When Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto announced Breath of the Wild (BotW) in 2013, they stated that they were going to challenge the conventions of the Zelda game, as well as the expectations of its massive fanbase. Quite a promise after almost 20 games in nearly 30 years, but to say that they delivered on their promise is almost an understatement.
The term 'reboot', which is often abused to avoid terms like 'sequel' or 'prequel' or any other word synonymous with franchise milking, applies quite well for BotW, as the makers have freed themselves from past shackles and limitations in storytelling and gameplay. They already admitted that it became increasingly difficult to shoehorn every new Zelda game into their somewhat contrived Zelda timeline (gameplay over continuity, as it should be). And they were aware of the growing criticism towards the series' increasing reliance on linear gameplay: a heavily scripted sequence of challenges in fixed order, little opportunity for free roaming, and a potentially annoying sidekick keeping players on track.
So whether you believe that BotW is a sort of 'Hyrule history rewritten', or (more popular) takes place many generations after the other games in a unified timeline; and whether you like to find directions or prefer to just go about by yourself: this game caters to all those tastes. The past is the past, and the saga starts from scratch. In fact, the Hyrule we once knew barely exists anymore, since an abomination called Calamity Gannon laid waste to it, and not even the Chosen Hero Link and Princess Zelda could stop him. Link wakes up a hundred years later, his body restored through some sort of magic technology, but with no memory, in a ruined land largely devoid of people and reclaimed by nature. He needs to retrace his old steps to see what happened a hundred years before, and what he can do to stop Ganon this time, and prevent history from repeating.
That is essentially the basic plot. The introduction will bring you up to speed with the controls, game mechanics, a brief history lesson and some directions, but from there, you can go about doing anything, in any order you please. There are interesting sidequests that are highly recommended for a richer gaming experience, such as restoring your memory, seeking out old allies, finding the legendary Master Sword. There are shrines and Divine Beasts that take the role of the traditional dungeons, where mastering challenges, solving intricate puzzles and defeating bosses will lead to rewards in the form of weapons, powers, clothing, armor and the ability to increase your hearts or stamina; there are tons of sidemissions, and the game will keep track of all quests and missions for the completionists. But when and how you tackle them is completely up to you. You can immediately go to Hyrule Castle in your shorts while armed with a stick, but few will get far that way. And it's also completely against what this game is about: to explore, learn, discover and experience.
Hyrule used to be managably big, but here it's enormous, begging comparisons with Middle-Earth or Westeros. The secluded area that you start in is already half the size of the Hyrule from Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess. But from every blade of grass, every rock on a mountain to every cloud in the sky, it is amazingly rendered in the most luscious details, even in hand-held mode, doing justice to the power of the Switch. Zelda games were always known for their rich variations, and this one is a designer's triumph. The rugged mountains, the lush vegatation and the ruined cities looks simply staggering, without feeling repetitive. Some locations feel vaguely familiar (Zora's Domain, Eldin Volcano, Gerudo Desert, Hyrule Field and the Castle), but only ten times bigger and more daunting. There are also entirely new areas, all designed with tons of love, giving every region in Hyrule its own unique character. Taming a horse to ride on is certainly an asset, because many new locations are on the far horizon, longing to be explored. BotW is what you can call immersive gaming, where the journey matters, not the destination. You can spend days just roaming around, checking out areas for useful items or interesting characters. The game gives you amounts of freedom virtually unseen since the very first Zelda game.
This open world concept also means that there are surprisingly few bounderies. After the intro, you can basically travel anywhere on the map, with distances and local factors being the only limiting factors. Scaling an icy steep mountain? No problem, with enough stamina and warm clothing. Deserts? As long as you can stay cool and have proper transportation. Oceans? Find yourself a raft. Deep chasms? That's what makeshift bridges or a paraglider are for. Part of the challenge in conventions is that this world obeys to the laws of nature and features realistic elements like wind, gravity, rain and fire. Over the course of the game, you must learn to weather them or use them to your adventage, just like natural resources and man-made objects that you can trade with other people to get to new places. The game actually rewards creativity, which is one of its main assets.
