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[Yumi]

Oh and if something is really hard, sit down for 20 minutes and experiment with cooking. Loaded up on certain stat-altering foods, link goes from squishy soy boy to invincible monster. You can do that with some surprisingly common and basic ingredients.

Let's make a list in order of importance:

1) USE COOL WEAPONS ALWAYS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE TO FIND (THEY RESPAWN with the blood moon). DON'T Let them clutter up your inventory. Later on you get a house, you can store some cool weapons in there.

2) Use cooking in tough situations. It is OP and allows for some cool gameplay experimentation.

3) SKIP SHRINES YOU FIND TEDIOUS. Just stop, turn around, exit and never think about it again. There's over 100. Doing 30-40 of the best ones is enough.

4) Actually use korok seeds to expand your inventory. 4) + 1) = no inventory management problems, a big 'problem' with the game eliminated.

5) INVEST IN STAMINA. Stamina uber alles. Fuck hearts. Most food buffs give you extra hearts. Stamina turns you into Spiderman. Heart hoarding let's you get the master sword early, but even that breaks.

6) Fairies and equipment upgrades make a big difference. It is the primary way to 'level up'. A link in peasant gear vs link in maxed armor set gear is 10x stronger.

7) Physics and Chemical reactions. There are so many way to kill a mob of enemies. Burn, electrify, freeze, squish with heavy items, send into the air so they die from fall damage, lure into traps you set, or a combination of the above. Elemental jelly is your friend. And remember you can tie balloons to things and make them float, i.e ALL THINGS. You can turn your boat into a speed boat. etc

Ill dd to the elemental stuff. Fishing with electricity. Once you get lighting arrows and you see a group of fish you can get close to 10 at a time. Theres one pond near the entrance to the desert that has a fish when cooked give you lots of extra hearts. Farmed that spot of couple times and was good for hours.

 

[ChuyMasta]

Get a horse as fast as possible. Go for the bird dude and get his ability. Boom! Exploration gets even better. Rain won't bother you anymore. Always upgrade stamina and learn to parry with your shield. Take out guardians even if you only have 3 hearts. Raid Hyrule castle, hunt down Lynels, obtain uber weapons, become a 3 hearts God before even reaching Kakariko Village.

Horse armor sets are challenging to obtain but fun. Some side quests reward you rather well early on. This game gets tedious\boring if you want to do a 100% run. Screw that.

 

[kunonabi]

I can't understand the weapon breaking out loud cry. They are abbundant all over the game. Then you grab the Master Sword which is unbreakable.

Except it still breaks. It just unbreaks on its own is all.

 

[Verdanth]

For some odd reason I started playing breath of the wild again

You are brave sir.

 

[Shaqazooloo]

I pick it up every so often to just relax. Sometimes i'll just ride my horse wherever or go exploring on foot. Im still finding places I haven't been before.

I love Breath of the Wild, it's almost as magical as SSBM. My only disappointment with it is that the dungeons were a little on the short side.

 

[DonF]

I finished all the shrines and played like close to 80 hours and I just can't see myself going back to it. In stark diference to alttp or ocarina even windwaker, games that I've finished like 3 times each.
I feel the game is like a grind. So first time is great, but a second time its a chore. I've seen videos of people beating it with like 3 hearts, but it would be very difficult.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I still haven't played this videogame yet, as I still don't have a Switch (grownups have this thing called money). However, I did enjoy playing around with the demo at Best Buy. One day, I discovered that I could set fires everywhere, so I decided to try and burn down a whole forest, trees and grass, everything. Somehow, I ended up on fire myself and burned to death. That was awesome fun.

Yeah, I was one of those kids who would play Star Raiders and deliberately blow up the space stations so I could get the "garbage scow captain" rank.

 

[DGrayson]

For some odd reason I started playing breath of the wild again and started with a new game right from the beginning. I’ve done this a few times with this particular game and I never seem to get bored of it.

I don’t know why but I find playing this game to be a very relaxing experience. Just exploring and finding new things. Just wandering.

Am I the only one? This game is truly a masterpiece in my opinion.

