Let's get the complaints out of the way first. The weapons should not break quite so quickly. The divine beasts are too similar to each other and don't live up to the great dungeons of past 3d Zeldas. The music lacks the catchiness of past Zeldas. The ending is disappointing. The enemy variety is lacking. At launch the framerate wasn't consistent. The lack of an option for motion-based swordplay is a big step back in my opinion.
And yet almost none of that matters.
Breath of the Wild still deserves much of the praise it gets despite its many flaws, because the world it creates is just that engrossing. A huge, open, gorgeous Hyrule combines with spectacular weather and physics systems to create an experience like no other.
This is a game that forces experimentation - perhaps too much with the weapon degradation system. But the trade-off is worth it. Combat, while not as good as Skyward Sword, is still very satisfying and shows how far we've come since Ocarina of time.
Exploration and experimentation are almost always rewarded-sometimes to hilarious results with the physics.
The Divine Beasts would be a bigger issue if they were the meat of the game, like the dungeons have been for past Zelda games. However, for this time since the original Zelda the meat of the game is the world itself. And what a world it is. The various systems come together perfectly to create a sense of wonder and discovery for dozens of hours without even touching the main quest.
It's not the best game ever made. It's not even my favorite Zelda game - sitting second after Skyward Sword. But Breath of the Wild is still an amazing game every gamer needs to experience.
A world like no other
Let's get the complaints out of the way first. The weapons should not break quite so quickly. The divine beasts are too similar to each other and don't live up to the great dungeons of past 3d Zeldas. The music lacks the catchiness of past Zeldas. The ending is disappointing. The enemy variety is lacking. At launch the framerate wasn't consistent. The lack of an option for motion-based swordplay is a big step back in my opinion.
And yet almost none of that matters.
Breath of the Wild still deserves much of the praise it gets despite its many flaws, because the world it creates is just that engrossing. A huge, open, gorgeous Hyrule combines with spectacular weather and physics systems to create an experience like no other.
This is a game that forces experimentation - perhaps too much with the weapon degradation system. But the trade-off is worth it. Combat, while not as good as Skyward Sword, is still very satisfying and shows how far we've come since Ocarina of time.
Exploration and experimentation are almost always rewarded-sometimes to hilarious results with the physics.
The Divine Beasts would be a bigger issue if they were the meat of the game, like the dungeons have been for past Zelda games. However, for this time since the original Zelda the meat of the game is the world itself. And what a world it is. The various systems come together perfectly to create a sense of wonder and discovery for dozens of hours without even touching the main quest.
It's not the best game ever made. It's not even my favorite Zelda game - sitting second after Skyward Sword. But Breath of the Wild is still an amazing game every gamer needs to experience.