5.5.2017

I’ve been a Zelda fan for 27 years, and have played and completed almost all the games in the series. That said, the series has veered into a comfort zone over the past decade or so, to the point of even becoming the butt of jokes: More and more rigid linearity, excessive hand-holding, formulaic progression and the recycling of very dated and unintuitive mechanics has seen the series eclipsed by the freedom of The Elder Scrolls, or the anytime-anywhere emergent gameplay of the GTA series.BOTW throws out many of the worn-out tropes associated with the franchise and freshens everything up. Gone are the gimmicky weapons and items like spinning tops, gust jars and clawshots.These things have been rendered useless because the game now runs on a (mostly) realistic physics engine. As a prime example, Link doesn’t need a special item that can only attach to very specific anchor points to get up on a ledge, because he can now climb on any surface and over any obstacle, stamina permitting. Instead of the usual dungeon-specific items, Link is given a set of special powers during the first stage of the game, which he can use to manipulate the world around him and any puzzles he comes across :A hanglider, Infinite remote bombs, Magnetism, Time-stopping for objects and the ability to form ice pillars from any water surface (even vertical waterfalls). These are the only powers you will ever specifically need to solve any puzzle anywhere in the game. You can also use ad hoc solutions (lighting a torch or an fire arrow to burn or light up something, for example) and Link does learn a few new tricks along the way, but none of these bolt-ons are ever essential to progress – there are often several ways of solving puzzles, and combining your various powers together is sometimes the key.What I didn’t expect is how rarely you have to call on any of these powers to get about. Previous games had you constantly switching between your toolset to move from place to place - not here. For the most part, Link can cheerfully make his way around under his own steam; sprinting, swimming, sneaking, climbing and fighting. The combat will be familiar to any 3D Zelda veteran, but there a few new tricks to learn and the whole thing is a lot more smooth, organic and intense than in previous titles – there are some very nasty enemies out there and if you’re not careful, you can be overwhelmed and killed easily. In keeping with the self-sufficient motif used throughout the game (you find and cook your own food to survive or buff, make and light your own campfires to rest and cook by etc.) swords, shields and bows are all treated as consumables – they will all break without fail after sustained use and you’ll have to scavenge what you need from your foes, or from the environment itself. Your Mileage May Vary on how this affects your enjoyment of the game, but I will say that it’s the aspect I was dreading the most prior to playing, and I subsequently found that in practice I didn’t mind it at all – in fact when I obtained a ‘rechargeable’ weapon later on in the game, I found myself slightly disappointed that it had upset the mechanic of finding and replacing your weaponry. I will also say that once you have discovered a type of weapon for the first time, you’re much more likely to keep finding it as the game goes on, even in regions you’ve already explored. This means that you do end up with a much stronger arsenal as the game goes on - there’s no chance of having to take on the bosses armed only with a mop or a tree branch, unless you’re deliberately that masochistic.At the beginning of the game, the land of Hyrule doesn’t seem to be all that huge: When you first step out into the open air, Hyrule castle and Death Mountain seem to be just a short trek away. Once you leave the carefully-isolated mesa where the game starts off however, you begin to get a truer sense of the game’s scale: That peak in the distance isn’t the polite little Death Mountain from Ocarina of Time where Link only had to go up a couple of slopes from Kakariko village to get to the top of it: it’s an enormous active volcano hundreds of feet above sea level and even the foothills of it are bloody miles away. Now, don’t get me wrong – we’re not talking about some crazy, Just Cause sized deal with the game world here – but it is very broad and there’s an enormous amount of verticality. More importantly, this isn’t just big open space for the sake of it. Every inch of the game’s world has been lovingly crafted and filled with clever little secrets and interesting geography for you to discover. You go on a journey with the intention of doing one thing and then get side-tracked with an eye-catching piece of scenery and end up drawn into a totally different area following a completely new objective. Also, due to how well drawn the world is, you can travel around without ever opening your map screen, just using landmarks to orientate you. In fact, the game is so well designed that HUDs and maps are fairly redundant – I’ve played the whole thing with the Pro HUD, showing only Link’s hearts and stamina, and I avoid using the map or fast-travelling if at all possible. There are no floating arrows or annoying companions to guide you here – you have to actually pay attention to the game itself to know what you’re supposed to be doing, and there’s no-one to nag you if you don’t.And that is perhaps the greatest retool in BOTW: Linearity is gone. Once you escape the plateau with all your powers in the first hour or two of play, you are free to go anywhere and do anything you want. There are no restrictions. You are informed of several plot coupons that Link is supposed to