One of my favorite parts of the game was in the first 15 hours or so I remember seeing a sort of tall grass covered mountain. YOu didnt need to climb it you could walk up the steep side. Anyways I worked my way to the top with the grass blowing around me. When i got to the top, what was there, absolutly nothing, but the blowing grass, the wind, the view, it was all just incredible.

 

[cr0w]

It's my second favorite Zelda of all time (the OG is my #1), simply because Hyrule is the star of the show the way it was when I first booted up the original in '86. Back then, the overworld seemed absolutely humongous, and there were secrets pretty much on every screen. I spent more time bombing walls, burning bushes and walking into waterfalls than I did in the dungeons. There was something new around every corner, and BOTW is the first time since the original that I've felt that same sense of awe and exploration in the series. OoT was almost there, but that one was more dungeon-focused and the overworld didn't have much going on aside from some beautiful vistas.

This is the image I think of when I think of the original:

This is the first thing I did when I unlocked the Hero's outfit:

I just started the game over after a year or so away from it, and it's still just as good as I remember. I never dug into the DLC when it released, so I apparently still have a lot to discover.

 

[Inanilmaz]

Played for 15 minutes damnn i fell asleep cause it was so boring

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Played for 15 minutes damnn i fell asleep cause it was so boring

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I've rarely seen a game so directly polarizing. It's not even that Crowd A and Crowd B focus on different strengths and weaknesses, as in most games... instead, they have exactly the same list, but evaluate every item exactly opposite:

Crowd A:
- every inch of the world is alive
- the combat is a joy of improvisation given the challenge of durability

Crowd B:
- the world is lifeless, empty
- the combat is the worst, breaking weapons breaks the game

(I'm in Crowd A, to be clear -- and I've been playing Zelda avidly since the first entry on the NES hit shelves in the US)

I suspect it comes down to the devs taking a highly opinionated stance on how open-world should operate. They throw out most of the Skyrim-esque expectations around loading out your best weapons, replacing it with a constant strategizing around what is available; and their way of drawing out the world refuses the usual methods of having many characters with dialogue trees etc, and instead opts for a world of systems (weather, items, ingredients, elements, etc) and tactile details in animation & sound.

I'm curious how the game's detractors and fans rate other open-world experiences. For me, something like Skyrim is so mind-numbing that it makes me want to step out of gaming entirely. I also hate when "completion" is even a comprehensible word; and I mean that in the full sense, that if "completion" is something a game invites as a primary player goal, it must be built around explicit quests and collections in a way that makes it irredeemably tedious and time-wasting. Not being expected--and barely even able--to find all the Koroks or other things makes sense to me, and is a deliberate decision to make you think about moving through the world's secrets as an adventure, never as a matter of filling out a defined loot grid or checklist or whatever.

It makes sense that it’s very polarizing.

1. Some people like exploring open worlds and messing around in sandboxes and making their own fun/story. Some don’t.

2. It was a pretty major change to a huge franchise after nearly two decades often OoT/LttP formula.

 

[Inanilmaz]

Cry

 

[Tygeezy]

Botw is a masterpiece...for the first 20 or so hours imho, then it becomes obvious how little interesting content there is. Theres no point in fighting the same mobs because theres no reward, no point in farming resources because the game is piss easy no need for advanced equipment, there are no artifacts, unique items etc. Its a barren world almost devoid of any excitment, only shrines, koroks and... thats it

Why do I need a reward if i'm having fun? Not everything needs a carrot on a stick.

 

[goldenpp72]

Zelda is my favourite franchise.
I traded botw less than 10 hours in. If I ever want to die of boredom I will consider replaying it.

The only memories I have is travelling through emptiness for several minutes with the only event finding a korok seed under a bridge and I think Kakariko village where someone told me some story stuff. That particular cut-scene put me to sleep.

And I don't even want to remember the garbage weapon system, laughable voice overs, tacked on survival shit, lack of dungeons and boring combat.

Worst Zelda ever and a terrible open world game.
4/10

It must suck to have a lack of sense for adventure. I'm so sorry.

 

[pennythoughts]

Why do I need a reward if i'm having fun? Not everything needs a carrot on a stick.

