The size of the new 'Legend of Zelda' game is absolutely staggering

Nintendo's newest entry in the epic "Legend of Zelda" franchise is one of the biggest games at E3 this year, and for many good reasons. It looks like a refreshing take on a classic series gamers of all ages know and love.

One of the game's biggest selling points is its sheer scale. Never has Nintendo built a "Legend of Zelda" game this huge.

In fact, Nintendo says "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," coming to Wii U and Nintendo's mysterious "NX" console early next year, is roughly 12 times the size of "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess," which debuted a decade ago for the GameCube and Wii.

And even though E3 attendees get to experience a large chunk of the area in the game's demo, what they're experiencing is only 1% of the game's total size. And that's pretty astounding.

Just take a look at this GIF, captured during a gameplay session of "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." That tiny filled-in area is what E3 attendees are able to explore, but it's just a tiny fraction of what gamers have in store for them when the game releases next year.