Summary
- In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players will encounter various dungeons and temples throughout the game, including the North Lomei Labyrinth, Lomei Labyrinth Island, and South Lomei Labyrinth.
- The game introduces new areas with puzzles to solve, in addition to Hyrule Castle itself, as players progress further into the story.
- Each dungeon and temple in Tears of the Kingdom offers unique challenges, puzzles, and enemies for players to overcome, providing a classic Zelda dungeon experience.
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Link had to tame the four Divine Beasts to have a fighting chance against Calamity Ganon. In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the rise of Ganondorf has caused the four regions of Hyrule to deal with immense situations – whether that be a never-ending blizzard, a plague of mind-altering rocks, a relentless sand shroud, or sludge raining from the sky.
These regional phenomena are all sourced by distant temples hidden within the earth or the skies. However, these four temples aren’t the only dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. As players progress further into the story (and towards the game’s end), they’ll discover additional areas with puzzles to solve, in addition to Hyrule Castle itself.
Updated August 21, 2023, by Sophie McEvoy: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom reintroduced dungeons to the franchise, with four built specifically for each region in Hyrule. In addition to these, a variety of locations follow the same theme but don't fit the stereotypical dungeon design. For example, Thunderhead Isle features challenges and puzzles for Link to solve as he searches for the fifth sage. In contrast, others mark only a part of the journey to the actual dungeon or temple, like the Ancient Waterworks. Then there are the labyrinths that return from Breath of the Wild but have even more to complete this time. For players seeking the classic Zelda dungeon experience, these areas have been added to the ranking.
Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom story spoilers from this moment onward.
13 North Lomei Labyrinth
The North Lomei Labyrinth is one of the three labyrinths in Tears of the Kingdom. Returning from Breath of the Wild, the difference is that for each labyrinth, there are three layered on top of each other in the Depths, surface, and the skies.
Located on the northernmost edge of the Hebra region, the North Lomei Labyrinth can be solved in various ways. Like the previous game, there are ways to cheat it by ascending to the top to get a better vantage point. But a member of the Zonai research team has conveniently left a trail of pinecones to follow to the end. Once this labyrinth is completed, Link must do the same in the skies and the Depths to unlock a reward: the Evil Spirit Greaves.
12 Lomei Labyrinth
The Lomei Labyrinth Island also has three parts. This labyrinth is located in the Akkala region in the northwest, and can be reached by gliding in from the mainland. This one has a path of 
Acorns to follow to the end, but Link can once again complete it by taking a vantage point from above. Once Link reaches the middle, there's no challenge, just a Blessing of Light to collect and a 
Zonaite device to turn on.
The sky labyrinth can then be accessed by going to the Ulri Mountain Skyview Tower to reach the Sokkala Sky Archipelago. Completing this unlocks the maze underground through a chasm. Link must then defeat a Flux Construct III in the Depths to be rewarded with the 
Evil Spirit Armor.
11 South Lomei Labyrinth
Again, there are three parts of this labyrinth to complete. The South Lomei Labyrinth is located in the Gerudo region, on the eastern side of the Gerudo desert. Players can use the same tactics as the other two, or explore and complete it however they see fit. Again, this one has no challenge, just a chest and a Blessing of Light from the Shrine in the middle.
The reward for completing the last of these three labyrinths is the Evil Spirit Mask, completing the Evil Spirit armor modeled after Phantom Ganon.
10 Thunderhead Isle
Thunderhead Isle is shrouded in clouds until Link progresses through the main quest "Secret of the Ring Ruins." While it can be visited before this, the visibility is poor. The constant thunderstorm will be challenging for those who aren't prepared. Going there at the right time in the story makes more sense, as it's part of Link's journey to find the fifth Sage.
Each of the Sage's journeys involves a dungeon, but Mineru's involves Link having to find a Zonai relic once he reaches a specific point on Thunderhead Isle which will emit light for Link to follow. There are lots of puzzles to solve as players explore the archipelago, and strong enemies to beat.
