This game did the impossible: innovated in the open-world genre.

In a genre as generally stagnant as open world, BoTW burst onto the scene and immediately cemented itself as the pinnacle of that genre with its boundless exploration and endlessly intertwining systems that lead to endless extrapolation and experimentation. The story is simple enough that the player never feels rushed to push forward, and the world is so un-invasive it truly feels real despite its cartoony, beautifully realized art style. You slowly work through the story at your own pace and on your own terms, until eventually the game reaches a massive climax with an ending that left my jaw on the floor.

From beginning to end, Hyrule is completely in the player’s hands and as a result the pacing never feels too fast or too slow. The story is heartfelt, the gameplay is fun and innovative, the world is incomparable, and the soundtrack is godlike. There’s a reason this game has been copied so much in the mere five years since its release. It’s because BoTW laid out a blueprint for exactly how to do an open world right; it’s not just innovative, its one of the finest, most influential games of its generation.