I explored the Great Plateau for 6-7 hours on WiiU before my Switch arrived and then I restarted the game. Had a completely different experience in that one area alone. Discovered different things and had different interactions with the Old Man.
It's an amazing game. I've packed it up now after 185 hours with several things I know I still haven't found, but will wait until the DLC arrives so that I have the chance to discover those things as I go rather than look them up in a guide.
My biggest issue with BotW was how stretched out and empty some of the world was.
I feel like half of my playtime was spent just walking from place to place with not a whole lot in between. I wish the world was a half of the size and everything was a bit closer together.
I totally get this perspective, but I loved the open spaces. The world is, after all, post-apocalypse. But more than that, discovering something - anything! - along the way felt that much more rewarding after hiking for awhile. I've avoided warping as much as possible in favor of hoofing it from place to place and taking in the discoveries along the way.
I can also appreciate those who wanted more traditional dungeons. In fact, I prefer those to what we got. But at the same time, I love that Nintendo was willing to go out of its comfort zone to try something different, especially in a franchise that was known for its formulaic setup. I'll always have more patience for a swing and a miss than stubbornly refusing change.
yeah the game really is like a choose your own adventure game and it just nails that so well
for me the "main quest line" was whatever I did. the game did such a good job of making me feel like I was on an adventure that everything just flowed in and out of everything else so well that it all just felt like my own big adventure. take the divine beasts. I didn't do my first beast until I was like 25-30 hours into the game but when I decided to do one I was actually deciding to do one. I was in control and I did it when it felt right to me. so when those scripted moments in the lead up to and conclusion of the divine beast happened they were more impactful to my adventure because I was making the conscious decision to say "I'm ready now, I'm going to do this". it's kind of hilarious but they totally mitigated any shortcomings about the pacing of the game by giving the player total agency in how everything played out. those 25-30 hours prior to the divine beast weren't a slog because I was in control of everything I did. doing the divine beast after that wasn't abrupt because I was in control of everything I did. there is no "well that part after the other part where you have to do X was kind of boring and took too long" because you're in control of your journey. it's a masterful game but I do feel you have to approach it a certain way or you might miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.
The stamina bar and slow climbing impeded my desire to explore. It was either grind shrines that I didn't like to begin with to permanently increase the attribute or cook some food. I spent like 90% of my time playing Horizon: Zero Dawn just running around with no stamina penalty. Felt good. I feel like I might go back to Zelda one day, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.
I have come to believe that there is no "main quest line" like other open worlds because there is only one quest. Defeat Gannon. Everything else you do whether it's the divine beasts, or mazes or shrines is completely prep work. This really annoyed me at first because I like mandatory content that is excellently designed, but replaying the game has opened me up to how genius it is. Yes, the main content never hits the highs of past Zelda games. Dungeons and shrines aren't as good as past games, but in sacrificing that they have allowed for radically different adventures each time you replay the game. I couldn't see that in my first playthrough but I am seeing it now.
I agree that the "main quest line" in BotW just is the tutorial (on the Plateau) and beating Ganon, and I think that's what Aonuma basically said before the game was released.
I also wouldn't consider the divide beasts to be part of the main quest line, since the game ending becomes a bit different depending if the player beat the divine beasts or not.
But instead (based on how I approached the game, at least), I think the mandatory "almost main quest line" is to
the first lab
. That spot affects Link's available options in the game more than the divine beasts do, IMO.
The stamina bar and slow climbing impeded my desire to explore. It was either grind shrines that I didn't like to begin with to permanently increase the attribute or cook some food. I spent like 90% of my time playing Horizon: Zero Dawn just running around with no stamina penalty. Felt good. I feel like I might go back to Zelda one day, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.
I keep discovering weird new stuff in my search for these last few shrines. After finding
the footrace guy
and
a new Kass song quest
this late in the game I'm now assuming I'll never manage to find all unique things. I wonder what else I'm missing.
I do occasionally find areas where I wish I'd stumbled in at ground level long a clearly-intended path instead of so frequently blundering into things by sailcloth after obsessively climbing though.