9 Ancient Waterworks
Like the Thunderhead Isle, the Ancient Waterworks form part of reaching one of the many dungeons. This is part of Zora's Domain's story, and completing it unlocks the water bridge to Wellspring Island above. This is more like a dungeon than Thunderhead Isle, as it is enclosed and involves a puzzle that sees Link filling the ancient sewer back up with water after entering a whirlpool in East Reservoir Lake.
This involves Link breaking rocks clogging up the pipes, which can be cleared by hitting them or throwing 
Bomb Flowers at them. As the water rises, players can complete more of the dungeon. Once it's risen all the way up, Link must touch the Zonai device to activate the water bridge above.
8 Gloom's Approach
Players will encounter Gloom’s Lair at the end of Tears of the Kingdom, being the final boss fight with Ganondorf. To enter Gloom’s Lair, Link needs to either glide into the Hyrule Castle Chasm or jump in from the ground above. Once Link descends into the Depths, he’ll be met with Gloom’s Approach – a mini-dungeon leading him to Ganondorf’s resting place.
This dungeon involves fighting extremely high-level monsters, which also happen to be covered in Gloom, in addition to solving traversal puzzles. The journey to Gloom’s Lair tests the player’s courage and preparedness, much like Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
7 Spirit Temple
After creating Minera’s spirit a Zonai Construct during the “Guidance From Ages Part” main quest, she’ll instruct Link to head to the Spirit Temple in the Depths. This portion of the journey is not part of the dungeon, but it provides players the opportunity to test out the inner workings of Minera’s Construct.
When they finally arrive at the Spirit Temple, they are confronted by another Construct made by Minera, which Ganondorf’s Gloom has taken over. A fight ensues, putting Link and Minera’s Construct in a boxing ring. Having just gotten used to controlling Minera’s Construct, the fight can be a pain. However, as both Constructs are slow, the battle boils down to patience and cornering the rival Construct so that it’s zapped by the wires to get a few attacks in.
6 Construct Factory
Before reaching the Spirit Temple, Minera instructs Link to head to TOTK's Construct Factory. As part of the “Guidance From Ages Past” main quest, Minera asks Link to venture to its four depots to construct a body for her spirit.
Unlike the other dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom, each depot has no enemies to confront. Instead, they rely on players solving puzzles to get the different parts of the Construct body back to the factory floor. Like the Shrines of Light, there are no right or wrong answers to get each part of the Construct out of the corresponding depot. It’s down to the player's creativity, imagination, and logic.
5 Hyrule Castle
In Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Castle was the closest thing to a traditional dungeon, and it was a massive one at that. Unfortunately, however, it came with an incredibly confusing 3D map, making it even harder for players to get their bearings. Thankfully, Nintendo has made traversal of Hyrule Castle in Tears of the Kingdom much easier to follow, with a layered 2D map this time.
Even though the main structure of Hyrule Castle is now in the sky, it can be explored like the previous game. And once again, it’s been taken over by Ganondorf’s creatures. Players can enter Hyrule Castle at any point in the game, but they’ll have to do so as part of the “Crisis At Hyrule Castle” main quest where, at a certain point, Link will be led around by a puppet of Zelda controlled by Ganondorf.
4 Water Temple
Of all the regions in Hyrule, Zora’s Domain seems to be the most affected by the regional phenomena. TOTK's Water Temple, which floats in the skies above Lanayru, is spewing sludge onto the ground below. Luckily, this poisonous mud is easily eliminated with a splash of water. But there’s not enough clean water to keep up with the amount of sludge raining down. So it’s up to Link and Prince Sidon to investigate what’s causing the downpour, which leads them skyward.
The Water Temple is known as the Great Wellspring of Hyrule and is the water source for Zora’s Domain. Veteran players of the Zelda franchise will be very familiar with water temples and dungeons, which can be hit or miss design-wise due to the physics of swimming or floating on water. However, the Tears of the Kingdom version is inventive in its use of water, whether that be the weird gravity on the temple and Wellspring Island (which Link and Sidon first arrive on) or being submerged in floating bubbles.