find and activate, in typical Zelda fashion, but you’re free to ignore these completely – and not just “ignore these until you want to progress the game” – you can actually JUST NOT DO THEM and finish the game anyway. There are also a large number of Sheikah Shrines around the land of Hyrule which Link can visit to train and better himself: The easiest way to describe these are like low-tech versions of Portal’s test chambers: self-contained puzzles and occasionally, combat drills which help strengthen Link for the battles ahead. Sometimes, even finding these shrines is a puzzle in itself, with snatches of old songs or local legends holding clues on how to reveal or reach these hidden entrances. And yet again, you’re free to completely ignore these (although you probably won’t want to, as they’re great fun and help increase Link’s life and stamina). The lack of linearity even extends to how you negotiate the land itself: There are loads of times when you can bypass a certain challenge by thinking outside the box: Need to find a secret temple deep within a jungle, down a dangerous river trail guarded by crazed, electricity-based enemies? If you can climb up a nearby mountain, you can simply hanglide down into the clearing where the temple is, bypassing the dangerous bit (although of course, climbing the mountain holds its own dangers…) It’s this freedom to approach the game any way you want, both literally and figuratively, that lifts BOTW head and shoulders above typical ‘open-world’ games crowding the market.Now, there are a few flaws of course. Up close, everything looks very nice – graphically, the game strikes a great balance between the cartooniness of The Wind Waker, and the increasingly confused-looking style used in recent games like Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword – this is how Zelda games should always have looked. However, textures are sometimes a bit muddy and ugly-looking from a distance due to the dated hardware – you can smell the HD Remake coming on this one already. Also, the frame rate does flag a bit from time to time – not badly and not often, but it’s a thing.Also – and this section might contain very mild spoilers – I think the game could have done with being even more mysterious and obtuse than it is. If you do decide to go after the big plot coupons – and let’s face it, you probably will at some point - you find yourself suddenly smack-dab in recent-Zelda-game territory, led from cutscenes to set-pieces by local guides who tell you everything and do most of the work in getting you to the dungeons required (and if you play the game you’ll understand why even getting into the dungeons should be a massive undertaking in itself), rather than you having to figure out and then execute these plans yourself. This is another case of Your Mileage May Vary, but for me it runs against the feeling of freedom the rest of the game evokes. Also, once you get to them, these dungeons are a little underwhelming; there are barely any enemies and only a few sparse but well-designed puzzles framed in quite small areas. As for the bosses within the dungeons? Well, you meet more difficult and well-designed normal monsters that spring out at you while you’re roaming around the world. It’s a shame, especially in a series known for its elaborate and grotesquely gorgeous menagerie of bosses down the years.One other small niggle for me is that there are no real internal areas – it would have been great to venture into some caves or old ruins given the way that light-sourcing and survival are handled with this engine. I do understand why this didn’t happen – the game is designed to take place out in the open – but when you do get to explore Hyrule Castle (not a spoiler, it’s on the box art and is the second main landmark you see) and experience how this is handled – the innards of the castle are part of the same world as everywhere else and the whole thing is perpetual – you realise that it would have been great to have a few more places like this dotted around, for some Skyrim-style dungeon crawling or MGS themed infiltration. I do think that, with the sheer amount of space in the game world, it would be very easy to bolt on some areas like this in DLC, but whether that’ll happen or not is anyone’s guess.One final aspect of Mileage-Variance is the audio. There’s voice acting in certain key cutscenes which you may or may not like, and you might find some of the voices a little ‘off’. The best approach might have been to have the voice acting done in a made up dialect, a la Twilight Princess or the Team Ico games, although a recent patch lets you download the voice tracks in loads of languages and use whichever one you want, which might improve your experience slightly. The music leans heavily towards the ambient side: Don’t expect to step out onto Hyrule field and have a rousing theme start playing as you run around – you’ll be lucky to get a few tinkly piano keys every couple of minutes. Even the music that there is could be described as, well, ‘inoffensive’. Unlike previous games, I’d struggle to hum any of the tunes from the soundtrack, even after 100+ hours of play. Given some of the glorious and memorable themes we’ve had from the franchise down the years, it’s a little strange.However, these are minor flaws in an otherwise superlative package. Yes, there have been some rather, er, suspicious reviews among the pro community for this game, but believe me when I say the game doesn’t need any of the hype or controversy to carry it. Everything else aside, this is an excellent title, one of the best videogames ever made and something everyone needs to check out if at all possible.