I am personally so sick and tired of the dungeons in the 3d Zelda games that BOTW was a breath of fresh air for me. BOTW was my last ditch effort to enjoy a 3d Zelda game, as I haven't ever TRUELY enjoyed one. I've beaten every 2d Zelda that exists, but only ever beaten OoT out of the 3d games. I get bored of the same-old same-old Zelda 3d tropes and quit half-way through. BOTW has been amazing, to say the least. It is clearly my favorite 3d Zelda ever, and up there with It to and Link's Awakening for me as the best of the entire series.
I guess people just don't like explore themselves
They just need game to give them a "witcher sense" stuff or a icon or a route lines or some todo list or something else to tell you where to go and what to do so they can fully enjoy the game
Never understood why people complain about the combat in this game in regards to past Zelda. In past 3D Zelda, combat was simply a puzzle in finding the right item to use. More often than not, it ends up being boomerang/hookshot to stun and then mindlessly smashing the b button.
The Darknuts were cool because they tend to defend themselves and you have to hit their weak points -Twilight Princess especially. But this is how most enemies with shields act in BotW work.
Easier said than done, no? Going in blind you'd need to invest in the game a fair bit, including exploration, in order to complete the set. Not to mention building up your stamina bar.
I had no problem, though. Enjoyed working within the limitations. I was able to climb the entirety of Hyrule Castle pretty early on just by choosing my spots.
That's great you feel that way. Personally I find it difficult to understand why some would prefer the empty open spaces. I could go to a park if I wanted to feel that way. When I play games I want it to be whimsical and so far out from reality. I know in the past there were some who would defend the open and empty spaces with the reasoning being, you would expect the same in real life if you were to trek a mountain or grassy fields.
I would expect games like Zelda to be whimsical and fantasy-esque and I honestly never really felt that way playing this.
Also I never really thought the world gave a vibe of being post-apocalyptic. Maybe Hyrlule Castle Town but in general, not really.
I guess people just don't like explore themselves
They just need game to give them a "witcher sense" stuff or a icon or a route lines or some todo list or something else to tell you where to go and what to do so they can fully enjoy the game
Easier said than done, no? Going in blind you'd need to invest in the game a fair bit, including exploration, in order to complete the set. Not to mention building up your stamina bar.
I had no problem, though. Enjoyed working within the limitations. I was able to climb the entirety of Hyrule Castle pretty early on just by choosing my spots.
Wha? Did you spend all your fills on heart containers instead of stamina?
Not really. One of the great things about BotW is how instead of marking points of interest automatically for you, it gives you a tool to create them yourself via a first person perspective. It's a fantastic feature and the game expects you to use it.
Not really. One of the great things about BotW is how instead of marking points of interest automatically for you, it gives you a tool to create them yourself via a first person perspective. It's a fantastic feature.
What I mean is that it's quite the leap to go from "I didn't know a type of armor existed," to "I need to have everything about the game spoon-fed to me."
What I mean is that it's quite the leap to go from "I didn't know a type of armor existed." to "I need to have everything about the game spoon-fed to me."
Except that all 3 parts of the climbing gear are obtained from shrines, so if you didn't find them it proves that you didn't even bother going to the shrines.
Except that all 3 parts of the climbing gear are obtained from shrines, so if you didn't find them it proves that you didn't even bother going to the shrines.
BOTW isn't perfect and it's also very clearly one of the best games ever made. It might be the best and it has the best world/exploration I've experienced by a longshot.
I hear you OP, the lack of dungeons and the like didn't really bother me because the prospect of a huge world to explore and the promise of a sense of adventure similar to Zelda 1's were enough to shift my expectations, and boy did it deliver in those aspects. I can't wait to delve again into the game once I get a Switch.
Yeah it actually has nothing to do with my opinion. Even reviewers that handed out 10/10 scores to the game are able to cite design flaws with the experience, which in itself is self-contradictory, but i think everyone is able to agree upon the fact that review scores cannot exist outside of bias in that case. But an article that intends to dissect the game probably should refrain from showing such bias off the jump.
"Breath of the Wild is an astoundingly well designed game" is a great title. Stance is clear, give due praise to the game, and i'm ready to read the reasoning behind what you're about to say.
"Is Breath of the Wild the best-designed game ever?" is sensationalist, and a pretty silly title for someone who plans to then attempt to objectively review the game, because the first sentence anyone reads of the article is so deeply charged in clear bias. It immediately puts into question the reviewer's capacity to be critical of the game's flaws, which inherently devalues the entire article...at least, it does for anyone looking for an objective review of its design.
