Breath of the Wild is a game I absolutely adore the direction of. I will sing nothing but praises for its ideas, for its impact on the gaming landscape, for rejuvenating a franchise that had long past worn out its formula. But... I feel Breath of the Wild is reputed at a surface level. People praise what it is, rather than how it is.
The first 5 to 10-hours of BotW are magical. Open-world games have long since been content to copy-paste the same 5 activities across the whole map, with the most surface-level gameplay imaginable (the Ubisoft standard). Breath of the Wild eschews this by making the moment to moment gameplay of interacting with the world itself engaging. When you set a patch of grass ablaze the first time, you wonder why every game doesn't work this way. Why every game doesn't have a robust, believable chemistry system. Why almost every game only uses complicated physics for show, rather than gameplay possibilities like BotW. Why every game isn't this open. It's in those first hours that Breath of the Wild genuinely feels like a masterpiece.
But then those 10-hours come and pass. Another 10 are added. Then another 10. It wasn't until 50-hours in, after completing all content related to the main story, I tackled Ganon. During the time (somewhere 10 to 20-hours in) BotW transitioned from a breath of fresh air to a complete drag. After enough playtime, one learns the inner workings of the mechanics. One has ample equipment to tackle any challenge the game affords. Too cold? Put on your winter gear. A storm? Unequip your metal weapons so you don't get blasted by lighting. What was once novel & interesting becomes trite, more of the same. At that point what is one left with?
A boring, underdeveloped world. Where most of the notable content is shrines, the most uninspired thing that could fill the land. Where biomes, rather than have their own bespoke enemy types, use the same palette swapped pool of enemies from the other side of the map. Where even the main quest reuses the same general structure 4-times.
Link walks into place with environmental hazard. Meets ancestor of long-dead warrior. Completes quest to prove he's worthy. Assault sequence with ancestor. Rummages through divine beast. Get power-up. Done. Repeat 3-more times. That is the main quest of Breath of the Wild.
Ultimately, after the novelty and beauty of BotW's mechanical and chemistry systems wear off, you're left with a world bereft of wanderlust. Where you don't want to explore those mountains, because you already know what awaits. The same that was in the coppices. The same that was in the marshlands. The same handful of enemy types. The same simple puzzle shrines. Long stretches of vaguely similar content, to the point where the monotony borders on insanity. It all blends together after a while, because there's too little too few distinguishable traits strewn about. It's all the same.
Here's hoping BotW 2 takes the excellent framework established here and becomes the masterpiece I wish BotW 1 was.
The first 5 to 10-hours of BotW are magical. Open-world games have long since been content to copy-paste the same 5 activities across the whole map, with the most surface-level gameplay imaginable (the Ubisoft standard). Breath of the Wild eschews this by making the moment to moment gameplay of interacting with the world itself engaging. When you set a patch of grass ablaze the first time, you wonder why every game doesn't work this way. Why every game doesn't have a robust, believable chemistry system. Why almost every game only uses complicated physics for show, rather than gameplay possibilities like BotW. Why every game isn't this open. It's in those first hours that Breath of the Wild genuinely feels like a masterpiece.
But then those 10-hours come and pass. Another 10 are added. Then another 10. It wasn't until 50-hours in, after completing all content related to the main story, I tackled Ganon. During the time (somewhere 10 to 20-hours in) BotW transitioned from a breath of fresh air to a complete drag. After enough playtime, one learns the inner workings of the mechanics. One has ample equipment to tackle any challenge the game affords. Too cold? Put on your winter gear. A storm? Unequip your metal weapons so you don't get blasted by lighting. What was once novel & interesting becomes trite, more of the same. At that point what is one left with?
A boring, underdeveloped world. Where most of the notable content is shrines, the most uninspired thing that could fill the land. Where biomes, rather than have their own bespoke enemy types, use the same palette swapped pool of enemies from the other side of the map. Where even the main quest reuses the same general structure 4-times.
Link walks into place with environmental hazard. Meets ancestor of long-dead warrior. Completes quest to prove he's worthy. Assault sequence with ancestor. Rummages through divine beast. Get power-up. Done. Repeat 3-more times. That is the main quest of Breath of the Wild.
Ultimately, after the novelty and beauty of BotW's mechanical and chemistry systems wear off, you're left with a world bereft of wanderlust. Where you don't want to explore those mountains, because you already know what awaits. The same that was in the coppices. The same that was in the marshlands. The same handful of enemy types. The same simple puzzle shrines. Long stretches of vaguely similar content, to the point where the monotony borders on insanity. It all blends together after a while, because there's too little too few distinguishable traits strewn about. It's all the same.
Here's hoping BotW 2 takes the excellent framework established here and becomes the masterpiece I wish BotW 1 was.