19.10.2017

I originally reviewed this back in March 2017 when the game first came and instantly gave it five stars. However, after revisiting the game I started to notice some cracks that I feel many have over looked or ignored. Now this is not to say the game is bad in anyway, quite the opposite in fact but they should not be ignored if we want even better Zelda games in the future.So here it is. After what seems like an eternity, the next installment in the Zelda series is here and it has made some big changes while it has been away. Some for the better and some not so much. However, is the game any good? The short answer is yes with a but.The game starts with a familiar style for the Zelda series with our hero Link waking up to the sound of a mysterious voice.After a quick change of clothes (if you want to that is!) and a new tablet like device at his side, our hero Link is ready to begin another adventure in the land of Hyrule. I feel that the opening sequence is easily going to be one of the most remembered moments in the series history as Link runs up a short hill to look over the vast land that awaits him. All of which can be travelled to and explored at the players own pace. I can easily see people talking about that moment years from now for good reason, it is amazing, and sets the stage from the get go. The music that plays is simple yet touching and fits the scene perfectly.After this, the game starts in a small area that acts like a tutorial zone, which will take around one to two hours to complete depending on how to tackle it. This area works extremely well to show the player that this is no ordinary Zelda game. You must clear four shrines which act like mini dungeons to unlock player abilities but apart from the first one, the other three can be tackled in any order and in anyway. A good example is a shrine that sits on top of a cold mountain. On my first play through I carry a lit torch to keep of the cold and yet my second play through I unlocked a warm coat and climbed up the side of the mountain. This gives you an idea of how varied the game is.As I mentioned just, the game has introduced a temperature system. This means when you enter a certain area such as a cold maintain, you will need heated clothing or cook something to keep you warm. The same for the hot places like Death Mountain where you need armour to keep you cool. This is one of the features I was worried about but has now become one of my favourite in the whole game.After that, you can go anywhere at any time. Some of the areas however are clearly designed for later on in the game as the biggest and most difficult monsters are in those areas. You can go there if you want but you will die almost instantly until you have unlocked a good amount of hearts and upgraded your armour.One of the most notable problems some will have is the games unbalanced difficulty when it comes to monsters. Some can be taken out with ease yet just a few yards down the road, the same type of monsters can deliver an instant death especially if your number of hearts are low. The game does thankfully save quite regularly so even when you do die (I said when not if) it’s never more than a few moments back but the spikes will put many people off the game and certainly newbies or younger players to the series may not be happy with seeing the game over screen time and time again. While it’s certainly not Zelda 2 hard, it’s still unpredictable how much health you will lose in a fight. However, once you’ve upgraded your armour to full and have the best weapons, the game can become too easy where enemies do almost no damage but you can kill in just one hit. While not game breaking in anyway it is unbalanced at times.As for the health, that has had a complete overhaul in this game. Gone are the dropped hearts to replenish your health and in comes cooking. The game is littered with ingredients, meats and fresh fruit that have different effects depending on how they are cooked. At first, I didn’t like this idea but it does grow on you as the game progresses. It’s akin to having a health pack with you at all times. One of the biggest annoyances though is the health doesn’t regenerate which is something odd for an open world game or at least, the ones I have played such as Skyrim.The graphics in this game are very impressive for the system with a Studio Ghibli vibe to them. They are done in a cel-shading style but unlike the Wind Waker cel-shading in the world has many details. The water effects are great, the world feels alive and you want to keep exploring even long after completing the game. Truth be told, I have spent more time wondering around the world then playing the main quest.On the flip side the sound is probably the worst part of the game and especially for a Zelda game. The sound effects are spot on with every weapon making the correct sound (clanging of metal or the thud of wooden swords) and on their own get a ten out of ten. However, the music is the huge let down overall. One thing that nobody can deny is that the Zelda games have some of the greatest and most iconic video game music ever created. That is sadly lacking in this game. It does have a soundtrack but it is mostly ambient in its style. Unlike say the Elder Scrolls games that play beautiful music when traversing the world. It’s really missed when the only sounds are the wind blowing, birds tweeting and the odd piano key now and then. However, certain areas do have proper music such as Zora’s Domain and the Horse Stables that it is all-orchestral and sound fantastic.The voice acting is hit and miss. Some like the Goron’s and the Rito sound pretty good but others like the Mipha of the Zora Clan is quite poor and Zelda herself can sometimes be cringy. When compared to other voice acting in video games it does need some work. However, I do think adding voice acting is the right move for the series and if you ask me, it should have been adding back in Twilight Princess. I hope this does return for future games in the series but better voice actors are used. I personally changed it to Japanese once the update came out and it sounds a thousand times better.Now on to the gameplay. One thing that the series has brought back from Wind Waker is the ability to use enemy’s weapons and this time you can keep them. I really enjoyed this idea as each weapon has it’s strengths and weakness and does mix up gameplay for the better. However, the durability of these weapons is ridicules. They can break at the drop of a hat. For example, I found a trident in Zora’s Domain and it broke after throwing it at one enemy. Swords can break after less than five hits and so on. As I said I really like the idea but the weapons need to last a lot longer than they do. It does force you to think fast about what weapons to use but at the start of the game it is insane when you are given a stick and it breaks in three hits. I actually found myself avoiding conflict completely.The climbing feature is also something new to the series and I do believe it is not just the best thing to happen to a Zelda game but could be one of the best things to happen to an open world game in years. Everything is truly open to you and nothing is out of bounds. You can climb almost any surface making the game world truly open. One complaint I’ve always had about Skyrim is getting stuck trying to climb a mountain where in this game, that’s not a problem!Speaking of the game world, it amazing to see what Nintendo have made and for the first few hours it will astound you. However, later on it will start to become a little tedious, as some areas are just too big for their own good and without a horse can take a long time to cover a short distance.Oh and another thing, for some reason everyone but the Hylians are giants. I really mean it, the Zora’s, Rito and the Gurudo are about eight foot tall! Not sure why.So on conclusion do I recommend this game? I’m going to say yes.However, many will disagree but I have found this game is not the same the second time around. Ocarina of Time is still my personal favourite and I play it at least once a year and enjoy it every time. However, wen I played this through for the second time it lost all of its fun. The shrines become boring, the dungeons can be done in less than 15 mins and it just didn’t hook me like so many other entries in the series.Oh and why have they removed the file select? Seems like a step backwards there.My first play through I rated it a strong third but at this point, I rate it as my sixth favourite in the series.The game is not perfect in anyway and many of the critic’s scores are a little too generous for my liking as they overlook some of the games minor problems but it is a triumph none the less. It has some creases that need to be ironed out in the future but if this is the direction the series is going in, then I for one will be one happy Zelda fan once again….just don’t let us wait another six years for a new Zelda next time, Nintendo.Game play:-17/20Graphics:- 18/20Sound:- 15/20Value for Money:- 20/20Replay Value:- 16/20(86/100). A must buy.

