Zelda: Breath of the Wild Discussion

I'm sure lots of us will be playing this.

Be careful not to spoil too much as I'm sure some of us avoided the later trailers. I think I missed the last 1 or 2 major ones.

I'm wondering how this is running for those of you playing on the Switch. The Wii-U seems to generally stick at 30 fps whenever you really need it, but it drops briefly sometimes when you hit an enemy and it's consistently lower in villages

Haven't had any real framerate issues on the Switch. So far I've climbed up three towers and done seven shrines including the mandatory ones. Loving every second of this game.

I really didn't know much about it before playing, so I was surprised by how different the core systems were. As much as I'm dying to get to a proper dungeon, the stuff outside the dungeons have never been this good, so I don't mind. They have added so much depth to all these small things. The overworld is amazing. Obviously I've been complaining about how they handled those for about a decade now, so this has been so much fun to explore. I even like little things they added like the quest log. I enjoy the lack of handholding (I love the way they just throw you out there to figure things out early on), but a quest log to keep track of all the missions so you don't forget one of the myriad of side missions you started is really helpful. I also like the look through your scope to add a pin to your map thing. That is neat.

Another thing I love is how it takes the tower idea from Ubisoft games, but tweaks it so you have to look around and find the areas on your own then set the markers. It makes it feel so much more like I'm discovering everything.

Yeah it seems like such a simple thing but it makes a big difference. My biggest fear was that it'd feel too formualic and checklist-y, but it doesn't. It does a lot to invite exploration.

So far my only complaints are nitpicks. I don't like how sprint and its situational counterparts are spread across 3 buttons. That's weird. And I'm still convinced that voice acting won't add much to the game. I do like Zelda's voice though

I'm totally blown away by this game. I just finished my first dungeon and it was sweet. Like the rest of the game, it surprised me in random ways. And the boss actually made me put thought into what food and weapons to use after I died a couple times. Also so many little things impress me. Like the weather. You can get struck by lightning. I was running a flame up a hill for some mission and the rain put it out. The attention to detail and thought put into all the new systems is just insane.

Took a tour into the Gerudo region today and my god, the scale of this game is mindblowing. It already looks big when you enter but it just keeps going and going. And so much of it has interesting stuff to do. A big part of that is that I'm also finding the resource collection aspect is really well balanced, where good items are plentiful enough to not be frustrating to look for but rare enough to be satisfying to find. I thought it might get annoying to find plain old arrows in chests but they run out faster than you'd think.

I want to play this game so bad...;___;

I do have to say this game could really use a simpler way to cook... I have too many big meals and not enough small ones. I could easily use the apples and mushrooms I have but it's rather laborious to make a bunch at once

Yeah, not a fan of cooking either, but the game as a whole is just fantastic. As weird as it sounds, it feels like what I wanted the Assassin's Creed games to eventually become. Climb anything, explore anywhere, fun combat with stealth mixed in, and fun puzzles to discover. I honestly haven't enjoyed a game this much since Mass Effect 2.

I've never enjoyed exploring a gaming world as much as I have this one. It has so many little things to discover. I'm constantly blown away by the what the developers have tucked away in the game. And the systemic gameplay leads to a lot of discoveries of what can be done with the various systems. It is my all-time favorite open-world in gaming. These aspects are where this game really shines. It feels miles ahead of the rest of the series here.

The dungeons (including bosses) just don't measure up for me so far though. I've played the Zora, Gerudo and Goron ones so far. I was really impressed with the first one I did. It was so different and the action sequence that led up to it was fantastic. But the others follow a very similar formula and aren't as well executed. The dungeons themselves aren't the grand labyrinths of the past either. You solve a handful of isolated puzzles to get to the terminals before the end. Between them and the shrines, my puzzle-solving itch has been scratched, but that unique feeling that large-scale Zelda dungeons deliver really hasn't. I also wish that all the dungeons and shrines weren't so aesthetically similar.

There are some other small tweaks I would make too. Little quality of life upgrades like being able to drop shields/bows from your quick select menu. But little issues like this are to be expected when you so boldly reinvent a series like this.

Despite these complaints, the game is excellent. I love it. One of my favorites of the last decade. Will likely end up as my first or second favorite Zelda. But if the dungeons were of the complexity of the best of the series this would be a serious greatest of all-time contender I think.

I beat it last night. Gonna need some time to process my thoughts, but this may pass up Super Mario World as my favorite Nintendo game. I agree on the dungeons Trip as far as them not being large scale, but I liked the take on it here. It's not scratching the same itch, but the way you manipulate them scratches a different itch so I'm okay with it. Now if we can get a dungeon that's as big as say Aribter's Grounds with that manipulation, that would be something. Also fair warning: The next dungeon is by far the simplest.

I'm with you on how exploring has never been more fun. Last time exploring a game blew me away this much was Fallout 3 and Zelda's traversal passes up that game and then some. It's one thing to have a giant world full of secrets, but to climb anything you see then glide off makes everything feel so seamless.

I have a hard time seeing even Mass Effect pass this up for my GOTY.

It's a solid candidate for my favorite of the decade so far to be honest. I can *maybe* see Persona 5 topping it this year for me but they have to really nail it.

I'm really loving some of the hidden shrine challenges. One I did yesterday was practically a dungeon in itself.

I haven't had the pleasure of playing this game, but from what I've read it could challenge Twilight Princess on my all time favorite games list. Maybe even FFVII.

I finished last night. Awesome game for many of the reasons I outlined before. I'm still surprised after 50 hours what I manage to discover in the world. There were some cracks in the game's design that showed the more I played though. The game has a really difficulty curve issue. One of the things that made it so refreshing early on was the challenge present. That definitely goes away due to upgrades and food before too long. The only thing that really posed a challenge by the end I think were the white lynels. And giving you all powers early on also means you aren't challenged in as many new ways from a puzzle solving standpoint as the game goes on as usual. That was one of the positive aspects of getting new items throughout in the old games. These are both probably side effects of the grand freedom the game gives you which is obviously one of the things that makes it great. So it is sort of a push/pull thing.

I do think some of the typical open-world repetition showed itself after a while too. Like the Korok seed challenges. The repeated Tests of Strength in Shrines become disappointing too especially as the difficulty of the game decreases. They are barely tweaked versions of the same fight as it is. After a couple major ones, finding another instead of a new puzzle is disappointing. And I love some of the shrines that basically make the challenge getting into them. They are awesome and when done right I have no problem with the shrine just handing you the orb. But some of these aren't really tough. One time I blew up a wall with some rocks to get to a shrine and it just gave me the orb inside. It wasn't hard to get to the location either. I just came across it. Another one tasked me with shooting an arrow at a wall outside to make it appear and then just gave me an orb. I generally love the shrines, but at times they felt a bit phoned in/lazy I guess.

Otherwise, just wish the dungeons were better. Same with the bosses. They were all a bit too similar. Seeing a new boss is always kind of exciting even just visually, but they really aren't in this game outside of the final one I guess.

Anyway, dope game despite these complaints. Going to continue to chip away at shrines and side missions over time.