And you will never hear me make a statement or even suggest that FFXV is the most "well designed" of anything, because again, the idea is absurd. So, uh, no. It isn't. It's mostly just my objections to nonsense and hyperbole that always leads to us bumping heads. You know....situations like this. (lol)
And it's particularly silly for you to even bring up FFXV in this context because frequently you complain about design issues that either do not exist, or are addressed in mechanics that you personally decide to ignore. But that's neither here nor there.
All of them. I also got the second ring of stamina asap, since hearts dont really matter because of how armor defense works, investing on stamina and upgrades made for a really pleasant experiennce.
That's great you feel that way. Personally I find it difficult to understand why some would prefer the empty open spaces. I could go to a park if I wanted to feel that way. When I play games I want it to be whimsical and so far out from reality. I know in the past there were some who would defend the open and empty spaces with the reasoning being, you would expect the same in real life if you were to trek a mountain or grassy fields.
I would expect games like Zelda to be whimsical and fantasy-esque and I honestly never really felt that way playing this.
Also I never really thought the world gave a vibe of being post-apocalyptic. Maybe Hyrlule Castle Town but in general, not really.
I agree about realism in games, I think it's crazy that devs have such a canvas to work with and choose to recreate reality. That said, I don't think BotW really set out to make the most realistic world.
I know the standard post-apocalyptic imagery includes crumbling grey cityscapes, but to me, in spite of its colorful landscapes, BotW does a good job capturing a land that had faced..errr...calamity a century prior. People tend to clump together in cities being rebuilt and those who venture out generally find themselves in trouble. Ruins, dilapidated cabins, abandoned wagons, etc. litter the land. Hey, to each his own, but for me the emptiness and the sense of isolation in BotW really adds to the weight of the situation.
I just could not get on with BotW, it had 4 real dungeons in the whole game that posed no real challenge and although it had a large map I found a drag exploring after a few hours, repeated climbing is not fun. Breakable weapons and lack of variety in the mini temples which all looked the same also bothered me.
I can see the game ending up like Skyward Sword and gamers realising it was not that great a game.
I feel like the story exists only to justify the existence of the game. I think the story is done well for what it is but the point of Breath of The Wild is to pick a point on the map and explore everything along the way (maybe even get side tracked).
The stamina bar and slow climbing impeded my desire to explore. It was either grind shrines that I didn't like to begin with to permanently increase the attribute or cook some food. I spent like 90% of my time playing Horizon: Zero Dawn just running around with no stamina penalty. Felt good. I feel like I might go back to Zelda one day, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.
I might be able to agree that sprinting shouldn't drain stamina, I think there needs to be some limit on climbing. If you could climb super fast and for an infinite period of time, I think the game would be pretty broken as a result. Getting Revali's Gale and upgrading the climbing gear along with upping your stamina gives you a really good sense of progression.
I just could not get on with BotW, it had 4 real dungeons in the whole game that posed no real challenge and although it had a large map I found a drag exploring after a few hours, repeated climbing is not fun. Breakable weapons and lack of variety in the mini temples which all looked the same also bothered me.
I can see the game ending up like Skyward Sword and gamers realising it was not that great a game.
BotW is by and large loved by most people and is showing no signs of that changing.
We'll see how it is viewed years from now once new Zeldas release, but it is already well past the possibility of it being "the new Skyward Sword".
I totally agree, I'm currently on my third replay and not only am I finding new things but I'm also finding new ways to approach obstacles I've already tried on prior runs. It's incredible how engaging the simple act of navigation is in this game.
I used to consider myself a "dungeon guy" too, but BotW has sold me on open world design in a way no other game has before.
Yeah my 2nd run was similar. I found totally new areas and shrines, some not even obscurely hidden. It was kind of mind-expanding to have that experience in 2017. Great game.
No, but ideally reviewers would let a little time go by before posting their reviews instead of immediately reviewing a game while in the honeymoon period. Let the high wear off, so to speak.
No, but ideally reviewers would let a little time go by before posting their reviews instead of immediately reviewing a game while in the honeymoon period. Let the high wear off, so to speak.
I've played nothing else for 3 months and I don't really fancy playing anything else, even though I've completed almost everything there is to do. I just love playing around in the world.