4.3.2018

One thing I noticed about Breath of the Wild (BotW) when first starting the game cart and many other times since, the Nintendo Switch's cooling fans will kick in for about a minute. I looked into this issue and it turns out that this is a common fault and you shouldn't be concerned that your switch is overheating. You should feel cold air coming out the vents and it shouldn't last longer than a minute.The game from the very start looks absolutely stunning, I really appreciate the art style they have gone for, it really does makes everything look beautiful and I am sure it's pushing the Switch to it's very limit. There isn't much sounds as you progress through the game and this is okay.Most of the sounds will be background noise and this I appreciated as it matched the tone of the game.Lets get straight into the controversial decision to include weapon breakages. This has been may peoples issue with BotW, you find lots of weapons as you progress through the world however you can only use it a certain amount of time before it breaks. Luckily you can collect korok seeds found throughout the world which can be traded for extra weapon slot spaces (also applies to shields and bows). The problem though isn't that the weapons break, you will collect more than you will know what to do with, the issue is how quickly they can break. Seriously I could fight one enemy and go through 3 different weapons. Another problem people will have is that once they find a favorite weapon they may put it aside and not use it. I found myself doing this quite a lot and there really wasn't a need.Weapons, shields and bow's all break (apart from one) they can't be mended or brought back, once they are gone they are gone.Staying on the subject of weapons, each weapon can act in different ways, one thing that really amazed me with the level of detail in this game. In a freezing cold area and want to heat up? use a ice sword to cool your body down. In a thunder storm? do not equip anything metal or you will get struck! See an huge snowball? stand next to it with a heat sword and it will melt. See a fire or in a very hot area? don't walk through it with a wooden shield or bow as they will catch on fire... very clever stuff. Side note, you can use your shield to shield surf! a great way to get down a hill although be warned this will effect its life.Something that some people miss, you can purchase a house if you hold enough rupees. Another great way to store items.The story itself isn't that great in my opinion but that doesn't really matter. As soon as you get out of the first area you are free to travel the world as you see fit. There is more than enough things around the world to keep you entertained including multiple side quests (mostly fun) Shrines which hold within trials that could be a battle or puzzles to solve. Link's memories to find and of course the main game quests.Going back to puzzles as clearing these shrines will grant you an orb which can be traded in for extra life hearts or stamina. You will need life hearts as they will make progressing some of games enemies easier and stamina for running, fighting and climbing. The higher the stamina bar the higher you can climb......apart from when it's raining, which is also another of the games faults! Yes it looks pretty when it does rain and yes it's great that it makes link slip when he does climb but when you can't progress until the rain stops it can become very frustrating. This also applies to lighting touches.The shire puzzles are for the most part, fantastic! they can sometimes be a puzzle to find the shrine in the first place. There are tons and tones of these shrines which also once found can be used as fast travel points. Some of the puzzles use motion controls which aren't the easiest to use. However I did get a kick out of realizing you could use metal weapons as a way to connect electric points! genius!One other little niggle I had with the game and that was cooking. You will need to learn how to cook in this game by mixing foods to make meals to replenish your health or bugs and monsters to create elixirs! this itself isn't a problem, the problem is that no where is there anyway to store these recipes! your choices are to either remember or keep a pen and pad handy.Combat is extremely fun, I never got board of the combat in the game however I did miss having dungeons and boss fights. You will come across what I would call mini boss battles (or harder enemies) and there are some sort of boss battles in the main quests however these aren't the same as previous games.I did like that fact that one of the games cyclops enemies holds weapons around his neck and there is a stealthy way to get them without entering into a battle.....I'll leave this to you to find out.Don't be concerned that you are running out of enemies to fight in this huge world as they will spawn at every red moon, a little to often for my liking but this is personal preference.All in all, this is one of the best Zelda games I have ever played. The world is stunning to traverse, the soundtrack is subtle and beautiful and combat is rewarding. While the game is by no means perfect it is pretty close. 80 Hours of game play and I will return to mop up missed shrines and side quests. This for me would have clinched my game of the year for 2017 had I a) played it last year and b) hadn't played Persona 5.

