Playing this game again around a decade after I last beat it reminds me just why it has stuck with me so much after all this time. There are a ton of galaxies in this game, and yet, I somehow found myself having a memory of nearly every single one from all those years back, just because of how unique and memorable everything is. There are levels in this with single, 10 minute ideas that would be the central gimmick of a lesser game. Even still, the new mechanics never feel underused or underdeveloped because the next one is somehow even better.

This is that Magum Opus shit.

I've played this for around 40 hours now, and I'm probably not even close to halfway through with the main story, because the side content is so fun. I've realized that all of my favorite games give the player the freedom to operate on their own accord and experiment, and this is certainly no exception.

The world doesn't feel like it's tailored to you at all; it feels alive, breathing, and as though you're just an inhabitant of it. This makes it so much more fun to just explore around and do side quests, since it really does feel like your own adventure.

Out of all the games I've played in the past 5 years, this is one of the few (including BOTW) that's gripped me enough to sink tens of hours into it. Just like BOTW, this is once in a generation (I guess twice in a generation) quality-wise. It blows every other open world game out of the water.