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[OldBoyGamer]

Is it fair to say you want other games to make you feel the way botw did? or is it just a nuts and bolts feature checklist thing? If it is feelings, well you probably wont get that if you have a history with Zelda that stretches to your childhood.

That's an interesting question. I think it's actually both. The nuts and bolts of how it all worked out for me - the way I personally played the game - and the feelings I had as a result of that.

I can't pinpoint one single thing - one single mechanic or feature. In general, I think it was just that the world created - and everything in that world - hung together so perfectly within it's rules and restrictions. That's why many arguments talking about hating one mechanic or another don't really matter to me. Because almost everything worked in unison within the realms of the world created. It was like watching the insides of a super complex clock. Seeing the cogs turn in perfect timing. And yes, every now and then, a cog would slip a tooth. But then it would just fit right back in again. The things I struggled with didn't matter because I learned how to overcome them - or at times, even better, use them to my advantage. The weapons breaking system was like that for me. The tower system was like that for me. The outfit system was like that for me. The cooking system was like that for me. The traversal system was like that for me. That feeling of coming against a problem and then slowly learning how to overcome it, not just with puzzles, but just the general game, is almost unprecedented for me.

Unison in an unrestricted world. Those two things together created an amazing experience for me - one that I'm struggling to find anywhere else.

It's like. I'm playing GoW. There's nothing wrong with the game right? It's a bloody good game. But I'm pushing forward on the pad. And then Kratos moves to the right along the path. Wait. What's going on? I'm still pushing forward though?? There is no path. There is no forest. It's just background geometry. That's a tiny example but a potent one - the game is controlling me - I'm not controlling the game. I never felt that way in BotW. Even when I felt out of control (like on the back of a dodgy horse), I was still in control.

 

[Vawn]

What a stupid comment. If people find it amazing, clearly it IS just as amazing as they think. Duh.

So if someone finds it horrible then it IS horrible?

It was clearly implied in that comment, it's his opinion the game isn't as amazing as others think it is. Duh?

 

[checkcola]

I think in a general sense, for you, BotW is a peak. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to play something completely different. That's one of the best thing about old school Nintendo, they had different genres with their mascot characters. So many games these days do this open world stuff, it does become samey and if one hits that peak for you, others will pale in comparison.

 

[DryvBy]

I haven't been able to finish it because of the weapon's breaking. I wish when you found rare weapons in a cave, they never broke. It's the most annoying thing in the game and a huge turn off to me.

 

[Lanrutcon]

I need to reinstall dragon's dogma. It's criminal that we don't have a proper dragon's dogma 2.

Incredibly underrated game that holds up super well, IMO. I'd sacrifice DMC5 for DD2 any day.

 

[Kamina]

Solution: play more BotW until you are fed up with it. Then other games will become appealing again.

 

[Theognosis]

A Link Between Worlds and even Hyrule Warriors ruined BotW for me. BotW is a great game but it's not as fun as the 2D Zeldas. I found it to be boring. It's a great game with a highly-interactive environment, but it's no masterpiece. All dungeons looked the same. The music was so-so. Worse, many features that were already made for the Wii U version such as maps and inventory management on the Gamepad were stripped so that the Switch version would look superior. I'm glad you enjoyed it though. If you have problems playing other 3D games after BotW, switch to 2D and try Hollow Knight. For $15, I think it's worth a try.

 

[magnumpy]

it (botw) seems like a really killer game but I don't own any of the systems it's on (switch and wii u, iirc)

oh well

 

[scydrex]

A friend lend me his Wii U. Is a boring game, boring story, no boss fights, repeated enemies, easy dungeons & hated the weapon system.

 

[joe_zazen]

That's an interesting question. I think it's actually both. The nuts and bolts of how it all worked out for me - the way I personally played the game - and the feelings I had as a result of that.