15.11.2017

Tl;dr- This is like a classic LoZ game combined with the sheer exploration potential of an Elder Scrolls game and even more on top of that. It's now my favourite game and you can tell even as soon as you've reached a story milestone that you'll get hundreds of hours out of the game in one play-through if you do everything. I found it quite hard to write this review because 1. I wanted to talk about absolutely everything I like but that would just be spoiler city and 2. I honestly just wanted to stop typing to play the game more!This game has to be, by far, the best game I have ever played. I bought the Switch because I wanted to play this game though was somewhat sceptical if the cost would be worth it.I haven't had as much fun in a video game as I have with this one before. I'm aware that a lot of people who are classic LoZ fans aren't happy with this game given they claim it's "not a LoZ game" though for the most part I have to disagree.The base of the puzzle dungeon aspect is still there. Just because the puzzles are split out across over 100 instances doesn't mean that the feature is gone and for me it's the puzzle dungeons that make the LoZ franchise. The puzzles being split into so many smaller little "trails" as they are called is, to me, a really great idea. They all teach you a way to use your equipment which is useful for later trails or for the main story quest. In addition to this, you've got a massively expansive world with a great variation of terrain (each example of which brings its own hazards in enemies and how the environment affects you such as snowy mountains being dangerously cold) as well as a great combat system where you can either get by just attacking when you can or you can really learn how it works which is rewarding once you get it down. There's also the food system where you can hunt or forage for ingredients and then cook them to create various dishes which provide health as well as many different buffs depending on what you cook (for example you can cook a meat skewer with meat you hunt for which gives a good amount of health, then you can create a similar dish but with stamina-restoring properties if you add another ingredient which restores stamina when cooked to make a healing item that also restores stamina and so on). In addition to the cooking you can also brew potions witcher-style using monster drops and various herbs found in the world so you can get more effective or longer lasting buffs without the health boosts.The open-world potential of this game really impressed me. Not only through how you can just ignore the main story quest and go off to do whatever you want while still having a load of fun, but there's so many small details that make this game so special. You can climb every tree, every mountain and just about everything else that is obviously not supposed to be climbed on (though the list of things you can't climb is very short). You can fell trees with an axe, cut the log into firewood, pile the wood up and then set fire to it using any source of fire you may have (flint, lit torch, lightning strike, the list goes on) and then use this fire either as a means to keep yourself warm in a cold wilderness/at night, to open-roast food to cook it quickly and to skip time by resting beside it. Every item of clothing does something different (basic clothes, armour, cold-resistance, heat-resistance and so on).The story of the game may not be for everyone due to the style it was written (minor spoiler--- it's written in the retrospective, learn about the past as you play kind of way---end spoiler) though I really like it, you're not forced into playing through the main story quests and all there's so much additional lore to search out. You don't get a "hand-holding" experience with the story, quest markers on your map aren't necessarily pointing to the solution and you usually have to do some asking around or pathfinding in the area that you're pointed to in order to work out what you need to do.Overall- this game is worth buying a Switch for alone, anyone who enjoys puzzles, exploration, combat, little features which let you play the way you want to play- this is the game for you!

7.3.2017

Having never written an Amazon review for a product, I just could not hide my feelings away from this fabulous game. As you can, I'm in love with this game and being a huge Zelda fan my expectations and anticipation were exceedingly than any other video game. Having played video games for 20 years does this rank above them all? Lets find out.GraphicsThere have been mentions of frame issues from several publications, however during my playing 20 hours of playing time with the game these do not detract from the gameplay experience (Note, when playing docked frame rates do become more frequent). Aside from these hiccups, Nintendo has created there most beautiful game to date.From the beautiful vistas in the outer world to the charming and vibrant villages you come across in the game, Nintendo has done an excellent of potraying the original Legend of Zelda (1986) NES game which has inspired the design of Breath of the Wild. The varied locations, the beautiful sceneries and landscapes make this a beautiful game to behold. (9.8/10)GameplayNintendo has created their most dense, articulate and compelling gameplay mechanics in their entire video gaming history. From cooking food, to managing inventory, upgrading clothing/weapon slots...the list goes on. The game is truly massive and yet it is a harsh and brutal game that requires patience and deep thinking. The depature of 100s of shrines compared to the dungeons (which there are in this game) is a huge change that has seemingly impressed me so far. Combat is fairly challenging and it's important to workout your enemies movements, for you to strike and possibly encounter a flurry attack. One minor complaint that may differ from other individuals are the horse controls which feel stiff and unresponsive to control at times. Though if that is the only thing to complaon about the gameplay in Breath of the Wild then that is saying something. This iteration of gameplay mechanics in a Zelda game is near flawless. (10/10)ValueIs this worth you money? Considering this was made for the Wii U and those that still own one it would be hard to recommend to buy a Nintendo Switch just for Zelda as launch titles are pretty dire where there are no other big games to choosr from. However, to those individuals I say this; you miss the form factor of playing Breath of the Wild wherever you go, whether it be in bed, on a commute, airplane or even the toilet. That is the value proposition here. The game itself is more than 100 hours (plus DLC), which all the more makes it worth more than the moneys worth. To those that have never tried a Zelda game this is perfect to get into the series, whereas Nintendo and Zelda fans alike probably own the game already. This is a must buy if your purchase the Nintendo SwitchVerdictIs this the greatest game of all time? Having been ranked inside the top 5 games in history on metacritic there is no reason to believe why it may not be. Personally, I believw this is an even greater achievement that Nintendo has accomplished with the Zelda franchise and formula since Ocarina of time (which is a timeless classic by the way). But seeing how much the series has developed and changed over the years building up to what the developers had envisioned a Zelda game to be all those years ago, this is a masterpiece on open-world design. Breath of the Wild is truly breathtaking and one of the most joyous and satisfied gaming experiences I have had since maybe The Last of Us. Is this the greatest game of all time? The answer to that question is a resounding 'YES'! If not, this is the best game Nintendo has ever created and will be a timeless classic in many decades to come. (10/10)Score: 10/10