I think the polarity between those who like it or don't comes down mostly to the idea of character building vs moment-to-moment gameplay. There are some elements in which you build Link over the course of the game but they're not really the point, nor do they take the focus, compared to a more traditional open-world game in which you have skill trees to max and checklists to check. BOTW's rewards are simply the adventures you take yourself, the immersion factor that plays into you traveling to a new landmark. One of my favorite areas in the entire game is when you land on a far away island (I can't remember the name) and you're stripped of your entire inventory, saving is disabled and using what you find only on that little island you must find 3 different orbs to get your stuff back. You don't really get areas like that in games like Spiderman or GTA V.

 

[BlackTron]

Guess I'll add my take on this game. In some ways it's a pretty landmark title. It's bold enough to challenge conventions and the result is something truly different. For the first time since OoT, a Zelda game came out that other devs can use as inspiration or a blueprint.

I've said before that to me BotW is basically a Princess Mononoke simulator. As my favorite animated film, this is high praise. For this reason alone BotW is an essential title in my collection.

However! I hold Zelda to a higher standard than "Mononoke Simulator". As a Zelda game, I think it falls totally flat, sucks even. I see that BotW came up with an engine and all these coalescing game systems that make a great basis for a Zelda game; they just forgot to add the game and instead these systems are the actual star of the show. To me it's the modern day equivalent of if OoT came out back in the day with only young Link's 3 dungeons; you'd be expected to simply enjoy its game systems like the 3D engine, the Z-Targeting, the mini games and side quests. Yeah, it would still be groundbreaking stuff that developers could learn from, but there would still be a game missing.

I'm in a minority, but I felt very little sense of adventure in BotW beyond the beginning, because everything was a copy/paste job. It doesn't take very long for you to realize that you will never actually find anything new, and you don't. I already know that, to the farthest reaches of the map, my biggest luck will be another shrine, or weapon which will break anyway. The game ultimately comes off as 90% busywork, running around, finding items, cooking, whatever. As for actual action/adventure/puzzle content, this game is anemic. I didn't feel like it respected my time for what I put in at all.

I thought Super Mario Galaxy 2 was better than the first, doubtless because they already did all the engine, asset and physics work and were able to focus on creative level design. I'm hoping the same happens with BotW2.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

I think the polarity between those who like it or don't comes down mostly to the idea of character building vs moment-to-moment gameplay. There are some elements in which you build Link over the course of the game but they're not really the point, nor do they take the focus, compared to a more traditional open-world game in which you have skill trees to max and checklists to check. BOTW's rewards are simply the adventures you take yourself, the immersion factor that plays into you traveling to a new landmark.

That's precisely what I was getting at above; agreed. BOTW directly contradicts most of the tenets of other open-world games (max out your person & weapons; check off all the missions; get to 100%), and that's the best part about it. Because, frankly, I usually despise those games... with probably the sole exception of the Arkham trilogy, which if anything feels like another inspiration for BoTW, given how the physical climbing and gliding plays so fundamentally into traversing the world.

 

[wzy]

I think the aim with BotW was to try to foster some intrinsic motivation (i.e., the game is actually fun) and resist the urge to lay everything on the progression system, which is why you have weapon durability and a bizarre absence of meaningful upgrades after the tutorial zone. The point was to do "walking around, looking at stuff" so well that they could forego the usual open-world motivators like levels and skill points and deliver a more honest game.

Here's the problem: the game sucks more because of this, not less. The basic swordplay and environmental navigation is so shallow and tedious that the game falls apart the second you realize you're not going to get anything worth having by taking on outposts and shrines, and the controls are too loosey-goosey to provide rewarding action sequences. No one would actually dream of using the boomerang more than once, for example, because it just doesn't do anything other than break. They don't do anything remotely interesting with the enormous space provided--consider trying to decorate a gymnasium with the furniture in your living room--and even if they did they have no core systems that can make exploration actually fun or challenging to engage in, like say double jumps or rope arrows or diving or just whatever something for Christ's sake. Don't make me climb and glide over every obstacle because both of things involve more waiting than playing.

On top of this you have the offensively bad cooking system which gets less relevant as the game progresses and you get more ingredients, because it doesn't do anything different than any of the other systems (health, stamina, armor, damage, and resistance). Too many options and too few results is like the worst possible format for any kind of game, which is why Mario Odyssey also sucks despite its considerable advantage over Zelda in both charm and making navigating 3D environments something other than exhausting.

