Playing Skyward Sword for the first time in 2021, I'm struck that it seems like an attempt at what Breath of the Wild would do much more successfully: expand the puzzle-solving gameplay of Zelda dungeons outwards into the overworld and exploration.
The execution here doesn't quite work; the constant requirement to solve challenges in order to progress gives the game a grueling pace at times, and the game does a poor job of highlighting ways to veer off from the main quest. 30 hours is a long time to be so focused, and spending half that time fighting the controls didn't help.
But, I have to give credit to the puzzle and environmental design, which pulled me through the game when at times I felt it was a chore. The dungeons especially in the latter half of the game are some of my favorites in the series, and were really satisfying to piece through. And I appreciated the ways areas were reworked upon revisiting them, and the attempts at new styles of gameplay sprinkled throughout the quest.
In all, this would not be my favorite Zelda by any means, but I do think it's a game worthy of the series' name.
The execution here doesn't quite work; the constant requirement to solve challenges in order to progress gives the game a grueling pace at times, and the game does a poor job of highlighting ways to veer off from the main quest. 30 hours is a long time to be so focused, and spending half that time fighting the controls didn't help.
But, I have to give credit to the puzzle and environmental design, which pulled me through the game when at times I felt it was a chore. The dungeons especially in the latter half of the game are some of my favorites in the series, and were really satisfying to piece through. And I appreciated the ways areas were reworked upon revisiting them, and the attempts at new styles of gameplay sprinkled throughout the quest.
In all, this would not be my favorite Zelda by any means, but I do think it's a game worthy of the series' name.