7.4.2017

*potential spoilers*Ooooh, where do I start? Okay, so yes, this game is incredible. It's just bloody massive. The style is wonderful, the mechanics are very clever, and there's just so much to do!So why not 5 stars? Well, it's because I just can't quite fully embrace this in the same way as I embraced OoT and particularly, TP. I still think TP is the best Zelda game to date. There's something about the atmosphere of that game that resonates with me.I think what gets me here is the break in tradition, which I know some will be loving, and fair play to them. The more realistic feeling of BotW is superbly done - weather affecting play, exhaustive, perishable weapons, hunting and gathering food - it's all brilliantly done,but it's just an added consideration I don't want to have to have in a Zelda game. Things like wanting to explore something by scaling the cliff face above you, but having to wait for it to stop raining, or wasting a ridiculous amount of stamina potions to be able to climb it. Having to constantly find new weapons because the ones you've got keep breaking gets a little tiresome for me. Yes, I have the Master Sword, but even that runs out of energy and needs a cool-down period (plus it's actually disappointingly low in terms of its attack power which is a bit of a pity).The distinct lack of dungeons, as we know and love them is also a pity. Yes, there are four "dungeons" in the form of the Divine Beasts, but these are short and quite repetitive and the bosses are all pretty much the same, with some elemental differences. Dungeon bosses are one of the fundamental attractions of a Zelda game! These ones are a good challenge, yes, but they feel very unoriginal.The shrines are good, and quite varied - some require a trial of sorts before it reveals itself which can be good fun. Some have some interesting physics to play with, and some have some ridiculous and unwanted "oh dear Lord, are we back on the Wii again" physics which are just horrible.The game feels very much like Skyward Sword in style. Even some of the music and sound effects are very SS. That's not necessarily a bad thing; SS had some great moments, but not a huge amount (mainly because it was on the Wii, relying on those hellish motion controls).I think the main appeal of this Zelda is the sheer scale of it, which of course was the biggest selling point. The story is alright, not amazing, but good enough to feel something towards the characters. The freedom to go wherever you want is great, and it's funny having to learn for yourself which enemies to avoid. Even now, after a lot of upgrades and such, I was feeling very confident about going up against the biggest foes on the field, and had taken a fair few down that I had originally just crawled into a ball at when I first saw them. But only last night I was having a wander around and found something that absolutely annihilated me, despite top-level armour and some awesome weapons. So that's a challenge for another day!So yes. All in all, I would say it was worth the wait, but I feel like they've taken some of the great Zelda elements out of it to make way for a more realistic experience, to match a lot of other games out nowadays, on the bigger boy consoles.As a game measured against other games like it, it's awesome. As a Zelda game, it's just good.Oh, I should mention the additional bits in the collector's edition version. Master Sword model: awesome. CD: haven't opened it as I'm being an idiot nerd. But it looks lovely.

