The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out to the masses, finally, last March 3rd, 2016. The wait has been a long one, but it’s absolutely safe to say that it is one of the greats. Not everyone has been able to pickup the legendary title, however, which is a mistake and should be rectified immediately. You’re doing a disservice to yourself, seriously. You must do all that you can and find ways to experience…
Getting Lost
It’s been a long time since you were able to get lost in a Zelda game, years in fact. The last time this sense of scale or wonder was captured was back on the GameCube, with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. In order to see what was on the map, you would have to actually go to that area and talk to a fish, who also happened to be a cartographer. Breath of the Wild brings that sense of discovery back and goes one step further. In order to see parts of the map, you have to climb up towers and sync with your Sheika slate, but all you see is the area itself. There aren’t any way points or points of interest that you unlock; you have to discover all of these things on your own. You will definitely get lost in Hyrule.
Prepare To Die
Getting lost isn’t the only type of losing you will be doing; you will also just plain lose a lot, as in die a lot. The game is a lot harder compared to past Zelda titles, even when playing in Hero mode. This could be a reason why Hero Mode is part of the upcoming DLC. Even early on in the game, monsters can kill you with one swing and can take up as many as four hearts in an instant. Thankfully, however, it never feels cheap when you die. It is always clear that you aren’t going about something the right way. Plus, if you just feel like you can’t get past a group of enemies, you can just go somewhere else and do something else.
Master Chef
That something else could be something such as cooking, which is full of charm and surprisingly deep. New to the franchise, it is the best way for you to replenish your health and is absolutely vital to survive. You’ll learn to combine different ingredients that will affect the stat boosts a meal will give you. Plus, there are so many permutations and combinations, you can experiment like a true chef. Not only that, but the animations that happen, while cooking, ooze charm and quirkiness, which will remind you of cooking in the Monster Hunter games.
Also, if you want to avoid dying a lot, cook a damn meal and save Link’s lifeless body from flailing around.
Puzzle Master
Something that you will not able to avoid: puzzles. All these puzzles can be found in, what are called, Shrines. These Shrines are trials by the Goddess of Hyrule for you to overcome. Surprisingly, they’re refreshing and aren’t just your simple “Push a block to open a door,” type of puzzle. Yes, some are still fairly simple, but are cleverly executed, which make you utilize all of your arsenal to solve them.
They’re found all over the map, so there’s no shortage of puzzle for you to solve. And, if you finish enough them, you can upgrade your heart containers or stamina wheel. Again, all of these are necessary for you to survive your adventure throughout Hyrule.
These are just some of the reasons that will, hopefully, make you pick up the newest entry to the Zelda franchise. It’s a back-to-form for the franchise, while also introducing fresh ideas, with some showing influence from western design choices. If you’re not a veteran to the series, this is the best time to jump in. You don’t need any context from past entries, it just lets you play any way you want to. Just go, explore, and let the game take you wherever you wish. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a breath of fresh air and definitely worth the purchase, whether on Wii U or Switch.
Be sure to look out for our review of Breath of the Wild soon here on Sirus Gaming.