 

[Terenty]

Botw is a game filled with shameless copypaste, the same stables, the same camps, the same koroks, the same mobs everywhere no matter the biome(with very rare exeptions), the same mini bosses, the same battle music everytime etc etc.

Progression system is almost completely useless because the only enemies you have to beat are bosses and they are very easy.

I completed the game with 20 or 30 shrines, about 50 koroks and only one giant fairy discovered. After that there was no incentive for me to do anything.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

the only shameless copypasting going on is people writing the phrase "copypaste" over and over

does anyone have an actual example of this? trying to think of identical spots on the map and i'm drawing a blank.

fwiw i am playing Nioh right now and have been fighting the same enemies for 45 hours. can i call that copy paste too?

 

[Terenty]

the only shameless copypasting going on is people writing the phrase "copypaste" over and over

does anyone have an actual example of this? trying to think of identical spots on the map and i'm drawing a blank.

fwiw i am playing Nioh right now and have been fighting the same enemies for 45 hours. can i call that copy paste too?

I listed examples: repeating korok puzzles, repeating camps, repeating stables, mini bosses like hinox.

Yes the topography is unique, but its filled with the same activities and points of interest.

After playing rdr2 its painfully obvious Nintendo didnt have the time nor budget to fill all these expanses with something meaningful

 

[juliotendo]

Didn’t know there was so much hatred for breath of the wild. I’m kind of surprised.

 

[kunonabi]

I think the polarity between those who like it or don't comes down mostly to the idea of character building vs moment-to-moment gameplay. There are some elements in which you build Link over the course of the game but they're not really the point, nor do they take the focus, compared to a more traditional open-world game in which you have skill trees to max and checklists to check. BOTW's rewards are simply the adventures you take yourself, the immersion factor that plays into you traveling to a new landmark. One of my favorite areas in the entire game is when you land on a far away island (I can't remember the name) and you're stripped of your entire inventory, saving is disabled and using what you find only on that little island you must find 3 different orbs to get your stuff back. You don't really get areas like that in games like Spiderman or GTA V.

Botw is still all about checklists and maxing out stuff though. Shrines, koroks, map percentage, diaries, sidequest list, memories, monster medals, and maxing out armor, health, and vitality. The game just does a better job of making it seem more organic and magical than every other open world game in the opening hours before the illusion vanishes.

 

[pennythoughts]

Botw is still all about checklists and maxing out stuff though. Shrines, koroks, map percentage, diaries, sidequest list, memories, monster medals, and maxing out armor, health, and vitality. The game just does a better job of making it seem more organic and magical than every other open world game in the opening hours before the illusion vanishes.

I don't deny that but for people like me, I don't care about the endpoint reward of doing certain things. It's simply fun for me to figure the game out and go see what's beyond that hill. I love games that allow me to figure my way through areas I clearly don't belong in (FFXII is another favorite of mine for this reason).

Have you tried the Master mode difficulty? Game forces you to really play hard on things like making elixers and weapon conservation. There's even a Lynel out on the Great Plateau you can try to figure out how to defeat.

 

[kunonabi]

I don't deny that but for people like me, I don't care about the endpoint reward of doing certain things. It's simply fun for me to figure the game out and go see what's beyond that hill. I love games that allow me to figure my way through areas I clearly don't belong in (FFXII is another favorite of mine for this reason).

Have you tried the Master mode difficulty? Game forces you to really play hard on things like making elixers and weapon conservation. There's even a Lynel out on the Great Plateau you can try to figure out how to defeat.

Nah, I havent touched it since I finished it. As long as you still have the dodge and reflect mechanics any attempts to up the difficulty arent really going to change anything in any meaningful way.

 

[EverydayBeast]

No

 

[Newari]

When I'm talking about this game I can never say anything nice about it.
I despise weapon durability mechanics enough to mod them out of every game where possible.
I dislike the attitude the game takes with pacing and direction basically just telling me to have my own fun while it watches.
The lack of music is drives me nuts.
Gathering ingredients for upgrading and cooking seems like a chore
Just pick any aspect of the game and I will think it has something bad about it.

but

but...

