Brutal Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Fans Are Torturing Koroks
Maybe it's because the Koroks made gamers collect so many seeds in "Breath of the Wild," only to reward us with shiny poop. Maybe it's because Link starts "Tears of the Kingdom" weakened and on his back leg, and so he's subsequently irritated at everyone around him for much of the rest of it. Whatever the case, a large subsection of players have come to view the plant-like Koroks as a capital-P Problem, and they're taking out their darkest impulses on these diminutive NPCs.
"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" offers players some excellent creation tools, including Fuse and Ultrahand, which allow players to build new weapons and contraptions to aid in their quest to save Hyrule. Some are instead building devices of torture and have set off to punish every Korok in sight for some unknown grievance. Gamers have actually gotten quite inventive with these builds, too, creating catapults, tanks, and other mechanized creations to use against the Koroks. Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter are currently flooded with clips of players devastating the Korok community, resulting in a trend that's occasionally hilarious and disturbing in equal measure.
My entry into the Korok Torture Olympics #TearsOfTheKingdom pic.twitter.com/e7HcICBnON
— Pennifer's Body (@GirlAgainistGod) May 15, 2023
Fans are undeniably impressed by the ingenuity on display, even if this seems like a baffling use of players' time. As one Twitter user remarked over the weekend, "It has been less than 48 hours since 'Tears of the Kingdom' launched and I have witnessed people creating Korok torture devices, actual working tanks and f***ing ww2 bomber planes."
Koroks are having a tough time
Some players have devised some run-of-the-mill weapons to chase down Koroks, while others have gotten a bit more outside-the-box in their schemes. In one upsetting case, a player created what they call the "Korok rotisserie machine," and set about skewering and barbecuing a handful of the little guys.
It has been less than 48 hours since Tears of the Kingdom launched and I have witnessed people creating Korok torture devices, actual working tanks and fucking ww2 bomber planes
— kremcel comms closed (@krembeni) May 13, 2023
Some have taken to strapping panicked Koroks to the front or top of their Ultrahand-crafted vehicles, emulating "Mad Max: Fury Road" in a manner that's somehow even more upsetting than the original film. Other players have enjoyed strapping rockets to the Koroks, turning the Hyrulian wilderness into a testing ground for their own fantastical space program.
Korok Space Program day 2: After adopting a more typical rocket shaped structure I had high hopes for this brave korok, however the extra weight had some unexpected effects of todays launch. pic.twitter.com/5wewLqESBT
— HopCat (@HopCaterpie) May 13, 2023
Of course, not everybody is totally on board for this kind of behavior. Some fans appear to be genuinely icked out by the fact that their social media timeline has essentially been taken over by increasingly dramatic methods of Korok torture. Others have stood up for the Koroks, saying that they will gladly help out any of the little guys they see on the side of the road.
Why is y'all's first instinct when you see a korok struggling to TORTURE IT???
Not me.
I'll get u where u need to go, buddy. pic.twitter.com/NQJCWS5tKR— musketqueer (@AeolusSimp) May 13, 2023
It's unclear when (or if) the attack on the Koroks will subside, but the internet appears to be running with it for the time being.