I can't pinpoint one single thing - one single mechanic or feature. In general, I think it was just that the world created - and everything in that world - hung together so perfectly within it's rules and restrictions. That's why many arguments talking about hating one mechanic or another don't really matter to me. Because almost everything worked in unison within the realms of the world created. It was like watching the insides of a super complex clock. Seeing the cogs turn in perfect timing. And yes, every now and then, a cog would slip a tooth. But then it would just fit right back in again. The things I struggled with didn't matter because I learned how to overcome them - or at times, even better, use them to my advantage. The weapons breaking system was like that for me. The tower system was like that for me. The outfit system was like that for me. The cooking system was like that for me. The traversal system was like that for me. That feeling of coming against a problem and then slowly learning how to overcome it, not just with puzzles, but just the general game, is almost unprecedented for me.

Unison in an unrestricted world. Those two things together created an amazing experience for me - one that I'm struggling to find anywhere else.

It's like. I'm playing GoW. There's nothing wrong with the game right? It's a bloody good game. But I'm pushing forward on the pad. And then Kratos moves to the right along the path. Wait. What's going on? I'm still pushing forward though?? There is no path. There is no forest. It's just background geometry. That's a tiny example but a potent one - the game is controlling me - I'm not controlling the game. I never felt that way in BotW. Even when I felt out of control (like on the back of a dodgy horse), I was still in control.

Thanks for,the detailed reply. Those type of experiences, when everything comes together, is magical. It is a confluence, right time right place,sort of thing.

I found that feeling with the two Galaxy games, played them back to back. I spent several years trying to recapture that feeling; & I’ve come to the realization that it will never happen again, and seeking to recapture that is a fool’s errand.

I have heard how the first time a person tries crack, their neural system lights up like a Christmas tree, but it only gets that bright once. They seek to replicate that first time feeling in bain.

 

[OldBoyGamer]

Thanks for,the detailed reply. Those type of experiences, when everything comes together, is magical. It is a confluence, right time right place,sort of thing.

I found that feeling with the two Galaxy games, played them back to back. I spent several years trying to recapture that feeling; & I’ve come to the realization that it will never happen again, and seeking to recapture that is a fool’s errand.

I have heard how the first time a person tries crack, their neural system lights up like a Christmas tree, but it only gets that bright once. They seek to replicate that first time feeling in bain.

That's so spot on! I feel the same about the 2 Galaxy games (more for 1 than 2). And odyssey didn't hit that spark for me whereas most people are saying it's the MGOAT. 3D land for me is far better than 3D world.

I think you're proper onto something there you know. I never knew I was susceptible to that kind of stuff. Makes you think.....

 

[Revolutionary]

I'm trying to think of this objectively but I can't help but feel that this is ridiculous. For instance, has anyone ever said "after seeing <insert critically acclaimed film here>, I can't watch any other movies" before? No.. because, quite frankly, it is a stupid notion.
Hell, a recent gaming example would be God of War. Critically acclaimed, but no one in their right mind is stating that it's ruined other games for them... because it hasn't, and it shouldn't.

 

[Danjin44]

I'm trying to think of this objectively but I can't help but feel that this is ridiculous. For instance, has anyone ever said "after seeing <insert critically acclaimed film here>, I can't watch any other movies" before? No.. because, quite frankly, it is a stupid notion.
Hell, a recent gaming example would be God of War. Critically acclaimed, but no one in their right mind is stating that it's ruined other games for them... because it hasn't, and it shouldn't.

I agree with you. Different games will give you different enjoyment. Doesn't matter how much I enjoyed BOTW it won't give me same enjoyment as games like Bayonetta series.

 

[Vawn]

I'm trying to think of this objectively but I can't help but feel that this is ridiculous. For instance, has anyone ever said "after seeing <insert critically acclaimed film here>, I can't watch any other movies" before? No.. because, quite frankly, it is a stupid notion.
Hell, a recent gaming example would be God of War. Critically acclaimed, but no one in their right mind is stating that it's ruined other games for them... because it hasn't, and it shouldn't.

Why is this always the go-to argument for so many topics? Video games are not movies. You can spend hundreds of hours on a single game. It clearly can affect you differently than an hour and a half movie.

I played FFXI for 7 years straight, not playing anything else. Good luck finding any other form of entertainment to get that level of attention from me.

 

[Revolutionary]

Why is this always the go-to argument for so many topics? Video games are not movies. You can spend hundreds of hours on a single game. It clearly can affect you differently than an hour and a half movie.

I played FFXI for 7 years straight, not playing anything else. Good luck finding any other form of entertainment to get that level of attention from me.

