Read Mixed User Reviews for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Switch

wpatri04

Mar 12, 2017

7

The Bad:
The breakable weapon system is flawed because it does NOT redeem itself later by allowing the player to find an ultimate, unbreakable, reliable weapon to give closure to the system. It forces you to deal with its breakable weapons the entire game, INCLUDING the Hylian Shield, and having to recharge the Master Sword. The player NEVER gets the feeling of satisfaction and securityThe Bad:
The breakable weapon system is flawed because it does NOT redeem itself later by allowing the player to find an ultimate, unbreakable, reliable weapon to give closure to the system. It forces you to deal with its breakable weapons the entire game, INCLUDING the Hylian Shield, and having to recharge the Master Sword. The player NEVER gets the feeling of satisfaction and security and completion knowing he has finally worked his way up and acquired the final unbreakable weapons. There ARE NO unconditionally unbreakable weapons. This is DEEPLY disappointing, and an absolute deal breaker! Even at his most "leveled up" in the game, no matter how much time you spend building up Link, he will ALWAYS be forced to walk around Hyrule, as the Hero of Time, with BREAKABLE weapons. Again, this would be fine if it redeemed itself later on, but it doesn't. It's an open-ended, ongoing weapon breaking system. No unconditionally powerful Master Sword or Shield. It's a disastrous decision for the series.
Overworld music: THERE IS NONE. Did you love the sweeping Hyrule music in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess? Did you love the atmospheric overworld music in Majora's Mask? Did you love the liberating sailing music of Wind Waker? Well, it's GONE. NO OVERWORLD MUSIC. And things get boring really fast. The only sounds you get are some random flourishes or taps of piano keys, some quick stringed instrument sounds, and everything else is nature sounds. This is virtually a universal complaint at this point, and a very bad decision by the developers. Music gives the world it's character. Breath of the Wild has to rely SOLELY on the beauty of its landscapes, because there is no overworld music which would have COMPLETED the experience of travel and exploration. Instead, it leaves much to be desired, unfulfilling, and at times boring.
On to the good:
The scenery is breathtaking, the glider is a magical experience, horseback travel is the best of any game to date, and the actual combat gameplay is very challenging, engaging, and much more intellectual and skilled than any Zelda game before it. Skyward Sword tried to become more realistic with its motion controls, but didn't quite live up to the hype that Nintendo tried to make for it. Breath of the Wild's engaging combat is much more natural, much more realistic. The bosses and common enemies are more mature in their design (much less kiddy than Windwaker and Skyward Sword.)
All in All, this is a good game, but a letdown for a Zelda game. It is an open-world (open air) game more than anything else. It does the open world aspects right, with the exception of not including music. The voice acting is mediocre (more British voice acting {For Zelda}), and the story is pretty average. If you are a longtime Zelda player, this will likely disappoint. If you are looking for a change of pace for the series (and i mean a COMPLETE CHANGE), while not doing everything better, then this will be a good choice.
--- I gave this review score based on what I literally think it should be scored. I was not trying to engage in a battle of averages. I truly believe my score is just.---… Expand

DoomCritic

Apr 6, 2018

7

The term glass cannon comes to mind when playing this game–as well as tedium. Before I go into the shortcomings of this game let me just say that this is one of the best Hyrule universes that I have been able to experience in a Zelda game… Now, with that said, it seems that for everything that could have been amazing about this game is then dialed back a few notches with some strangeThe term glass cannon comes to mind when playing this game–as well as tedium. Before I go into the shortcomings of this game let me just say that this is one of the best Hyrule universes that I have been able to experience in a Zelda game… Now, with that said, it seems that for everything that could have been amazing about this game is then dialed back a few notches with some strange in-game mechanic choices…
Creating fake difficulties with cheap game design, like enemies that give you forever and a day to hit them only to be hindered with your porcelain weapons constantly breaking all the time… Dialog choices that don’t lead to different outcomes (like the damn paraglider tasks). And a little green doughnut that is fighting hard to become even more notable than the tri-force…
So, to sum up my opinion, Breath of the Wild is a great game that takes three steps forward but two back as with features that do not really add to the game’s difficulty or enjoyability as much as attempt to pad the amount of time spent playing it.… Expand

BarronOfDune

Mar 13, 2017

7

Eh, it was pretty good, certainly not bad, but not as euphorically amazing as a lot of reviewers seem to be claiming. Here's a rundown:

GOOD - Solidly implemented open-world mechanics for combat, survival, exploration, and stealth. None of it is particularly groundbreaking but all is done well with the usual Nintendo polish. - Hyrule is varied, colorful, and appealing, reminiscent ofEh, it was pretty good, certainly not bad, but not as euphorically amazing as a lot of reviewers seem to be claiming. Here's a rundown:

GOOD
- Solidly implemented open-world mechanics for combat, survival, exploration, and stealth. None of it is particularly groundbreaking but all is done well with the usual Nintendo polish.
- Hyrule is varied, colorful, and appealing, reminiscent of a Miyazaki movie
- Plenty of good music
- While some dislike the breakable-weapon system, I think they implement it well and like the way it forces you to use a wide variety of weapons throughout the game
- I really like the design of the Divine Beasts and the general concept of having dungeons inside these massive lumbering cyber-steampunk monsters
- In general they do a good job of letting you go everywhere practically right from the start, with the caveat that many areas are dangerous and require specialized gear to traverse safely. It gives the world a good sense of mystery and adventure
- Good sense of character growth & progression throughout the game as you gain better equipment, new abilities, and more life/stamina
- They do a good job of incentivizing you to constantly collect whatever you can, as ingredients wind up having lots of uses in cooking and upgrading

BAD
- Story is very thin, and if you don't bother hunting for (totally optional) memories practically nonexistent: "Calamity Ganon is in the castle! Go stop him and save Zelda!" "OK, sure" THE END
- The characters were pretty weak too IMO. The only one of the Champions who left any impression was Mipha since she actually seemed to have meaningful connections to other people. The rest were blah.
- I wasn't a fan of this angsty, conflicted version of Zelda too, especially since she doesn't get a proper arc: basically she's worried she's a failure because her powers haven't materialized, then they eventually materialize at the last possible moment and everything works out THE END
- Later in the game the lack of enemy variety becomes pretty annoying. Palette swaps of Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos constitute the vast majority of enemies you'll face and it all gets very same-y.
- The prospect of slaughtering and eating countless wild animals (including wolves and foxes) is pretty grim for Nintendo. I must have farmed hundreds of moose for their precious, precious meat and did not feel like a legendary hero while I did it.
- I was very annoyed at the section where Link dresses up like a harem slave to sneak into an all-woman city. That kind of stuff doesn't belong in a family-friendly game, Nintendo.
- The actual design of the Divine Beast dungeons was unimpressive. They're all basically just variations on "tilt it this way, now that way" over and over again.
- Hyrule Castle itself was a huge disappointment. I guess it's tough if you actually WANT to spend tons of time poking around and dodging Guardians, but I just swam up the waterfall and climbed up to a window, whole thing took less than 10 minutes
- Once you've beaten Ganon it sinks in that there's not much point in continuing to explore the world, since you're not going to find any bigger challenges and there's little point in trying to get even stronger (especially if that means farming the same stuff over and over again). All that's left is OCD collecting and box-checking.… Expand

chad_pattan

Mar 27, 2017

6

I already know I'll be attacked because I'm not going along with "the flow" of reviews. So let's start out by quantifying that 6. For the record, the last Zelda I played was Twilight Princess. Last Zelda I beat completely was A Link To The Past. Last Zelda I enjoyed was Adventure of Link (the only real "RPG" of the bunch, IMO.)

Graphics: 3 points. Yes, half the score is the graphics.I already know I'll be attacked because I'm not going along with "the flow" of reviews. So let's start out by quantifying that 6. For the record, the last Zelda I played was Twilight Princess. Last Zelda I beat completely was A Link To The Past. Last Zelda I enjoyed was Adventure of Link (the only real "RPG" of the bunch, IMO.)

Graphics: 3 points. Yes, half the score is the graphics. They're beautiful. But they're limited, especially on the handheld. World of Final Fantasy on Vita is a great example of how it can be done.

Story: 2 points. I feel that the story is compelling and interesting. You feel like you want to help the world. You connect with most of the characters. Nicely done.

Sound: 1 point. Ambient sounds, voices, music, are all done decently. I didn't hear anything that bothered me, put it that way.

But that's all the game has really. I get it - it's Zelda. It's a throwback to the first game. But quite a few things annoy me, and most of them have to do with UI (User Interface) decisions.

You can't tell when weapons are degrading. I'm generally not a fan of the weapon break mechanic, but I can live with it so long as I can tell the life of my weapon, and I can repair weapons, ala Dark Cloud 2, or that I can easily create new ones, ala Dragon Quest Builders. Neither is the case here and it's annoying.

