I’ve seen a lot of people reference a tweet from a coworker of Miyamoto to say that this is puppetry, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone actually look at the details to show it and further take that analysis to show it applies to the entire environment too. I really admire this analysis and its made me appreciate the art style of the remake more.

Your point about the metal was really interesting and niche. It makes the style more likely to have been intentional.
Ruto comes across as a porcelain doll with her sheen.

It's like an interactive diorama.

The funny thing about those old stop motion Christmas specials is that a lot of them were also done in Japan.

I think puppets are inherently uncanny, so it's interesting that puppetry may have been the inspiration. Also from a philosophical perspective it's interesting to think of the characters of puppets because they don't come alive until viewed or controlled.

Now I can't unsee it, yeah everything does look like handmade detailed toys and puppetry.

My head cannon for this art style is it's an in universe retelling of the story of the hero of time via puppetry

Not long after the recent reveal, I started seeing a bit of the Link’s Awakening Switch remake in this game’s art style, but I couldn’t figure out why. After hearing the diorama and puppet analogies (courtesy of Miyamoto himself apparently) it all makes perfect sense now. It’s such an incredible stylistic choice for a game that places so much emphasis on scale, I can’t wait to see it in its entire glory

I never felt that gross feeling you’re talking about. I basically loved it from the start! I love the faces, the texture, the detail. This is what I’ve wanted Zelda to look like and something like this is what I hope the next mainline Zelda game looks like too.

Miyamoto was specifically inspired by Dark Crystal and Ridley Scott's movie LEGEND when making Legend of Zelda... So it makes perfect sense for the game to look this way...

For me, the style was harder to appreciate in still images or really zoomed into faces...But seeing the gameplay, seeing it in motion? It clicked there. They almost feel like these three figures I have of Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf that I got a very long time ago...But brought to life. Like playing with toys as a kid.

I think it will stand the test of time, too.

Ruto looks like she's a special one made of glass instead of felt

Edit: Ceramic not glass

Joke Theory: Hylians are really 6-12  inches tall and everything in Hyrule is scaled accordingly. No wonder Link is so strong; square cube law means he proportionally stronger at 5 inches tall than at  5 feet.

I turned up my nose when watching the teaser but then I got so emotionaly carried on in the trailer that I immediately loved it.
As someone that makes 3D models for printing I had noticed the big details on the characters, but I had not noticed the other points you brought in the video. Great stuff, man! Now I love it even more.

I love the pictures of those puppets because, probably like many people, my first reaction to seeing them was "Hey look a bunch of Twilight Princess characters". I do love the idea of "The Legend" being emphasized in the style of the remake, like everything happening is this old tale being told to future generations in the form of a puppet show, with the game itself taking place in the imaginary reality of that story (and thus why despite looking like miniatures nobody has that janky stop motion movement). It's kind of reminiscent of the imagined reality of the original Super Smash Bros game.

I do also think a decent amount of the negative reaction is fueled by it looking different stylistically from the original/3d remake. That difference easily creates the feeling of it being "wrong". Luckily that feeling also tends to fade over time with exposure.

There's even precedence with the Link's Awakening remake; everything in that game looked like a little Diorama

Hell yeah. Nice editing and pacing and attention to detail

Noticing the style definitely made me appreciate the direction more.
I still think child Link's HD render looks weird, and it's probably the most notorious thing from the reveal. It looks so much weirder than the actual in-game model, he looks like such a Gerber baby lol.

Thank you for bringing attention to details I had overseen- it really is a spectacle. I knew that Imamura’s comment on Miyamoto’s “love for puppet theatre” was firmly reflected in the art direction of the game- but after you zoomed in on the shield and strapping details and mentioned how it just sat on the fabrics like a figurine- it really solidified it for me. The hyper attention to detail is uncanny and quite a site to behold indeed, and it really does make me appreciate the game’s art style even more! Good eye Noroomforsmarts! ;)

Hit the nail on its head, this makes so much sense now