MMOs are an entirely different beast than what we're talking about here, and you know this. FFXI, specifically, REQUIRED you to have social interaction and cooperation to succeed/progress. Provided that you nurtured friendships over those 7 years, then yes, it's no surprise you'd have a hard time finding something like it anywhere else.

What we're talking about here is a singleplayer Zelda game. Most people finish them and move on, much like with films.. hence, the comparison I made.
I absolutely adored BotW, but it has many flaws and the biggest effect its had on me in regards to other games is occasionally thinking "it would be nice if I could just climb over this wall". I just don't think I'll ever understand the notion that something is so good it ruins everything else. There's always something else.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

That's an interesting question. I think it's actually both. The nuts and bolts of how it all worked out for me - the way I personally played the game - and the feelings I had as a result of that.

I can't pinpoint one single thing - one single mechanic or feature. In general, I think it was just that the world created - and everything in that world - hung together so perfectly within it's rules and restrictions. That's why many arguments talking about hating one mechanic or another don't really matter to me. Because almost everything worked in unison within the realms of the world created. It was like watching the insides of a super complex clock. Seeing the cogs turn in perfect timing. And yes, every now and then, a cog would slip a tooth. But then it would just fit right back in again. The things I struggled with didn't matter because I learned how to overcome them - or at times, even better, use them to my advantage. The weapons breaking system was like that for me. The tower system was like that for me. The outfit system was like that for me. The cooking system was like that for me. The traversal system was like that for me. That feeling of coming against a problem and then slowly learning how to overcome it, not just with puzzles, but just the general game, is almost unprecedented for me.

Unison in an unrestricted world. Those two things together created an amazing experience for me - one that I'm struggling to find anywhere else.

You're speaking my language here. One reason I was adamantly against taking Zelda in an open-world direction (prior to actually playing this wonderful game) was that the open-world genre always feels like it inherently lacks any deliberate design, as if just putting open spaces and elements together haphazardly can substitute for thoughtfully crafting spaces and paths -- and past Zelda games were so notable for the intricacy of their clock-like designs, particularly in dungeons. I was pleasantly surprised, even astounded, that they managed to create the first open world (the Arkham games are probably in second place for me here) that still feels as if the placement of every hill, stream, plant, and cave was intelligent and thought out as part of a meticulously planned yet hidden design beneath the visible world.

The systems you identified are indeed what seems to make it work so very well. The world has a deeply embedded set of elemental systems that all interact in very cool ways: a single example would be electricity, which is an elemental attack (arrows), a power that is earned and greatly affects your combat (the guardian charge skill), a set of armor interactions, and an element woven into cooking and weather. The point is that there isn't just some isolated lightning power, but you can also use it to your advantage by throwing a metal object near an enemy in a thunderstorm, or donning rubber gear and going to town. Really cool to see how every layer interacts organically.

That's so spot on! I feel the same about the 2 Galaxy games (more for 1 than 2). And odyssey didn't hit that spark for me whereas most people are saying it's the MGOAT. 3D land for me is far better than 3D world.

My man. Galaxy 1 is what I'd call the Mario peak of all peaks, and it's perfectly analogous to BOTW for me in terms of its impact on the franchise.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now. Nothing i'm playing sinks its teeth into me as much as it did. Nothing make me feel like I did walking, running and floating around that wonderful, beautiful world.

I feel like I've been jilted by the perfect woman and I can't find someone as amazing as she was. And heaven knows I'm miserable now. Fuck you BotW. I HATE YOU! :_(

The upside here is you can remove all those games You mentioned off your backlog and only use your previous limited time on games worth your time- games as good or better than BOTW

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

You're speaking my language here. One reason I was adamantly against taking Zelda in an open-world direction (prior to actually playing this wonderful game) was that the open-world genre always feels like it inherently lacks any deliberate design, as if just putting open spaces and elements together haphazardly can substitute for thoughtfully crafting spaces and paths -- and past Zelda games were so notable for the intricacy of their clock-like designs, particularly in dungeons. I was pleasantly surprised, even astounded, that they managed to create the first open world (the Arkham games are probably in second place for me here) that still feels as if the placement of every hill, stream, plant, and cave was intelligent and thought out as part of a meticulously planned yet hidden design beneath the visible world.

