Breath of the Wild review: The most complete Zelda game to date
It’s been a week full of nothing but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch. It’s pretty much perfect, which is no surprise.
For years, we have been waiting for Nintendo to finally release The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It seemed like the game would never release. Initially, it was supposed to launch on the Wii U and even with those plans in place, it faced multiple delays. Then, Nintendo announced that it would launch simultaneously on the Wii U and their newest console, the Nintendo Switch.
At long last, it’s officially here. We can’t remember the last time a game had this much hype behind it. Of course, there are games that have been very disappointing because they didn’t deliver on all their promises. Breath of the Wild isn’t one of those.
From the trailers and gameplay clips alone, you could tell that this game was something special. After putting in over 40 hours of gameplay, it’s pretty much perfect. With a game like this, it’s nearly impossible to try to pinpoint any flaws. There simply hasn’t been any Zelda game (or any game, for that matter) that has accomplished what Breath of the Wild has. This game is outstanding.
We’ll be going in-depth in this review but try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
The unique story-telling
In prior Zelda games, there’s a story that you follow from beginning to end. It’s the highlight of each entry and one of the facets that make the series so special. Breath of the Wild goes in a new direction.
Don’t get it twisted — the story still has a huge presence. However, there are certain elements of it that you can miss out on if you don’t complete everything the game has to offer. How you approach the game is completely up to you, so we recommend you do everything to get the most out of the story.
At the start, Link wakes up in a place known as the Shrine of Resurrection. You have no idea what’s going on and there really isn’t any indication of what to do next. You’re practically on your own and only have one item to guide you: the Sheikah Slate.
From there, you venture out into the vast and beautiful world of Hyrule. While the player has the freedom to choose the next move, there is an idea of what to do next and is presented with the choice to follow it or not. That being said, you can’t do certain things without accomplishing others. It’s practically impossible.
Ultimately, you have to rescue Princess Zelda from the evil force known as Calamity Ganon. This is the one aspect of the game that’s very familiar. Your main objective in every other game is saving Zelda from an evil villain. That’s all we’ll say about the story.
Please take our word for it. There’s so much to discover in this game that adds to the story. We definitely don’t want to ruin the experience and we would prefer you to figure it out on your own. In reality, that’s what you have to do. The way this game approaches the storytelling is something special and we’ve never seen any other game do it in this manner.
A big part of the story is the huge open world of Hyrule, along with the characters and creatures you’ll encounter.
Gorgeous open-world and interesting characters
Hyrule has always been a huge world to travel through and see what you can find. In Breath of the Wild, the world is as beautiful and vast as it has ever been. The visuals are absolutely stunning.
Compared to their competition, when it comes to graphics and performance, Nintendo doesn’t really hold up. However, they’re best at taking full advantage of their hardware. In essence, Nintendo is the master of aesthetics. They know which art style works for their games and they utilize it to its full capacity. Breath of the Wild is the perfect example.
Despite some frame rate drops when the Switch is docked and played on the TV, the world is absolutely beautiful. The grass, the water areas, the trees, the creatures; everything is visually pleasing. Without a doubt, this is most visually appealing game Nintendo has ever made.
Part of what makes this open world so interesting is how it sets itself apart from other games. In most open-world games, you see a certain area and are free to travel to it, but there are usually limitations. For example, you can’t walk through every door in certain buildings and you can’t climb up every mountain. That’s not the case in this game.
Literally, everything is approachable and open to being explored. You feel like you’re reaching the end of the map and once you reach that point, you see something else that you can travel to. There are no limits when it comes to exploration. You can climb up any mountain and swim to any island (if you don’t run out of stamina, of course). It’s truly groundbreaking.
As you encounter different locations, such as towns and different islands, you’ll encounter different characters and creatures. Those creatures are crawling everywhere, which forces you to be cautious. For once, Zelda feels like a survival game. You have to fight to survive in order to obtain food, weapons, and armor. If you aren’t careful, you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of a Bokoblin club.
For the most part, Bokoblins are the enemies you’ll run into the most. If you don’t have the right equipment, they can be challenging, and in the early stages, very frustrating. You adapt to your surroundings, though, and it becomes much easier to advance through the game.
There are other enemies, such as Guardians, which are extremely powerful. They’re impossible to fight early in the game, so it’s best to avoid them until you’re properly equipped.
The characters are as interesting as ever. For the first time in the series, voice acting has been introduced. Not every cut scene contains voice acting, but the game blends voice acting with text dialogue very well. The voice acting adds a certain flair to the characters that makes them that much more interesting.
At the same time, there are some characters that are annoying because of their voices. Then again, that’s more of a good thing rather than a bad thing. They’re doing something right.
As you travel through the world, you’ll meet all kinds of people, both good and bad. You always have to be on your toes and be ready for the worst. It’s very exciting and keeps everything fresh and original.
The visuals and those who inhabit the worlds are great. It’s what you can do in the world that makes this game most memorable, though.
The gameplay (Shrines, dungeons, and combat)
When it comes to combat, you basically learn as you go. You pick up a weapon and take out some Bokoblins. If you’ve played other Zelda games, then this shouldn’t be difficult. However, there’s a certain challenge to fighting enemies since they do much more damage in this game.
If you aren’t careful, they’ll take you out fairly quickly. Also, the enemies come at you all at once. You can be focusing one and another will attack you from behind. That’s definitely something new to the series.
There are a variety of weapons to use as well. Most of the weapons are found in the world. You can find them in treasure boxes, which are found in the world or in Shrines, or you can take them from enemies once you kill them.
The most annoying aspect of these weapons is the durability. None of the weapons last forever, and eventually, they’ll break after using them for too long. It’s very tedious but at the same time, adds a different dynamic to the game, which is cool.
The Shries are big parts of the game’s overall tapestry. Shrines are trials that you complete in exchange for spirit orbs. With these orbs, you can pray at certain Goddess statues and receive hearts or extra stamina. Most of the Shrines are puzzles, but there are some that contain enemies to battle. As always, you’re rewarded for your efforts.
These are extremely fun, but not all of them are cakewalks, making them all the more rewarding. They’re scattered across the world of Hyrule, so you’ll constantly run into them as you’re exploring.
Last but not least are the major dungeons. There are only four in the game, which is more than enough once you see what purpose they serve. The dungeon design is incredibly well done in each. There are certain things you have to accomplish before actually getting into the dungeon, which adds something additional that is fun to do.
Overall, based on the combat and puzzles, the game is very familiar and stays true to that Zelda formula. The new aspects and gameplay features are what truly shine and make the game stand on its own.
Next: Breath of the Wild: How to recover Vah Medoh
Verdict
Without a doubt, this is the game of the year. In fact, this may be the greatest game of all time. It is best Zelda game we’ve ever played from top to bottom. From gameplay, like combat and exploration of the gorgeous world, to the interesting characters and captivating story, Breath of the Wild mixes all these elements to make one of the greatest games ever made.
This is the perfect game for Nintendo to launch on the Switch and there aren’t many flaws to point out. It’s hard to see how Nintendo surpasses this game in the future. An absolute masterpiece.