Where it takes mechanics from others in the industry, it improves upon them; where it introduces new ones, you slap your forehead in amazement that it hasn’t been done before. Breath of the Wild is development done right, and damn near the best game you’ll play all year.
Breath of the Wild doesn’t feel like an experiment for the Zelda series, it feels like the realization of what Zelda always wanted to be. It easily stands toe-to-toe with the best open world games of the generation, and is a marvelous way to introduce a brand new system. Whether you’re a Zelda fan or not, this is certainly an experience you should not miss out on.
Breath of the Wild’s only tangible constraint is how creative the player can be at any given moment. The game is genuinely challenging, with secrets and rewards to be found around every corner. As you play, the staggering amount of ways in which you can interact with Hyrule naturally reveal themselves. There is always something new to discover, but at your own pace. Somehow, the adventure never loses momentum over dozens of hours of exploration, the inspired design holds up, making for an unmistakable Zelda game that completely changes everything expected from the series. After spending so much time with Breath of the Wild, it is already hard to imagine going back to the antiquated presentation of the past.
I was entranced by this version of Hyrule, and it surprised me at nearly every turn, from its wealth of discoveries to the way it shuns the established tropes of previous Zelda games. It represents a profound new direction for one of gaming’s best franchises and a new high point for open-world interactive experiences.
For any gamer that views Ocarina of Time as the highlight of the franchise, Breath of the Wild is a very pleasant surprise. The innovations Nintendo offers are -nearly all- amazing and Hyrule is more appealing and grandiose than ever before.
Kass' Theme 10/10. I now associate this game only with this song, it's beuautiful, just it.
1/10 AAA graphics
3/10 voice active characters
2/10 story
$59.99? WHAT?!
Very disappointing step back from ocarina of time and twilight princess. Moving music, memorable characters, unique mechanics? You'll find none of that here, and they even managed to duck up the story. There's no journey or grand reveal, it's a survival sandbox with a simple linear goal in a way more akin to very early arcadey iterations before. There's no charming exposition to the start of this one, you simply wake up and are introduced to a post apocalyptic world and the main boss. A main boss that has been stripped of any personality and can be beaten without even needing the master sword. There's charming wandering NPCs but no memorable named NPCs, just randoms with samey models and mannerisms.
The open world gets old fast when you realize each zone is filled with the same activity.
>Find a rock, put it in the circle, get a seed.
>Find a shrine, put a ball in a hole, get a spirit orb.
>Find ingredients, put them in a pot, get food.
All the charm of every zone is robbed from these repetitive tasks that make up every reward and every reveal. Find a secret area? You get a ball in a hole puzzle shrine. Climb a difficult mountain? You get to pick up a rock and get a seed. Why do we need to do this? Well the answer is that 4 orbs translate to either one heart or stamina bar, which is basically gating survivability. At least it would be if you couldn't simply get food that gives you 20+ boosted hearts which TRIVIALIZES these rewards. I'd rather spend my time looking for big radishes to make 20+ boosted heart meals that do another **** golf puzzle ever again. It gets old after the twentieth time ffs.
Now the final nail in the coffin for me was the horrible bosses and dungeons. The water dungeon and water boss was a **** joke. It was literally one room with three puzzles, and a slow predictable boss that I basically stunlocked by shooting it's eye. It was pathetic. The worst Zelda dungeon I've ever played. The scene of this giant power rangers elephant statue somehow swimming under the dam and through the river half is size was also pathetic. Such a downgrade it's a disgrace. And it didn't get much better from there. The other four bosses and dungeons aren't much better. There's also a whole system involving taking pictures and cataloging everything from plants to creatures, but who the **** wants to do that? The gameplay was fine but I can't get over the pitfalls. All in all, very disappointing.
SummaryIgnore everything you know about The Legend of Zelda games. Step into a world of discovery, exploration and adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Travel across fields, through forests and to mountain peaks as you discover what has become of the ruined kingdom of Hyrule in this stunning open-air adventure. Explore the wild...