The systems you identified are indeed what seems to make it work so very well. The world has a deeply embedded set of elemental systems that all interact in very cool ways: a single example would be electricity, which is an elemental attack (arrows), a power that is earned and greatly affects your combat (the guardian charge skill), a set of armor interactions, and an element woven into cooking and weather. The point is that there isn't just some isolated lightning power, but you can also use it to your advantage by throwing a metal object near an enemy in a thunderstorm, or donning rubber gear and going to town. Really cool to see how every layer interacts organically.



My man. Galaxy 1 is what I'd call the Mario peak of all peaks, and it's perfectly analogous to BOTW for me in terms of its impact on the franchise.

I’d compare SMG to SMB3 and SMG2 to SMW. It’s a toss up as to which game is better

 

[Paasei]

This is what i love about this game. Imagine yourself waking up in a world like this, without remembering anything. And slowly figuring things out as you explore, with minimal hand holding. That's the best part of this game for me.

I see where you're coming from with this. Exploring an open world is great, but to me it's not filled enough where I also actually find anything other than shrines (which I actually do like to apart from gyroscope crap) and yet another empty lodge between some trees. Not knowing where I should go is fine, but I don't really have the feeling I find interesting things along the way before I know what that one thing I have to do is.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

I’d compare SMG to SMB3 and SMG2 to SMW. It’s a toss up as to which game is better

I can get behind that comparison... mostly because I favor SMB3 over SMW just as I favor SMG over SMG2. Mario 3 really was the first peak for me... something also indicated by my preference for Mario Maker levels built with the 3 elements over those built using SMW elements, despite the greater interactivity and complexity of some of the latter.

 

[JimmyRustler]

And meanwhile I sit here and wait for the rain the finally stop so I can climb the god damn wall...

Holy shit this game is driving me crazy. I just literally came to this wall and wanted to climb it when it started raining. So I warp back to the tower and hike back again to the same place just for it to start raining again. So I take a piece of wood, light it and wait until morning. Guess what? It‘s still raining.

Grade A game design. 10/10. Best game ever made.

Got enough of this shit for a week now.

 

[Hotel Security]

And meanwhile I sit here and wait for the rain the finally stop so I can climb the god damn wall...

Holy shit this game is driving me crazy. I just literally came to this wall and wanted to climb it when it started raining. So I warp back to the tower and hike back again to the same place just for it to start raining again. So I take a piece of wood, light it and wait until morning. Guess what? It‘s still raining.

Are you in the Jungle? There's a plateau there which ALWAYS rains no matter what and I had a very similar moment of frustration when I was trying to scale a wall to get up there and was so annoyed that it kept raining. The only way there is to work your way up the waterfall until you're above that plateau and then jumping down. Once you solve a puzzle there to reveal the shrine, the constant rain will stop.

As for TC, your solution is simple. Just play BoTW. Play it get 100% of everything. Play it and beat it without getting any heart upgrades. Play it and beat it with only wooden sticks. Find excuses to play around with it over and over.

There's no rule that says you have to play other stuff...if you really love a game and it's better than everything else. I know people who buy Call of Duty or Madden every year and that's ALL they play all year long. They don't need anything else.

My man. Galaxy 1 is what I'd call the Mario peak of all peaks, and it's perfectly analogous to BOTW for me in terms of its impact on the franchise.

I'd disagree on the "impact" of SMG. Yes, the planets concept was new but it's still the same basic gameplay, style and moveset that was introduced way back with Super Mario 64. BotW was a much bigger change to that series than SMG was. I never thought I'd spend 440 hours on a Zelda game but BotW did it.

And I always felt SMW was vastly superior to SMB3. I don't know why, but SMB3 just felt like a grind...maybe most folks like it because they'd skip half the levels but, boy, it felt boring slogging through every level in that one. SMW and Yoshi's Island never felt that way.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

And I always felt SMW was vastly superior to SMB3. I don't know why, but SMB3 just felt like a grind...maybe most folks like it because they'd skip half the levels but, boy, it felt boring slogging through every level in that one. SMW and Yoshi's Island never felt that way.

