Throughout the Zelda series there have been many alterations of the same places like the temple of time and the faron woods, and yet they all carry the same setting feeling. Skyward sword is no exception to the setting of these places with unique looks and feels specific to each. In Skyward Sword there were five: Skyloft, Faronwoods, Eldin Volcano, Lanayru Desert, and the Thunder Head. When you start the game you find yourself in a nightmare: it’s quiet, ominous, and dark. This dream is a depiction of the Imprisoned: a dark representation of the demon lord Demise. In this dream the main character, Link, who you play is completely powerless and overtaken by the darkness of the Imprisoned. There’s no hope, no happiness, no light. Link and the player experience this feeling of an urgency to escape a few times, but the dream really sets the story up with the chilling choice of in-human sounds, and even the vibration of the controllers.

When Link gets through the first phase of the game, chasing Zelda from land to land, through various dungeons and tasks, he gets to the spirit realm. A trial based place with very high stakes and high reward. In the spirit realm trials, the silence is very loud. The pressure is on with the light slowly fading. Link goes in completely blind with none of his gear, this makes it even more fearful for the player in unison with the timer, and various statuesque guardians that could kill you at any moment. The energy is very dark. The imagery is blue and foggy and the sounds of Link’s footsteps are echoed. Link and the player are completely exposed to the danger which makes your senses so heightened. It personally made me completely silent. I didn’t want to mess up, which was a very smart decision of the designers of the game. 

The weirdest part of these trials is the fact that they’re located in places that are very frequented by Link. For example, the final trial is where the game originally starts: Skyloft. It feels so familiar to the player. The strange feeling of familiarity just adds to the ever ominous energy of the trials. These trials were truly the weirdest and scariest to experience playing and listening to in the entire game. Not scarier than going up against Demise for the first time, yeesh. The whole game, with all its many lands, bosses, characters, and trials, is truly an amazing visual experience that will give you the good and bad chills.