‘Completed’ is a relative term of course. The hype is real. It’s a historic game. The mechanics and physics are the video game version of the discovery of penicillin or something. However, for all that, the game itself stopped sparking joy a lot quicker than BOTW. Most of the reason to explore comes down to collecting a whole lot of some kind of resource that lets you upgrade yourself to a point that’s unnecessary to complete the game (I was good after 1 extra full stamina wheel and a single row of hearts). Harder enemies typically just mean more HP.
The story is really cool and unfolds in a great, nonlinear, way. The conclusion is properly epic. Proof that you can accomplish so much more with strong design talent relative to hardware capabilities. But of course this is Nintendo and they’re wizards over there. The implications of the TOTK revolution will probably only be realized by the next Zelda game.