Mario 3 dates back to pre-save file days, so of course it expects a very different kind of play session. I would expect that the most common way to enjoy it -- certainly the case in my family -- was to load it up, get the first two whistles (which you can obtain within 5 minutes of starting the game, an intentional design decision so that warping to any world shortly after starting is expected of the player), and then choose a single world to warp into and play. Each day was a different world, so we'd rotate which one we were interested in. One would certainly never just play through all the worlds in sequential order as you might now on an emulator.

Anyhow, Mario 3's level design is perfection, and demonstrates considerably more ingenuity and variation than SMW in my view. There are so many unusual places in the game that are borderline experimental and never wear out their welcome the way so many overly long SMW courses tend to.

 

[Hotel Security]

Mario 3 dates back to pre-save file days, so of course it expects a very different kind of play session. I would expect that the most common way to enjoy it -- certainly the case in my family -- was to load it up, get the first two whistles (which you can obtain within 5 minutes of starting the game, an intentional design decision so that warping to any world shortly after starting is expected of the player)

I agree with you that the game is designed for players to use the warps...but when a game is not really enjoyable when it's played all the way through then I'm sorry but I'm going to be reluctant to raise it up to this legendary status. SMB2 had the same no-save feature and I loved playing that game all the way through. SMB3 felt like a grind.

Anyhow, Mario 3's level design is perfection, and demonstrates considerably more ingenuity and variation than SMW in my view. There are so many unusual places in the game that are borderline experimental and never wear out their welcome the way so many overly long SMW courses tend to.

I would have to respectfully disagree. Each SM3 world featured one new concept that was repeated in each of the 6/7 levels that follow afterward. Roy's Airship world is probably the biggest offender and there were just too many levels. I felt that SMBW had a lot more features both in how to tackle challenges, how to discover the hidden paths, and an entirely optional world of levels (which is an SMB staple nowadays). Obviously, everyone has their own takes but I thought SMW had more variety. And I'd also rank Yoshi's Island above them both in terms of variety and challenges, including adding stuff to find for completionists. A shame that none of the sequels could live up to it.

 

[Alan Silvestro]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now.

Did you play Bloodborne?

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

We're about to take over this thread with the age-old Mario 3 vs. World debate, but I can't resist one more...

I would have to respectfully disagree. Each SM3 world featured one new concept that was repeated in each of the 6/7 levels that follow afterward. Roy's Airship world is probably the biggest offender and there were just too many levels.

Wha... I feel like we played two different games. Mario 3 has a uniquely high density of ideas that are not repeated and only appear in a single level: ideas like kuribo's shoe (entire mechanic for one small stage!), the attacking sun (introduced for one stage, and a later brief appearance), the red flying para-beetles that you must hop to climb upward (for a single stage, again), etc... and then countless unique environmental design ideas that are very different from one another and only used once or twice max (the level made almost entirely out of blocks that turn to coins; the level where you ride upward on arrow blocks; the level that is basically a maze of broken blue pipes; the tower to the sky; the cave where you escape by flying up with a shell; the mad star-driven speedrun across black muncher plants; the mazelike level where you blast your way through walls with bobombs; etc etc).

 

[AgentP]

I'm the opposite.

I'm playing for the first time and trying to cross some damn river. The water kills me, the cold kills me and the load times are long. I'm on the edge of just giving up since nothing has been compelling yet.

Don't get me started on the weapon and shield breakage.

 

[Kreydo]

.
I played FFXI for 7 years straight, not playing anything else. Good luck finding any other form of entertainment to get that level of attention from me.

Even if I don't agree on FFXI being a good MMORPG representative, I agree on the fact that MMORPG at first (15 years ago) was the pinacle of video game, and there is no actual game that reproduce the level of entertaining.
The promise was real with totaly seamless words, impactful feature on servers and player community, player creating their own adventure, game based on sharing, teamplay, with dynamic events etc.

Unfortunatly we all know what happened to the MMORPG when publishers did their take over with the themepark form to milk people.
I still believe in several years, "oldschool" MMORPG will rise under his original glory formula to deliver the best gaming experience, I'm pretty sure there is an audience waiting for this... Because yes, adventure isn't instance farming, or 10$ mount collecting guys.

