After my second "proper" way through this game, I feel a lot better in general about its systems than I did the first go-around...and I didn't even dislike them to begin with!

Truly an excellent game that manages to channel the spirit of the series' first instalment while feeling altogether new. I have my share of superficial nitpicks about Breath of the Wild, both in 2017 and in 2023 (having all your toys at the onset and never being gated by new tools being a blessing and a curse, truncated dungeon/setpiece sequences), but none of them really stood in the way of me and a good time.

Something that always stuck out to me was how friendly the game is about letting players solve problems their way. My second playthrough was SIGNIFICANTLY different from my first, and not necessarily just because I walked a different route (or because I played entirely with the base 3 hearts). BOTW inspires creativity in problem solving in a way that previous Zelda games simply didn't accommodate for in their design, something I sincerely hope carries over into Tears of the Kingdom. From the very early looks we've had, it seems likely that's the case.

Reviewed on May 10, 2023


Comments