Breath of the Wild has a ton of gall. Never have I seen a video game that is so willing to abandon the formula that carried its forebears for so long. Because of this, Nintendo was able to create a truly impressive open world, and I don't just mean in scope. This rendition of Hyrule strikes a great balance between content and empty space. The latter may seem like a weird thing to compliment, but without it, I would not have felt Hyrule's serene atmosphere. Breath of the Wild is absolutely an important game in the open world genre. Now that a direct sequel is arriving this year, known as Tears of the Kingdom, I feel it is time to look back on this title and see where Nintendo could improve going forward.
Let's start with the most obvious complaints: the dungeons, bosses, and enemy variety. I really enjoyed the Divine Beast concept and the Blight Ganon aesthetic, but having every main dungeon and boss look and function the same way was disappointing. Enemies mostly consisted of just Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, and Guardians, while mini-bosses can be boiled down to Stone Talus, Hinox, Molduga, and Lynel. These enemies all have stellar AI, but there isn't nearly enough variety to keep such encounters fresh throughout a first playthrough, let alone repeat ones.
Weapon durability is a topic that has been discussed to death, so I won't say too much here. All I will say is that it made finding weapons in chests extremely unsatisfying since I knew they would break if I used them. As such, I ended up hoarding my best weapons, preferring to wait for that one situation where I would need them, but that never happened.
As for the combat itself, it definitely earns most of its praise. The variety of ways you can fight enemies is staggering and I hope this returns in the sequel. That said, the overwhelming majority of these methods (attacking with scrap metal, launching or pushing boulders, repeatedly throwing bombs, etc.) are not as practical and efficient as charging head-first into a camp or stealth killing with archery. It would be awesome if the game rewarded you for killing enemies in different ways. I would also like to see Nintendo incorporate the hidden skills from Twilight Princess, along with the ability to swing one-handed weapons without coming to a stop every time.
Now for the shrines. These underground chambers were a lot of fun when they were fully fleshed-out. Unfortunately, that happened a lot less often that I would have liked. If I had to estimate, only one-sixth of the shrines were high quality. Too many of them are combat challenges against the same enemy, or empty "blessing" chambers. I know most of the latter were the reward for completing shrine quests, which were usually fun, but the accompanying shrines could have easily been replaced with a cutscene where Link receives the Spirit Orb in the open world. The rest of the shrines did have puzzles, but not enough of them to feel special individually. My guess is that Nintendo designed the open world first and realized they needed a ton of shrines to grab the player's attention on a regular basis, leading to a majority of them feeling unfinished. In any case, a much higher proportion of meaty shrines would be appreciated. In addition, I would also prefer Nintendo to make it so shrines do not serve as fast travel points, or at least provide the option to do so. By the midgame, shrine markers clutter the map and become extremely tempting to use, which has the knock-on effect of reducing the player's immersion. Having the Sheikah towers serve as the only fast travel points would be a suitable compromise between immersion and convenience.
Before I wrap up this review, I would like to go over a few more issues I've seen other people have that deserve more attention, those being the side quests, story, and setting for the sequel. The game's side quests definitely could have been better. I haven't played Witcher 3 as of this review, but seeing how much praise that game got for its side quests, it's definitely something Nintendo should consider going forward. I won't be upset if they aren't interesting, but it is one of those inclusions that could enhance the worldbuilding. The story could have benefited from having a greater sense of urgency. Everyone tells Link how important it is that he prepares to destroy Ganon sooner rather than later, but the world never evolves with new enemies or permanent changes in scenery to sell that urgency. Finally, I've seen a handful of people worry that the sequel taking place in the same Hyrule as Breath of the Wild will make the experience too familiar. I understand that, but I also think such expectations can work in Tears of the Kingdom's favor. If Nintendo goes above and beyond to surprise players in ways we didn't know we wanted, Hyrule will be anything but familiar.
Let's start with the most obvious complaints: the dungeons, bosses, and enemy variety. I really enjoyed the Divine Beast concept and the Blight Ganon aesthetic, but having every main dungeon and boss look and function the same way was disappointing. Enemies mostly consisted of just Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, and Guardians, while mini-bosses can be boiled down to Stone Talus, Hinox, Molduga, and Lynel. These enemies all have stellar AI, but there isn't nearly enough variety to keep such encounters fresh throughout a first playthrough, let alone repeat ones.
Weapon durability is a topic that has been discussed to death, so I won't say too much here. All I will say is that it made finding weapons in chests extremely unsatisfying since I knew they would break if I used them. As such, I ended up hoarding my best weapons, preferring to wait for that one situation where I would need them, but that never happened.
As for the combat itself, it definitely earns most of its praise. The variety of ways you can fight enemies is staggering and I hope this returns in the sequel. That said, the overwhelming majority of these methods (attacking with scrap metal, launching or pushing boulders, repeatedly throwing bombs, etc.) are not as practical and efficient as charging head-first into a camp or stealth killing with archery. It would be awesome if the game rewarded you for killing enemies in different ways. I would also like to see Nintendo incorporate the hidden skills from Twilight Princess, along with the ability to swing one-handed weapons without coming to a stop every time.
Now for the shrines. These underground chambers were a lot of fun when they were fully fleshed-out. Unfortunately, that happened a lot less often that I would have liked. If I had to estimate, only one-sixth of the shrines were high quality. Too many of them are combat challenges against the same enemy, or empty "blessing" chambers. I know most of the latter were the reward for completing shrine quests, which were usually fun, but the accompanying shrines could have easily been replaced with a cutscene where Link receives the Spirit Orb in the open world. The rest of the shrines did have puzzles, but not enough of them to feel special individually. My guess is that Nintendo designed the open world first and realized they needed a ton of shrines to grab the player's attention on a regular basis, leading to a majority of them feeling unfinished. In any case, a much higher proportion of meaty shrines would be appreciated. In addition, I would also prefer Nintendo to make it so shrines do not serve as fast travel points, or at least provide the option to do so. By the midgame, shrine markers clutter the map and become extremely tempting to use, which has the knock-on effect of reducing the player's immersion. Having the Sheikah towers serve as the only fast travel points would be a suitable compromise between immersion and convenience.
Before I wrap up this review, I would like to go over a few more issues I've seen other people have that deserve more attention, those being the side quests, story, and setting for the sequel. The game's side quests definitely could have been better. I haven't played Witcher 3 as of this review, but seeing how much praise that game got for its side quests, it's definitely something Nintendo should consider going forward. I won't be upset if they aren't interesting, but it is one of those inclusions that could enhance the worldbuilding. The story could have benefited from having a greater sense of urgency. Everyone tells Link how important it is that he prepares to destroy Ganon sooner rather than later, but the world never evolves with new enemies or permanent changes in scenery to sell that urgency. Finally, I've seen a handful of people worry that the sequel taking place in the same Hyrule as Breath of the Wild will make the experience too familiar. I understand that, but I also think such expectations can work in Tears of the Kingdom's favor. If Nintendo goes above and beyond to surprise players in ways we didn't know we wanted, Hyrule will be anything but familiar.
2 Comments
@Dunebot69 Thank you!
Dunebot72
11 months ago