3.3.2017

Absolutely blown away by this game. It was a long time in the making and finally it is here! With a big welcome from the Switch and a loving farewell to the WiiU. Personally I am playing it on the WiiU and so my review is for that version. I will try and avoid any SPOILERS but there maybe some.The graphics of the game are beautiful, taking a lot of inspiration from Skyward Sword. These type of cell shaded graphics mean the gameplay and the cut scenes are fluid, as well as giving people, animals and Link more expressions, movement and character. The cutscenes in this game are beautiful, they are cinematic and have voice acting, which has also been done very very well.Previous Zelda titles often had cutscenes which were sometimes a little static, like watching a book more than a film. Breath of the Wilds scenes are dramatic and fast and fantastic (and memories you retrieve can be replayed).The gameplay is also very unique for a Zelda game, you can run, jump and climb; with the stamina bar back again, and freely move the camera. This makes the humongous game easier to navigate, change direction and take on enemies.The enemies are interesting. They have an intelligence to them that many games do not. They alert others of your arrival once you're spotted, they work in groups and use a variety of weapons (including fire). They move wonderfully, have a very long range and will chase you down! Your weapons are also more often than not to come from these enemies. Although you can get weapons from chests etc once they break you need more and the enemies have a wide variety for you to chose from!The size of the map is very very large, I am now out of the Plataea and well into Hyrule itself. There are rivers, streams, ruins, villages, camps, stables. It is a very big and ALIVE world. You can interact with the grass, the bugs, the wildlife, the fires, the cold, the rocks. Anything you see you can use in some way, whether it be to get to another area, to use as weaponry, clothing, or wood or food etc.The way the world is used for you is really exciting. Rather than drop hearts the world makes you work for your health. By hunting you can collect meat, by making a fire you can cook it and you are encouraged to mix foods and items to make meals and elixirs to heal yourself, make yourself stealthier, make yourself warmer/ colder etc. There are a couple of ways in which to add a heart container and/or expand your stamina wheel, the common way is to pray to the goddess and offer her the Spirit Orbs you collect as a reward for completing shrines.I could go on and on, however the game is so big I can't comment on everything for an Amazon review. Positives however are the graphics, the amazing story, the enemies, the size of the map, the shrines and simply the beauty of the world and how you interact with it.On a negative note I have had frame rate drops, which were more annoying than anything else. It didn't affect my playing but shuddered the experience. Afterall this game has been a long time in the making and it should have been perfect. (EDIT: A RECENT UPDATE APPEARS TO HAVE FIXED THIS!) Yet, it IS near perfect. It is the whole Zelda experience. There is so much to explore and find. It is very different from any previous Zelda and yet you feel right at home; its like every Zelda was leading towards this (the music is a nice nod towards each game also). Happy adventuring :)

19.8.2018

THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW :) (At the bottom is a full list of pros and cons, which is a summed up version of this review)Breath of the wild was an extremely charming and welcoming surprise for a gaming experience within the Zeldauniverse. Having fully played through the entrire game, i can say it was truly fantastic.It is a beautifully crafted world and filled with tons of content to enjoy. It is filled with some great detail, with each area of this open world, having some meaning or use - which is quite rare for an open world game, usually having irrelevant areas which are just there to fill time, this game it feels amazing to go off and explore.There are no restrictions,if you see something of interest - you can gon explore it. You will find yourself doing numerous side quests for fun and finding intriguing and challenging puzzles and enemies to test your wits and skills.Graphically this is one of the most beautiful looking zelda titles for a while, it feels as though it is a unique artstyle as many games take a modern approach to games in terms of realistic graphics, so this is a welcome differentiation.Whilst there is a story in this game, it takes more of a backseat to the world and gameplay, it is still present within the game - having a main goal backstory etc. However the story is quite nice to see and the cutscenes are fully voiced, which is a first for zelda, but was surprisingly good and a welcomed inclusion. The character of zelda felt a lot more developed than some of the previous titles in the series.GAMEPLAY, the gameplay is fantastic. There are so many new additions to the mechanics and a variety of fun random things you can do, it truly is amazing. There are so many weapons in this game, allowing for different ways to attack enemies, really keeps you on your toes. When playing the game, because the core mechanics are so much for, you find yourself creating and finding out new things to do all the time, you find yourself messing around having fun just creating stupid scenarious to kill an enemy - it can be really hilarious. The great thing anout this game is that i kept finding new things to do even late into the game, i had figured out randomly towards the end, i can pull my shield out, jump on it and surf down a hill. And i spent embarrasingly a long time doing this, and combining it with other mechanics into the game to do some really fun and stupid things.Bug wise i have personally not come across any throughout my whole playthrough, and i feel as though i did everything content wise that i could, and during this whole time i did not come across one bug.This is a truly fantastic game and i would recommend this to anyone whether you are a newcomer to the series or a longtime fan, it will truly be a fantastic experience for you. 10/10 game.Pros:Lots of contentAn amazing world to exploreNo bugs (personally)Beautiful graphicsMechanically fantasticA truly fantastic worldMusic is blended in well to fit the scenario of what is going on within the gameCons:The story, whilst still good, takes a little bit of a backseat in comparison to that of other zelda games.