BUT

When I pick up the game and start playing, time just disappears and suddenly I realize that I should have eaten two hours ago. This game is something magical that I cannot for the life of me describe.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

My biggest gripe with the game, is that there isn't an end-game post-ganon. I want that bastard castle to stop being evil, shitting up my scenic views. I want to continue doing korok seeds and shrines after kicking his ass. I want the blood moon to cease showing up. I want to clear out the world of all baddies and make it all pretty and nice. That is the single biggest flaw with this game.

Makes it even worse when you do the beasts and they target their lasers on the castle. Shits up my scenic views even more. Is there a post-ganon mod to fix this on the emulated version?

 

[DGrayson]

My biggest gripe with the game, is that there isn't an end-game post-ganon. I want that bastard castle to stop being evil, shitting up my scenic views. I want to continue doing korok seeds and shrines after kicking his ass. I want the blood moon to cease showing up. I want to clear out the world of all baddies and make it all pretty and nice. That is the single biggest flaw with this game.

Makes it even worse when you do the beasts and they target their lasers on the castle. Shits up my scenic views even more. Is there a post-ganon mod to fix this on the emulated version?

Never considered this but yes, that would be great!

 

[Moses85]

I started playing this again on CEMU with the Linkle mod and it’s still fantastic. Playing at 60 FPS is a game changer.

With Linkle and on PC. What in God’s name?

 

[Chairman Tickles]

With Linkle and on PC. What in God’s name?

WiiU version. Emulation accuracy is reaching 100%. You can even replace the in-game control prompts to xbox gamepad buttons.

4k 60 looks sweet.

 

[Saruhashi]

Didn’t know there was so much hatred for breath of the wild. I’m kind of surprised.

Nah, it's not that surprising.

Look around the gaming community and you'll see so many people ready to say "I don't understand why so many people like this" about so many games.

The fact that BotW is a much slower, less directed and more contemplative experience than a lot of games will not endear it to people who want the opposite of that. The design choices made in BotW were inevitably both bold and divisive.

It's like a restaurant that serves up only one very specific meal. The meal itself may be the most well considered and meticulously put together food available anywhere but some people simply will not like it.

The weapon durability mechanic is a good example.

This choice was destined to be VERY divisive simply because in most of these kinds of games the player will select a weapon that they like and will tend to stick with it.
Of course, this creates an issue where the game is giving players all of these weapon options and players are just ignoring them all.
BotW tries to fix a problem that maybe doesn't need fixing. Even though "we want the player to use all of the weapons and to constantly change up their weapon choice" is actually a well meaning desire.
It's almost like a shoot em up mechanic where your ship will get this range of weapons that changes as you take hits or grab powerups.

For more long-term Zelda fans the lack of dungeons is another choice that is bound to be divisive.
Again, the splitting of dungeons into smaller "shrines" and then having them scattered all around the world is a logical design choice. A massive open world with only 8 or even 16 localized dungeons is going to need to go down the road of FarCry and Assassin's Creed for content. So what if they took the traditional dungeon format but then broke them down into 120 smaller "bite sized" dungeons? It makes sense.

I just wish they would have done something like had a few different types of shrines with different designs and symbols or even just different color schemes. You could have ice, fire, wind, magnets, cryonis, combat shrines and maybe split stamina and heart rewards between them. Everything is too similar for MY tastes. However, it doesn't mean these were bad design choices.

Of course, you have to take a lot of comments online with a pinch of salt anyway. Some of the negativity will just be trolls and people looking to annoy folks and also some downright idiots.

When I look at a game like BotW and then look at some of the criticisms I do genuinely wonder sometimes if that person actually even likes videogames.

 

[wzy]

Sorry, "more contemplative" means boring, right?

 

[cireza]

This game was a disappointment overall, I did play it and complete it, but it feels incredibly empty and never motivates me at doing anything. All the stuff you can do feels useless. Very disappointed to see that we are going to have a direct sequel...