Weapon strengths are illogical. Why it takes 9 swings to kill an enemy with an axe yet only three with a club makes no sense whatsoever. A fan leaf one-shots flying enemies yet a stick takes two, sometimes three hits. Why?

Link will happily plummet to his death when you try to tell him to gently drop down from a climb to a ledge, and instead he jumps off the wall. I'd just as soon not have a jump from a climb at all.

The button configs are a nightmare. Two different ways of using the Sheikah Slate rather than just one map with functions. Forced to move your thumb down to a touchpad that's not in a comfortable place just so you can switch weapons. Forced to press a tiny "minus sign" on the pad just to view the map and a tiny "plus sign" to view inventory. One trigger does something, one bumper does something else, another trigger does something else...It's too much! I thought FFXV's was bad, it's a work of art compared to this.

The stamina bugs me only because it's so short. No human is that out of shape. At least let him sprint after a fast run.

For all the criticism laid at the feet of Dragon Quest Builders I frankly felt that its battle "engine" was much more logical, as petty and simplistic as that was, for a very similar experience (legendary hero wakes up in a cave with no recollection of why they're there and now have to rebuild the world. Same. Exact. Story.)

The world is massive, and while I do enjoy massive worlds (Dragon Quest VIII is an all-time great for me), the world has to interest me. Navigation is a pain in this game, and I assume they wanted you to feel the "realism" of it. But when you're playing a fantasy game, too much reality is not a good thing. (DQ8 and riding on a tiger to get around certainly isn't realistic.)

Game directions are also lacking. You'll get instructions to go to a place, and in some situation it's a breeze, where in another situation they don't even bother trying to at least point you in the right direction. Again, too much realism.

Yes, I know. "Explore". That's fine. But clear directions are a hallmark of roleplaying games, and it saddens me to see modern RPGs forget this.

I discovered that the game feels much more "comfortable" in docked mode. The framerate drops don't bother me.

It's a beautiful, well storied, average game. I'll keep the Switch in the hope the Seiken Densetsu Collection comes stateside *eeek*, and hopefully Octopath Traveler will be a much better experience. As for this, those that think this is a perfect game certainly must not have played Dragon Quest VIII on PS2 - thus far the only RPG to check off all of the boxes.… Expand

Toast1124

Mar 14, 2017

7

Its just ok. Simple. Don't listen to the Nintendo fanboys; this is NOT a perfect game. Let me explain:
Cons:
- The story is good, but I haven't found myself really into it. There isn't any real urgency to it. Just do what you want and oh yeah maybe save this princess. - Weapon durability system is actually awful. I'm not saying the mechanic is bad, but this game does it awful. NothingIts just ok. Simple. Don't listen to the Nintendo fanboys; this is NOT a perfect game. Let me explain:
Cons:
- The story is good, but I haven't found myself really into it. There isn't any real urgency to it. Just do what you want and oh yeah maybe save this princess.
- Weapon durability system is actually awful. I'm not saying the mechanic is bad, but this game does it awful. Nothing ruins a game more than giving you something cool only to take it away a few seconds later (And i'm serious, weapons break in just a few swings in this game. Nothing like Dark souls).
- Combat is just meh. Everyone claims that the durability system is to encourage you to try different weapon types, yet the combat is just so bland. Sure, maybe this is great for casual players, but this game doesn't feel like it was made for new gamers.
- The side quest are very generic rpg quests. Nothing like The Witcher 3 's quests which would draw you down a rabbit hole of action, adventure, and feels.
- No crafting?? Only crafting is cooking food that give you boosts. Thats it.
Pros:
- The game world is beautiful. There are things to do everywhere it seems. Only gripe is that the switch cant handle it, but that's not the games fault i guess.
- The puzzles are all really creative and take full advantage of the rune mechanic.
- The world is really open. Go anywhere, do anything. There are a few ways the game limits you from just running to the final boss of course.
- The physics in this game is great. Light a bush on fire, let it burn the whole field, and ride away on the updraft. You can be really creative in this game because of its great physics engine.

