The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
A Beautiful Masterpiece
There is one game that I have been looking forward to this entire console generation, and there has been some great games this generation despite me personally feeling it has been perhaps the most disappointing gaming generation there has been so far (but that's a discussion for another topic, coming soon).
Ever since the very announcement of a 'new' Zelda game which was known as Zelda U back in 2014 that would feature a massive and expansive open world that would 'break the conventions' of the Zelda franchise, i was immediately sold and hyped without even seeing any footage of what was to come.
Forward through the E3 2014 to 2016 and The whole Nintendo Switch hype and launch to the present day, as of now I am probably about 20+ hours into Zelda Breath Of The Wild, (yeah, i'm taking my time with it) and I can safely say I have never had so much fun with a game in my life like I do with this one.
Zelda Breath Of The Wild has absolutely ticked every box on my hype chart and has gone even beyond that, it's the game that I solely purchased a Wii U for back in 2014 (despite the social rejection and failures of the console) and is the reason I stuck by my Wii U instead of giving up on it despite it being a phenomenal console that has given me so much fun over the past 3 years.
And boy wasn't it worth it! Zelda Breath Of The Wild is quite possibly the greatest game I have ever picked up and played.
Now as of writing this I have explored (not fully) and mapped out three provinces in the game, completed 9 Shrines and beaten one of the game's dungeons and bosses.
The thing that really strikes me about this game, is just how vast and expansive the world is around you, once you get off the Great Plateau, which is the game's introductory province designed to get the player familiar with the expansive world that is ahead of them, it should also be noted that the Great Plateau itself is HUGE, i'm still yet to discover everything on it.
An Expansive Open World: The thing that is so mind blowing and addictive about Zelda BOTW's Open World, is the way it always feels like you're just scratching the surface no matter how many hours you put in exploring it
For me Zelda Breath Of The Wild really is a true Open World game as it refuses to hold your hand and continually force you to do any of it's main missions, sidequests or the near never ending shrines (120 of them to be exact!) You are Link and YOU create your OWN adventure, see something interesting in the distance? You can go there, and the chances are you'll end up being in the possession of something very rewarding and useful for your adventure, but on the way there, you'll most likely be distracted by multiple more things such as infiltrating a Bokoblin base and gaining loot, hunting wildlife, cooking food with collected materials, or taming horses just to name a few distractions.
Procrastination Is The Key: Zelda Breath Of The Wild rewards you for procrastination, as a matter of fact it encourages procrastination! And that's what makes this game such a therapeutic joy to play
I've very much found myself being distracted for hours upon hours, upon hours, upon hours just exploring and taking on enemies as the combat in the game is just so addictive.
Despite a few negative views from some critics of the game about weapon durability and their break-ability, I feel that this mechanic of the gameplay is super refreshing as it opens up the doors for the discovery of tons and tons of new weapons and new tactics to take on enemies.
The thing that really strikes and amazes me about the combat however, is the enemy AI, which is perhaps the most advanced enemy AI i have seen in a video game for a very long time, for example you'll come across a large Moblin in the open world, during an encounter with the Moblin, if you so choose to run away from it, if there is a Bokoblin around, it will pick up the smaller Bokoblin and throw it at you! When fighting a Bokoblin if you so much as take away it's weapon during a fight the Bokoblin will become very annoyed and agitated and instead of just standing there aimless and hopeless it will do everything it can to still try to get the better of you by using the environment around it such as throwing rocks at you or even a exploding barrel and of course with this kind of enemy AI you will be coming up short in battles and dying quite a lot, this game does not mess around!
Deadly Foes: Enemies do not mess around in this game! They will use the environment around you, against you, which i've learned the hard way on many occasions!
What really makes this game so special to me is the way in which literally EVERYTHING has a purpose, the people you meet and talk to will always have some kind of hint, secret or useful information to help you make the most of your adventure, even the dog's you meet in the game will lead you to rewarding secrets if you build a bond overtime with them by feeding them, which is just a masterstroke of game design.
The people you meet and even the adorable dogs in villages, all have a purpose in the world, you will literally learn something and discover something from everyone you interact with
The last thing I want to talk about that has given me joy with this game is horses, and the mechanics behind building a bond with horses in the world as they become a very important adventuring companion. Horses roam around in the open world and it's up to you to do your best to tame them, they can either be just wallowing around in a group, where you can simply just target a horse you like and proceed to tame it or you can find Bokoblins riding around on them causing mischief to which you can proceed to tame them after you have dispatched of the Bokoblin riding them, which was actually my first encounter of getting my first horse in the game, and boy did it feel rewarding!
What really tugs at my heart strings though is the fact that your horse can die in the game, which is something I will be making sure won't ever happen on my playthrough! As a matter of fact when my horse has been hit by an enemy it has riled me up to the point where I attack the enemy with a viscous and angry flurry, it's amazing the emotions that this game can make you feel at times!
So far in the game I have now tamed and stabled 3 horses (You can stable a maximum of 5) and I have come to care a LOT about each of them!
A Trusty Steed Becomes A Friend Indeed: Be sure to look after your Horses by feeding them fruit and soothing them now and then on long journeys, the bigger the bond you make with them, the more reliable they will be especially in battle
Overall Zelda Breath Of The Wild is a absolute joy of a game and it's one that every single gamer out there needs to experience, it's a game that i'm going to be playing for many months to come as I explore every nook and cranny of this superb open world, that has set the bar for gaming as a whole in my opinion.
It is simply a Beautiful Masterpiece.
Now if you don't mind me I'm gonna dive right back into playing it.
By Simeon Barrett