Another change in gameplay is its focus on the survival element. A paraglider and a Sheikah Slate with some pre-programmed functions (no Zelda without bombs, of course) are technically the only items that the game grants the player; no hearts will drop, and there are no convenient treasures to help you get out of the particular predicament that you are in. Sure, there is plenty of stuff to find, like ingredients to make your own food and potions, because this world is as dangerous as it is beautiful. Enemies appear in every shape, size and strength, and an unprepared encounter with the wrong one can mean instant death. Link will need to find armor, weapons and shields for defense, which will break after continued use. That latter part was a great source of frustration in Skyward Sword, but here it feels like an integral part of the gameplay. A LOT of trial and error is necessary to find your enemies' weak spots and the best attack strategies, but perseverance and looking for hardships are rewarded in this feral world. The moment that you finally learn how to defeat that Ancient Guardian, Lynel or giant Hinox is a triumph you won't soon forget.
There are some downsides to this Zelda New Style. The Zelda community is still split on the decision to do away with most of the narrative. There is little plot with few scripted events, and most of it comes in the form of backstory. There are many characters to talk to, but most of them only set you on sidemissions, and do not contribute much to a richer main plot. Some see that as a shortcoming, but the sidemissions have always been part of the fun and added value in Zelda games. Every area in Hyrule, especially the inhabited ones, seems to have a story to tell on its own, and all those rich histories and mythologies do add to the overall backstory. The fact that game offers you the choice to pursue them or not is a great asset, and you can make the experience as deep and rich as you wish.
A special mention for the score, since my version of the game came with the soundtrack. It features some original compositions that vary from bombastic to subtle, with surprising choices of instruments, but often with something recognizable in the melody. A lack of musical themes reflects the relative absence of a pervasive narrative, but instead, the score changes to whatever your location is or what you are doing, capturing the mood and atmosphere of the moment, which perfectly enhances the sense of adventure. The music at Hyrule Castle is a perfect example.
In short, BotW does not try to break new grounds in storytelling, but instead reinvents the series by focussing on exploration of the great unknown, in which it reaches new heights in gameplay. Nintendo has taken the series in a bold new direction, and it would certainly be a shame if they did not return to this fresh new Hyrule and gameplay. But with a sequel announced at the E3 2019, we no longer need to worry about this.
The term 'reboot', which is often abused to avoid terms like 'sequel' or 'prequel' or any other word synonymous with franchise milking, applies quite well for BotW, as the makers have freed themselves from past shackles and limitations in storytelling and gameplay. They already admitted that it became increasingly difficult to shoehorn every new Zelda game into their somewhat contrived Zelda timeline (gameplay over continuity, as it should be). And they were aware of the growing criticism towards the series' increasing reliance on linear gameplay: a heavily scripted sequence of challenges in fixed order, little opportunity for free roaming, and a potentially annoying sidekick keeping players on track.
So whether you believe that BotW is a sort of 'Hyrule history rewritten', or (more popular) takes place many generations after the other games in a unified timeline; and whether you like to find directions or prefer to just go about by yourself: this game caters to all those tastes. The past is the past, and the saga starts from scratch. In fact, the Hyrule we once knew barely exists anymore, since an abomination called Calamity Gannon laid waste to it, and not even the Chosen Hero Link and Princess Zelda could stop him. Link wakes up a hundred years later, his body restored through some sort of magic technology, but with no memory, in a ruined land largely devoid of people and reclaimed by nature. He needs to retrace his old steps to see what happened a hundred years before, and what he can do to stop Ganon this time, and prevent history from repeating.
That is essentially the basic plot. The introduction will bring you up to speed with the controls, game mechanics, a brief history lesson and some directions, but from there, you can go about doing anything, in any order you please. There are interesting sidequests that are highly recommended for a richer gaming experience, such as restoring your memory, seeking out old allies, finding the legendary Master Sword. There are shrines and Divine Beasts that take the role of the traditional dungeons, where mastering challenges, solving intricate puzzles and defeating bosses will lead to rewards in the form of weapons, powers, clothing, armor and the ability to increase your hearts or stamina; there are tons of sidemissions, and the game will keep track of all quests and missions for the completionists. But when and how you tackle them is completely up to you. You can immediately go to Hyrule Castle in your shorts while armed with a stick, but few will get far that way. And it's also completely against what this game is about: to explore, learn, discover and experience.