 

[#Phonepunk#]

different strokes for different folks. this is the kind of game that wants you to join in and help make your own fun. yes sitting around wanting guide markers and quests and a level up checkbox that you can watch your progress, if you need all these constant pats on the head, this is not the game for you. getting mad that you lost your amazing weapon, instead of constantly seeing that number go higher, yeah this game is not for you.

i never cared too much about progression systems in games, the moment to moment playing is the fun part.

it's a lot like MGSV. plenty of people thought that game was boring as well, but if you watch an amazing player who has an imagination, it's hilarious, fun, crazy shit. they give you the tools to do whatever you want, but you are kind of off the leash. you have to make your own fun to an extent. if you have no imagination and need your content spoonfed, it will be boring.

 

[V2Tommy]

Proudly saying I hate this game and look down upon anyone that thinks it's good. I put 55 hours into this waiting for "that moment" and it never came. Boring, aimless game full of annoying systems, homework and checklists. I know there's an audience for chore simulators, but it sure ain't me.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Sorry, "more contemplative" means boring, right?

every second not KOing an enemy or leveling up some skill bar is a second wasted! where is the progress? do people think we play games to have fun?

 

[wzy]

But we're not talking about seconds, we're talking about "300 hours" of, uh, walking around.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

I beat it on Wii U and bought it on Switch to play it again but I'm just not motivated to start it again .

 

[sublimit]

I don’t know why but I find playing this game to be a very relaxing experience. Just exploring and finding new things. Just wandering.

I always replay games that have meaningful exploration and worlds that are aesthetically pleasing (to me). It's not weird at all.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

every second not KOing an enemy or leveling up some skill bar is a second wasted! where is the progress? do people think we play games to have fun?

People just find different things fun and not fun. No reason for either side to be negative toward the other in games like this. Some like exploring virtual worlds, messing around with physics etc. in sandboxes and other's don't. Just like others only like constant action games and others don't and others like loot/leveling games where they're constantly progressing and getting more powerful and others don't. To each their own. Game forums would be a far better place if more lived by that maxim and less time was spent on bickering over tastes and console warrior nonsense.

 

[Joe T.]

I'm usually a huge fan of large sandboxes, but Eventide Island and the Trial of the Sword DLC content were easily the standout parts of BotW for me. Replaying the game from start to finish is too much of a chore with way too much repetition, the novelty of exploring that world completely gone, something I personally thought GTA games did far better since NPC density/ dialogue and the painstakingly crafted worlds revealed new things even a third or fourth time through.

To those that can't get past the breaking weapons I'd suggest giving it a go via Cemu if you've got access to a half decent PC, can easily customize the game there and make them unbreakable.

 

[wzy]

Look, if you like getting high and streaming Netflix while you play videogames, and like videogames that are particularly well suited to this, I'm not going to judge. Sometimes that's a great weekend here in the snowbound northern wastes. I just ask for a little clarity about what the game actually is, which is an ordinary Zelda game stripped down and stretched over a rack for the binging crowd. It's not contemplative, it's just long. Everything is parceled out into 30 minute chunks and separated by vast exterior hallways, which is actually the conceptual opposite of the original "open world" Legend of Zelda, where the navigation itself was systematic (obstacles, enemies, etc.) and part of the game.

The main difference between between Breath of the Wild and, say, Link to the Past in gameplay terms is that the former has 3000% more filler and about a tenth of the number of tools and upgrades to assist in getting from point A to B (and a proportionally low number of specific obstacles and environmental hazards). They do a lot of nice things to paper over this disparity, but none of it would even had been necessary if they'd exercised some restraint is designing the scale of the world and put a little more thought into the terrain itself.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

People just find different things fun and not fun. No reason for either side to be negative toward the other in games like this. Some like exploring virtual worlds, messing around with physics etc. in sandboxes and other's don't. Just like others only like constant action games and others don't and others like loot/leveling games where they're constantly progressing and getting more powerful and others don't. To each their own. Game forums would be a far better place if more lived by that maxim and less time was spent on bickering over tastes and console warrior nonsense.

What I don’t get is, why go into a thread called “Started playing BOTW again” only to say oh some other game is better? Why don’t people make “BOtW is overrated” the thread? Then it will be on topic

 

[wzy]

Because the OP ended his post by asking "Am I the only one?" would be my guess.