 

[Gamernyc78]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now. Nothing i'm playing sinks its teeth into me as much as it did. Nothing make me feel like I did walking, running and floating around that wonderful, beautiful world.

I feel like I've been jilted by the perfect woman and I can't find someone as amazing as she was. And heaven knows I'm miserable now. Fuck you BotW. I HATE YOU! :_(

I was the opposite, after experiencing Horizons lush, populated worlds with awesome enemies, weapons, story and combat, it was off putting to play other rpgs I literally forced my way through Botw thankfully eventually i started enjoying it somewhat. lets not get into how i couldnt even get back into Witcher 3.

 

[Codes 208]

A Link Between Worlds and even Hyrule Warriors ruined BotW for me. BotW is a great game but it's not as fun as the 2D Zeldas. I found it to be boring. It's a great game with a highly-interactive environment, but it's no masterpiece. All dungeons looked the same. The music was so-so. Worse, many features that were already made for the Wii U version such as maps and inventory management on the Gamepad were stripped so that the Switch version would look superior. I'm glad you enjoyed it though. If you have problems playing other 3D games after BotW, switch to 2D and try Hollow Knight. For $15, I think it's worth a try.

How is HW a 2d Zelda game? Hell, how is it even comparative to 3d or 2d? It has no dungeons, doesnt play anything like actual zelda and the music was just meh covers of older zelda tracks like the boss music. It's fun for what it is sure, but I wouldnt place it in the same realm as the great games like OoT, ALttP, WW, MM, BotW.

I'm the opposite.

I'm playing for the first time and trying to cross some damn river. The water kills me, the cold kills me and the load times are long. I'm on the edge of just giving up since nothing has been compelling yet.

Don't get me started on the weapon and shield breakage.

Talk to the old man near the entrance of the gate to the cold area (theres several pepper plants in front of it, its just south of the maze shrine and near a wooded are of birch trees) at his cabin after you cook a pepper with some meat and a bass and he'll give you his coat which negates the cold. As for the river you have two options: Create some elixirs to rejuvenate your stamina and climb the clffs south of the river or cut down the trees next the river and use them like a bridge.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I am having a hard time enjoying games lately (and perhaps it is beyond games, but leisure..). Perhaps I should investigate the Switch and this new Zelda. I have fallen off and am having a hard time getting back on the train. I miss Zelda, miss entertainment, but hard to justify and stay still and consume these days.

 

[kevin_trinh]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now. Nothing i'm playing sinks its teeth into me as much as it did. Nothing make me feel like I did walking, running and floating around that wonderful, beautiful world.

I feel like I've been jilted by the perfect woman and I can't find someone as amazing as she was. And heaven knows I'm miserable now. Fuck you BotW. I HATE YOU! :_(

I have the same playing TW 3 after BB, and threw it off after 6hr becoz of shitty combat.

BTW Xenoblade Chronicles X have the same Open World level as BOTW, i suggest u try this if you have the Wii U

 

[Chairman Tickles]

Coming fresh off Zelda BOTW I felt the same as OP, but I let some time pass which allowed me to get into and finish Horizon-mainly for the story. The gameplay and zone traversal in horizon was grindy by comparison. Similarly Assassins creed is very grindy. Give it a couple of months, stay away from BOTW then jump into some story heavy games that help push you forward. Xenoblade is indeed one of those. To last through Assassins Creed, stick to main story missions and avoid the rest. You can always do the rest later.

 

[Seanze01]

I put about 10 hours into it and could not get into it. I felt like I gave it a fair shake and then sold it. I know this will sound weird, but I felt like the game was too open. I wanted more direction and a little bit more hand-holding in the beginning. Just wasn't for me, but I can see how people would put this as their favorite Zelda. I may try it again once I have less of a back log and more free time.

 

[onlyoneno1]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now. Nothing i'm playing sinks its teeth into me as much as it did. Nothing make me feel like I did walking, running and floating around that wonderful, beautiful world.

I feel like I've been jilted by the perfect woman and I can't find someone as amazing as she was. And heaven knows I'm miserable now. Fuck you BotW. I HATE YOU! :_(

You need to play Skyrim again.

 

[OldBoyGamer]

Did you play Bloodborne?