11.3.2017

If you're of a certain age, then you will have no doubt experienced the rare milestones throughout years of video gaming. Well, Breath of the Wild is that next milestone. Just as the likes of Super Metroid and Super Mario 64 established their respective genres, Breath of the wild has a "wow" factor that will leave you almost speechless.Link awakes from a 100-year slumber with little clue as to why so, or where he even is. With nothing more than a short promise from a mysterious female voice, a tree branch and some fetching underwear, you can guide Link around a huge, sprawling landscape that is just waiting to be explored.There are small prompts to guide you throughout the opening phase - but it is not until you start making friends that your quest becomes clear.In fact, one can travel towards the 'end' phase of the game right from the beginning; though defeat is certain. This gives you an idea of the freedom and realism on offer.The simplicity of the story serves a purpose, which is that it underpins your narrative. You play the game how you want to play it, and as such become a director. More importantly, I think what makes Breath of the Wild different to other open world games is that it has real integrity. Link must become at one with the environment to complete his quests, and that means being more thoughtful about your actions so that you can plan ahead.Do you really want to try and slay a grizzly bear that can kill you with one swipe; or would you rather sneak up, jump on it and tame it? If I have no horse to aid, should I create a bond with a dog to help scare away smaller foe? Should I traverse at night through a forest looking for acorns, or wait until the morning when squirrel-like creatures collect them?This is the so-called Nintendo Difference - a game that is built on morals we can learn from. Not a post-apocalyptic war zone with blood shed and linear objectives.While the graphics are typically Nintendo as a stylised affair (which, let's face, is a lot more interesting than hyper-photorealistic-pixel-peeping textures), I believe that it is the audio which shines through. I don't believe I've ever played a Nintendo game with such crazily accurate attention to detail - so much so that you can pass time easily through just crouching in a meadow and listening to insects, animals and the wind gushing through the grass, changing position as you move. This game also lacks a soundtrack in the traditional sense, but instead opts for incidental and atmospheric music that accompanies your style of gameplay. If you're a fan of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, then this is the game for you!As a final word on performance, I have found the game runs at a steady 30fps for almost the entirety of the play session. Where there are frame dips, it is only for split seconds during graphically demanding scenes.So don't just take my word it. The hype is, surprisingly, real - this is a treasure that will go down as the next milestone, and should be experienced by as many gamers as possible. It is absolutely breathtaking.

22.2.2018

Big and VariedThe amount of stuff to do in BotW is pretty impressive, there are plenty of places to explore, enemies to fight, items to find and quests to complete.This is the one of the biggest change ups to the Zelda formula since its inception, no more dungeons, in the traditional sense anyway, no more collecting items to advance to places you couldnt reach before. Now its about collecting monster parts, food, wood, flowers, pretty much everything. You use most of these things to create meals and elixirs that give you additional hearts and other benefits like stronger attack or defence.In place of the dungeons there are now shrines, (120 of them in total) which are more often than not in hidden or hard to find places,

14.3.2017

Okay, so it's easy for the vast majority of people to tell you how good Breath of the Wild is, and they are not wrong, it truly is a masterclass in how a game should be. I'm around the thirty hour mark I think and I am enjoying every minute. I'm playing on Switch, so at this point I'd recommend the Pro Controller as it just feels more natural with Zelda (and if like me you're experiencing Joy-con issues, Link will die unnecessarily using those)I'm well into my thirties now and the Zelda games have always been a part of life; they've become personal (if that makes sense). For example, back in the 90's (better days of gaming)

15.11.2017

This is a great game with some annoying "features". I love the Zelda franchise. It was the reason I brought the original Wii and it is the reason I got the Switch (although it couldn't entice me with the Wii U and that HIDEOUSLY huge and ugly controller). This takes the series and builds on it in a mostly positive way. There is very little in the way of hand holding and you are expected to go and explore and the surprisingly large open world. There is lots to see and do with many side quests that make you forget you are actually saving the world (or at least meant to be!).There are a few decisions with the game that I find frustrating. Your weapons die and you have to keep restocking them.

14.4.2017

Having played all previous Zelda games I assumed I knew what I was getting, and it is like previous games but much more.Similarities: Enemies and allies have all been seen before, Zora, Goron, Moblin, etc and the fighting style is the same (N64 days called it Z targeting). The story drawers you in and you get hooked on amusing side questsDifferences: it's none linear. Once you've done the first part, which eases you in but doesn't have to be done in any particular order you can do what you like, whenever you like. It's much more like the original Legend of Zelda in that respect. Added to this, I haven't found any borders yet. If you see it you can go there, climbing cliffs, handgliding to islands.

7.3.2017

Beautiful packaging master sword statue is stunning and got soundtrack cd and game and even two postcards. And the game itself on such a tiny card put in the beautiful portable hybrid machine and doesn't need four hours install and updates one small update which downloaded in about a min or two max then power on and away we go riding horse gliding doing dungeons altho not traditional Zelda dungeons they switched things up yes bad pun lol but there's a few bigger indoor type areas no spoilers on my review and a multitude of shrines which normally puzzles or sometimes combat challenges. It's big open beautiful world with lots familiar Zelda go to type things but done open and in a different way

5.3.2017

When a new Zelda game was first announced at E3 back in 2014, I, along with the gaming industry and fans of the franchise went giddy with excitement. During the three years between then and the actual release, Nintendo has teased us with the occasional snippet of news and gameplay footage. The hype-o-meter went into stratospheric proportions.Finally, I have now placed my sweaty, fevered hands on the Switch version and in my personal opinion, I think this is the best Zelda game ever. No wait, this is the best video game ever. Believe the hype, Nintendo has nailed it.The game starts off with Link awaking from a 100-year sleep in a small chamber on top of a mountain. There are no instructions,

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail