300 hours in, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom player makes horrifying Phantom Ganon discovery

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf — (Image credit: Nintendo)

There's so much to see and do in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that even after hundreds of hours in Link's latest adventure, you're likely still discovering new things.

That was certainly the case for one player who, after 300 hours of adventuring in Hyrule, made a horrifying discovery about one of the game's mini-bosses. It's worth noting that this article contains slight spoilers, so if you'd rather discover everything the game has to offer for yourself, look away now.

At numerous points in Tears of the Kingdom, you'll come across Phantom Ganon, a powerful foe that can inflict gloom damage. But as user Imadurozan revealed on the Tears of the Kingdom subreddit, hiding from him isn't the smartest idea. "Did you know if you're trying to hide from Phantom Ganon (out of his bow range), he will start expanding the gloom all over the place, like literally ALL OVER THE AREA," the player wrote.

Article continues below

Included in the post is a video of Link crouched atop a stone pillar, out of Phantom Ganon's view, and sure enough, the dangerous gooey red substance begins to rapidly spread across the ground. It's impressive to watch, and it makes battling the mini-boss or escaping from him much more challenging.

I just realized this after 300 hours.. from r/tearsofthekingdom

While many players had no idea Phantom Ganon could even do this, others discovered it on their own while trying to keep out of harm's way during the battle. "I had this happen in the Lomei Labyrinth," one Zelda player said. "I got there way too early and was underpowered. I tried to climb away to escape and made it to the top of the structure. It followed me up there and enveloped the whole labyrinth."

Another wrote: "I did the same thing. And as someone who tends to opt for 'oh sh*t, RUN' for bigger enemies, I legit panicked before I realized I could just teleport myself outta there."

So for those who've yet to encounter Phantom Ganon, the message is clear: you can run, but you can't hide.

Since launch, Tears of the Kingdom fans have been unraveling the many things you can build thanks to Link's impressive new Ultrahand ability, including TIE fighters and a virtual version of the spinning-top toy game Beyblade.

Elsewhere, 26 game developers explain why Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be talked about for years.

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.