Yeh those games are just too rock hard for me tbh. I really don't like replaying sections over and again like 20x cos I've died so much.

Having said that. Maybe something as deep in combat as that might be a good thing for me now. I'll give it a try - I've got the PS4 version on ps+. Cheers.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

It's one of the best games I've ever played too, but it hasn't spoiled me on other games, not at all.

 

[HOSKINGJ]

I know what you mean. For me, for example, the climbing mechanic is so well implemented and fun that when I eventually go back to MGS V, I'm worried how I'll feel missing some of BOTW's elements.

 

[Kreydo]

You need to play modded Skyrim again.

Fixed.

 

[Sleepydays]

Absolutely see where the OP is coming from...the only thing that's helped is going back to retro games. Stuff like HZD and even GoW just don't do it for me after Zelda.

 

[geordiemp]

Thought the combat in BOTW was simolistic and crap, and the overworld empty - I dont have time to waste wandering around and get bored easily.

At the moment I stuck with GOW on give me god war mode, love the challenge and gmeplay, takes me back to NG black. So many games today have terrible combat that does not scale well at all to hard modes.

 

[iHaunter]

Was an 8/10 for me. Solid game, not ground breaking.

God of War was a far better overall IMHO. Albeit different genres.

 

[humansarehorses]

The game's pretty shit, though. The traversal mechanics are mediocre (climbing) to atrocious (horse riding and "sailing"). That's to say nothing of the asinine idea to have the stamina meter tied to running.

Combat's baaaaaad. It constantly takes you out of the action because weapons are fragile. Avoiding enemy encounters altogether is a much, much better strategy. The enemies are poorly designed as well. Horizon understands how to make engaging enemy encounters. Fights with Fireclaws, Scorchers, Thunderjaws, etc. are bombastic and require some skill. Whereas in BotW, the timing for parries just seems... off. Regular enemies aren't any fun to fight even if weapon durability went the way of the do-do.

The world has large stretches of empty land and the game content is a bunch of fetch quests, chores, and "puzzles." Plus there are other poor design choices like weapon inventory limits. Nothing says "explore this world" quite like limiting what you can carry.

Yeah, it's pretty shit.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

For those that can't "get" the unique magic of BOTW... its world feels alive in every little detail, where other open games feel like a stiff animated character walking through a pretty yet static backdrop.





Video is amusing, but a couple other random details that show the unique polish of BOTW:

- sound is integrated into everything; your footsteps of approach are affected by not only terrain and your speed, but even rain, armor, etc. Sneaking up on enemies (or wildlife) is a game in itself if you choose to play it (cooking potions for stealth; stealth armor; managing weather and angle of approach; etc).
- elements like fire (lightning, wind, weather, weight, metal / magnetism, etc etc) are integrated into everything. You shoot a fire arrow into water and it puffs into steam; you can burn anything that seems it should burn; you can start a fire then use the heat rising updraft to boost your flight; even just carrying a flame sword on your back adds heat to your immediate surroundings, so you can walk right next to ice and watch it slowly melt. Catch an enemy on fire in a fight, and if his weapon is made of wood, he might put out the fire on his clothes then come at you swinging his new fiery staff in revenge.
- The world has a kind of vegetative logic that can be pursued to your heart's content: learn the unique ingredients obtainable from the trees and plants in every region and learn to combine them in new recipes etc.
- I've watched just plain funny things happen, like a weak skeleton picking up a wind sword I just knocked loose from one of the Yiga ninjas I was fighting in a random encounter, before he could pick it up himself, and suddenly swinging a relatively powerful weapon to interrupt the battle we were having from the sidelines. All of this is animated so smoothly in every case.

 

[AgentP]

For those that can't "get" the unique magic of BOTW... its world feels alive in every little detail, where other open games feel like a stiff animated character walking through a pretty yet static backdrop.

I can't agree sorry. That video is nothing more than cherry picking at its finest. I don't want to mow the lawn in HZD. All games are simulations and therefor fake. BotW does not feel any more alive. It feels like a giant art project, like Flower. It's barren, but pretty. Can you throw an apple in the water and see it float? Great, do I care? I care more about game play, combat, characters, story. Not cutting the grass.

I'm still early in, but I don't see why people praise it so.