 

[kingbean]

I put in about 90 hours into the game on a switch. I'm scared to restart.

 

[Terenty]

They should have implemented puzzles in the open world, so that traversal itself was an involved part of the game, something like chopping a tree to cross a chasm. Was there anything like that after the great plateau?

The best parts of the game are the hand crafted ones, everything in between is pure filler

 

[kunonabi]

Nah, it's not that surprising.

Look around the gaming community and you'll see so many people ready to say "I don't understand why so many people like this" about so many games.

The fact that BotW is a much slower, less directed and more contemplative experience than a lot of games will not endear it to people who want the opposite of that. The design choices made in BotW were inevitably both bold and divisive.

It's like a restaurant that serves up only one very specific meal. The meal itself may be the most well considered and meticulously put together food available anywhere but some people simply will not like it.

The weapon durability mechanic is a good example.

This choice was destined to be VERY divisive simply because in most of these kinds of games the player will select a weapon that they like and will tend to stick with it.
Of course, this creates an issue where the game is giving players all of these weapon options and players are just ignoring them all.
BotW tries to fix a problem that maybe doesn't need fixing. Even though "we want the player to use all of the weapons and to constantly change up their weapon choice" is actually a well meaning desire.
It's almost like a shoot em up mechanic where your ship will get this range of weapons that changes as you take hits or grab powerups.

For more long-term Zelda fans the lack of dungeons is another choice that is bound to be divisive.
Again, the splitting of dungeons into smaller "shrines" and then having them scattered all around the world is a logical design choice. A massive open world with only 8 or even 16 localized dungeons is going to need to go down the road of FarCry and Assassin's Creed for content. So what if they took the traditional dungeon format but then broke them down into 120 smaller "bite sized" dungeons? It makes sense.

I just wish they would have done something like had a few different types of shrines with different designs and symbols or even just different color schemes. You could have ice, fire, wind, magnets, cryonis, combat shrines and maybe split stamina and heart rewards between them. Everything is too similar for MY tastes. However, it doesn't mean these were bad design choices.

Of course, you have to take a lot of comments online with a pinch of salt anyway. Some of the negativity will just be trolls and people looking to annoy folks and also some downright idiots.

When I look at a game like BotW and then look at some of the criticisms I do genuinely wonder sometimes if that person actually even likes videogames.

There are three main problems with the weapon system. The first is that it becomes completely pointless in the late game since you're going to have dozens and dozens of weapons and possibly one rechargeable one. At this point, the system is a nuisance and nothing else.

The second is that the vast majority of weapons operate exactly the same so it isn't really forcing you to change up your approach based on your weapon for like 98% of the game.

The third is that it makes a game struggling with worthwhile rewards even worse since you're just going to be disposable items that you probably don't even have space for as your prize in the majority of situations.

The shrines are a complicated mess with several different problems but the core issue is a lack of escalation. Part of the fun of Zelda and most Nintendo games is learning some bases techniques and having puzzles that will layer them together to form more complex solutions in later puzzles. In BotW this doesn't exist outside of the Gerudo lands. This is a problem with the whole to be honest where the game never actually crescendos or peaks, in combat, puzzles, story, or even the music.

The thinking behind these new approaches isn't necessarily wrong but it all comes down to execution and BotW just misses the mark in some key areas. Now, much like OoT this is a first draft of a new style and they did have to overhaul and cripple the game to accommodate the switch so there is a very good chance the sequel will address some of these issues and be the GOAT title that BotW appeared to be in the opening hours.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

What I don’t get is, why go into a thread called “Started playing BOTW again” only to say oh some other game is better? Why don’t people make “BOtW is overrated” the thread? Then it will be on topic

Because the OP ended his post by asking "Am I the only one?" would be my guess.

It's party what wzy said, and part just being the nature of the internet/forums in the social media age. People feel compelled to hold strong opinions on everything and vomit/share them everywhere they possibly can. I fall into it a times as well, so I don't meant to be overly harsh. But I'm working on just being a lot more positive and mostly only posting casual things about games I enjoy/mostly enjoy and just dropping and moving on from things I don't without making a bunch of critical posts in OTs and what not that are mostly full of people enjoying the game. To each their own and games aren't serious business.