TotK is the game BotW should have been.
Narrative: 3--2 most of the time, the best parts can be up to 4.5
Gameplay: 3
Visuals: 3.5
X-Factor: 3
Overall: 3
TotK makes me feel regretful. I regret that I don't enjoy the game more. I regret having played BotW. I can completely understand why this game could be someone's GOTY or favorite game, but it just fell flat for me.
I loved BotW, but there were fundamental problems with the game--problems I either was able to ignore or did not notice till a subsequent playthrough. Those problems for me were: (1) combat being broken by infinite healing by pause menu and flurry rush; (2) disconnected story through memories and no strong story beats; (3) lack of dungeons and shrine content being underdeveloped. The saving grace for BotW was the exploration and the fact it was a fresh experience. TotK has all the same flaws, if not worse than BotW.
TotK did not have the benefit of being an entirely fresh experience; by the 10th-hour mark, I already felt combat encounters and shrines to be chores to do as there was little change from BotW. Gameplaywise there is little few significant changes beyond Ultrahand that make the game interesting to me. Even so, Ultrahand only was interesting for the first 20 or so hours.
My largest complaint is the story. Never have I seen such promise in a narrative only to be so disappointed. The opening with Ganondorf is so strong--the entire opening Island I kept thinking about what he may be doing, where I may encounter him and have great story moments. As I cleared the 4 main missions, my mind sank as I realized I wouldn't be getting any of those moments; he is simply waiting in a room for me to be done playing with the game.
The format of the dragon tears/memories also greatly stunts the story. Outside of inconsistencies and plot holes, the story suffers most from yet again, not including Link in the main story of the game. Link is a side character to the main story; I believe this is a side effect of Link being a silent protag that the writers feel unable to write an interesting story involving him. Thus, they thrust the main story into the past to circumvent the problem of a silent main character in a story-driven experience.
Had I played TotK fresh without ever having played BotW, this would easily be a 4/5 game with minor gameplay gripes and story complaints. Failing to address the fundamental problems of BotW made this game a chore to enjoy
Narrative: 3--2 most of the time, the best parts can be up to 4.5
Gameplay: 3
Visuals: 3.5
X-Factor: 3
Overall: 3
TotK makes me feel regretful. I regret that I don't enjoy the game more. I regret having played BotW. I can completely understand why this game could be someone's GOTY or favorite game, but it just fell flat for me.
I loved BotW, but there were fundamental problems with the game--problems I either was able to ignore or did not notice till a subsequent playthrough. Those problems for me were: (1) combat being broken by infinite healing by pause menu and flurry rush; (2) disconnected story through memories and no strong story beats; (3) lack of dungeons and shrine content being underdeveloped. The saving grace for BotW was the exploration and the fact it was a fresh experience. TotK has all the same flaws, if not worse than BotW.
TotK did not have the benefit of being an entirely fresh experience; by the 10th-hour mark, I already felt combat encounters and shrines to be chores to do as there was little change from BotW. Gameplaywise there is little few significant changes beyond Ultrahand that make the game interesting to me. Even so, Ultrahand only was interesting for the first 20 or so hours.
My largest complaint is the story. Never have I seen such promise in a narrative only to be so disappointed. The opening with Ganondorf is so strong--the entire opening Island I kept thinking about what he may be doing, where I may encounter him and have great story moments. As I cleared the 4 main missions, my mind sank as I realized I wouldn't be getting any of those moments; he is simply waiting in a room for me to be done playing with the game.
The format of the dragon tears/memories also greatly stunts the story. Outside of inconsistencies and plot holes, the story suffers most from yet again, not including Link in the main story of the game. Link is a side character to the main story; I believe this is a side effect of Link being a silent protag that the writers feel unable to write an interesting story involving him. Thus, they thrust the main story into the past to circumvent the problem of a silent main character in a story-driven experience.
Had I played TotK fresh without ever having played BotW, this would easily be a 4/5 game with minor gameplay gripes and story complaints. Failing to address the fundamental problems of BotW made this game a chore to enjoy
NOWITSREYNTIME17
11 months ago