Hyrule used to be managably big, but here it's enormous, begging comparisons with Middle-Earth or Westeros. The secluded area that you start in is already half the size of the Hyrule from Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess. But from every blade of grass, every rock on a mountain to every cloud in the sky, it is amazingly rendered in the most luscious details, even in hand-held mode, doing justice to the power of the Switch. Zelda games were always known for their rich variations, and this one is a designer's triumph. The rugged mountains, the lush vegatation and the ruined cities looks simply staggering, without feeling repetitive. Some locations feel vaguely familiar (Zora's Domain, Eldin Volcano, Gerudo Desert, Hyrule Field and the Castle), but only ten times bigger and more daunting. There are also entirely new areas, all designed with tons of love, giving every region in Hyrule its own unique character. Taming a horse to ride on is certainly an asset, because many new locations are on the far horizon, longing to be explored. BotW is what you can call immersive gaming, where the journey matters, not the destination. You can spend days just roaming around, checking out areas for useful items or interesting characters. The game gives you amounts of freedom virtually unseen since the very first Zelda game.
This open world concept also means that there are surprisingly few bounderies. After the intro, you can basically travel anywhere on the map, with distances and local factors being the only limiting factors. Scaling an icy steep mountain? No problem, with enough stamina and warm clothing. Deserts? As long as you can stay cool and have proper transportation. Oceans? Find yourself a raft. Deep chasms? That's what makeshift bridges or a paraglider are for. Part of the challenge in conventions is that this world obeys to the laws of nature and features realistic elements like wind, gravity, rain and fire. Over the course of the game, you must learn to weather them or use them to your adventage, just like natural resources and man-made objects that you can trade with other people to get to new places. The game actually rewards creativity, which is one of its main assets.
Another change in gameplay is its focus on the survival element. A paraglider and a Sheikah Slate with some pre-programmed functions (no Zelda without bombs, of course) are technically the only items that the game grants the player; no hearts will drop, and there are no convenient treasures to help you get out of the particular predicament that you are in. Sure, there is plenty of stuff to find, like ingredients to make your own food and potions, because this world is as dangerous as it is beautiful. Enemies appear in every shape, size and strength, and an unprepared encounter with the wrong one can mean instant death. Link will need to find armor, weapons and shields for defense, which will break after continued use. That latter part was a great source of frustration in Skyward Sword, but here it feels like an integral part of the gameplay. A LOT of trial and error is necessary to find your enemies' weak spots and the best attack strategies, but perseverance and looking for hardships are rewarded in this feral world. The moment that you finally learn how to defeat that Ancient Guardian, Lynel or giant Hinox is a triumph you won't soon forget.
There are some downsides to this Zelda New Style. The Zelda community is still split on the decision to do away with most of the narrative. There is little plot with few scripted events, and most of it comes in the form of backstory. There are many characters to talk to, but most of them only set you on sidemissions, and do not contribute much to a richer main plot. Some see that as a shortcoming, but the sidemissions have always been part of the fun and added value in Zelda games. Every area in Hyrule, especially the inhabited ones, seems to have a story to tell on its own, and all those rich histories and mythologies do add to the overall backstory. The fact that game offers you the choice to pursue them or not is a great asset, and you can make the experience as deep and rich as you wish.
A special mention for the score, since my version of the game came with the soundtrack. It features some original compositions that vary from bombastic to subtle, with surprising choices of instruments, but often with something recognizable in the melody. A lack of musical themes reflects the relative absence of a pervasive narrative, but instead, the score changes to whatever your location is or what you are doing, capturing the mood and atmosphere of the moment, which perfectly enhances the sense of adventure. The music at Hyrule Castle is a perfect example.
In short, BotW does not try to break new grounds in storytelling, but instead reinvents the series by focussing on exploration of the great unknown, in which it reaches new heights in gameplay. Nintendo has taken the series in a bold new direction, and it would certainly be a shame if they did not return to this fresh new Hyrule and gameplay. But with a sequel announced at the E3 2019, we no longer need to worry about this.