

While Breath of the Wild is largely considered a masterpiece, there’s one part of the game that has led to more than a few headaches — collecting Koroks. These tiny creatures could be found scattered throughout Hyrule, with 900 to discover during your journey.

Love them or hate them, Nintendo has confirmed these pesky critters are returning for Tears of the Kingdom.

But how many Koroks are in Tears of the Kingdom? Here’s everything we know about these collectibles and how you’ll go about finding them during your adventures.

No one knows for sure how many Koroks are in Tears of the Kingdom, but rough estimates place it well over 200 but far below 2,000. All numbers are speculation at this point, but you can expect to learn more once the game launches or when someone finally manages to collect them all. Tears of the Kingdom boasts a much larger map than its predecessor, so tracking down every last one could take a very long time.

In Breath of the Wild, Koroks could be found just about everywhere. From hiding away in villages to tucked under a rock, it was almost impossible to tell when you’d stumble upon the adorable creatures. Finding a Korok would provide you with a Korok Seed, which could then be traded for increased inventory space.

A similar system will likely return for Tears of the Kingdom, but it also seems like there are some big changes to the way you’ll discover Koroks. Early footage of the game showed Link tackling a side quest for a stranded Korok, as the creature was looking to be reunited with his friend. The end result is a short mission that has you tossing the stranded Korok in a mine cart and moving him to a new location.

As a reward, Link is given Korok Seeds. In Breath of the Wild, you (thankfully) didn’t need to find all 900 Koroks to earn enough Korok Seeds to max out your inventory. Hopefully, that remains the case in Tears of the Kingdom — but at the very least it’s great to see a bit of variation to the Korok-finding formula.

For collecting all 900 Koroks, Hestu rewarded Breath of the Wild players with the Golden Poop item. Players who spent hours completing the task were divided on their feelings about the gag gift, with some finding it hilarious and others enraged for wasting their time.

Here’s hoping Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t feature as many Koroks. But if it does, maybe the final reward will be a bit more useful than Hestu’s previous gift.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on May 12.