 

[onlyoneno1]

Fixed.

Thanks

 

[OldBoyGamer]

For those that can't "get" the unique magic of BOTW... its world feels alive in every little detail, where other open games feel like a stiff animated character walking through a pretty yet static backdrop.





Video is amusing, but a couple other random details that show the unique polish of BOTW:

- sound is integrated into everything; your footsteps of approach are affected by not only terrain and your speed, but even rain, armor, etc. Sneaking up on enemies (or wildlife) is a game in itself if you choose to play it (cooking potions for stealth; stealth armor; managing weather and angle of approach; etc).
- elements like fire (lightning, wind, weather, weight, metal / magnetism, etc etc) are integrated into everything. You shoot a fire arrow into water and it puffs into steam; you can burn anything that seems it should burn; you can start a fire then use the heat rising updraft to boost your flight; even just carrying a flame sword on your back adds heat to your immediate surroundings, so you can walk right next to ice and watch it slowly melt. Catch an enemy on fire in a fight, and if his weapon is made of wood, he might put out the fire on his clothes then come at you swinging his new fiery staff in revenge.
- The world has a kind of vegetative logic that can be pursued to your heart's content: learn the unique ingredients obtainable from the trees and plants in every region and learn to combine them in new recipes etc.
- I've watched just plain funny things happen, like a weak skeleton picking up a wind sword I just knocked loose from one of the Yiga ninjas I was fighting in a random encounter, before he could pick it up himself, and suddenly swinging a relatively powerful weapon to interrupt the battle we were having from the sidelines. All of this is animated so smoothly in every case.

Thanks for sharing those videos - very interesting. I really didn't like HZD when I first started playing but persevered and really enjoyed it by the end.

For me, this kind of... 'living environment' sets the tone for a completely immersive game. Some of these things aren't things you might even actively notice, but when their presence is removed, you do. It's a bit like walking past a tree in real life every day for 10 years on your way to work. You just don't notice it. But if one day they chopped that tree down, you'd be like 'WTF? Something's different'.

It's an incredibly powerful thing that works on varying levels. This 'living world' is what pushed BotW above everything else for me - but that includes not just the physics and the way nature worked. It included the characters, the built history, the background stories as well as the levels of interaction Link has with it all.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Not even kidding. After playing BotW earlier this year, a game that I personally feel is one of the best games I have ever played and certainly the best game in modern times, I am now struggling to play other games.

Horizon DLC - played 20 mins. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Monster hunter World. Played 5/6 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.
Assassins Creed origins. Played 3/4 hours. Can't find the motivation to continue.

To say nothing of my backlog. Divinity, Darksiders HD, Fallout 4, MGS5 etc. Can't find the motivation to play or continue them from where I left off.

Then, last night. The final smack in the face. God of War. Played about 2 hours. It's obviously a highly polished game and a lot of love has gone into it. But the linearity of it just makes me go, ugh....
I'll keep playing but I'm not enthusiastic as I should be.

Nothing compares to BotW now. Nothing i'm playing sinks its teeth into me as much as it did. Nothing make me feel like I did walking, running and floating around that wonderful, beautiful world.

I feel like I've been jilted by the perfect woman and I can't find someone as amazing as she was. And heaven knows I'm miserable now. Fuck you BotW. I HATE YOU! :_(

BOTW did a lot of things right. It's gameplay is a hallmark in our modern age of gaming. Lot's of cohesive elements. But it's also monotonous, redundant and short.
You should play more games. Because an outrageous opinion like "BOTW has ruined my gaming!" just comes off as lazy. There are plenty of games out there. BOTW is not the end all, be all. It's a fantastic game, but it felt like a tech demo with a story.

 

[888]

Meanwhile I can’t enjoy BOTW. Something about it just doesn’t click. I have taken down a few guardians and went on a completion streak collecting stuff on the map. Probably 20 hours in. I hate the weapons system, it ruins it for me. I long for the days of just having a single sword and shield.

 

[Kreydo]

The thing is BOTW is the first open world with gimmick for many console user and specialy Nintendo fans(Wii generation), so for them it's some kind of a new thing.
It's a very good game, more polished than many other similar action game, but in the end you still play a blank kid in a cartoon world.