In conclusion, its just another open world rpg game. The fact that Link is in it doesn't make it any different. If you like Zelda games, grab it. If you want a open world rpg with, maybe get Witcher 3 or Dark souls 3.… Expand

Stuvok

Mar 13, 2017

6

Combat is OK but the puzzles are garbage. If you think picking up a rock and placing it in a circle, throwing a rock into a circle, or pushing a rock into a circle is exciting then go ahead you'll be doing that 200 times. There are a few good side quests and a few good surprises but most of what you find is endlessly repeated simple Korok puzzles that you need to do because of howCombat is OK but the puzzles are garbage. If you think picking up a rock and placing it in a circle, throwing a rock into a circle, or pushing a rock into a circle is exciting then go ahead you'll be doing that 200 times. There are a few good side quests and a few good surprises but most of what you find is endlessly repeated simple Korok puzzles that you need to do because of how annoying the equipment breaking system is. You need the extra slots because how fast weapons become useless and break. If you enjoy Dungeons you need not apply because this has the worst dungeons in the entire Zelda franchise. They are no more than simple puzzle rooms with almost no enemy's.... the one enemy they the boss are also the worst in the franchise. Bosses almost with every other monster are either going to kill you in 1 hit or if you spent a little time powering up they will be so weak you may not even need to block. Bad menu's that you constantly use, bad voice acting, bad writing, bad story, bad lip-sync in some scenes, bad side quests.... Very little of this game is up to modern standards. If you think cooking should be quick and easy to prepare before battle well that's not this game. Maybe in the Witcher you can instantly fill up everything you know the recipe for but in Zelda you need to spend 30 min crafting each individual meal waiting through the 10 second jingle to finish after every one. This annoyance continues through the whole game... you'll need to sit through 5 loading screens to finish each shrine and most of the time they aren't even worth it. Shines are generally just very simple puzzles with no visual difference and they pale in comparison to open world puzzles used to unlock shrines. Even worse are the shrines that are 5 loading screens just to enter an empty room with a chest. Things Zelda was good at are now broken! Even things like the lock on system is garbage. Its still worth playing but its not the masterpiece reviewers keep saying it is.… Expand

Kayno1

Mar 4, 2017

5

I originally gave this game an 8, but the more i play, the more i start to feel that this game is a huge dissapointment. Most of the time is spent running around aimlessly in the empty world, while the rest of the time is spent hitting enemies with a sword over and over again. Not to mention every enemy in the game is pretty much the same, but with different colours and skins. The gameI originally gave this game an 8, but the more i play, the more i start to feel that this game is a huge dissapointment. Most of the time is spent running around aimlessly in the empty world, while the rest of the time is spent hitting enemies with a sword over and over again. Not to mention every enemy in the game is pretty much the same, but with different colours and skins. The game overall can be a lot of fun at times, but these times are so rare compared to the boring and repetitive ones. The framerate drops are also something that definitely brings this game down, as it is too noticeable to just brush off. I really don't understand the praise this game is getting, especially since it doesn't have enough variety or innovation to call it a "masterpiece". I will say that the art style is very pleasing in certain areas, as there are some places where this game looks gorgeous. The story is also very interesting with some really nice voice acting, and the game does give a great sense of adventure.… Expand

msanders78

Mar 4, 2017

5

After waiting for three years for this game, I have to say I'm not impressed. The graphics are ok, the music is ok, the game is....actually kinda boring and repetitive. I love Zelda games, Windwaker is my favorite game of all time, but this game didn't draw me in like WW or OOT or even ALTTP. I didn't really care for SS and after four hours in, not a big fan of ABOTW. This game feels likeAfter waiting for three years for this game, I have to say I'm not impressed. The graphics are ok, the music is ok, the game is....actually kinda boring and repetitive. I love Zelda games, Windwaker is my favorite game of all time, but this game didn't draw me in like WW or OOT or even ALTTP. I didn't really care for SS and after four hours in, not a big fan of ABOTW. This game feels like a bad version of Elder Scrolls, not a Zelda game....hate the collecting, cooking food?, weapons break...often, Link is resurrected like Christ...is he a god now?, load times are often and long, lots of space on the map...lots of walking/riding, with nothing there, the quick travel takes forever to load next area, .............and on and on....also the first Zelda game you can't change your name, or have three save files....two stars...an ok game, NOT A LOZ GAME!… Expand

Attila_The_Fun

Mar 16, 2017

7

Okay, so I beat the game to give it a final review and I must say I was reallllly disappointed. I'll just make my list now.
Cons:
No enemy variety. Maybe 8 total enemies in the game reskinned several times. Shrines are boring and take about 5 minutes or less to complete. 4 dungeons in the game if you can even call them dungeons that is. These dungeons are just huge empty spaces withOkay, so I beat the game to give it a final review and I must say I was reallllly disappointed. I'll just make my list now.
Cons:
No enemy variety. Maybe 8 total enemies in the game reskinned several times.
Shrines are boring and take about 5 minutes or less to complete.
4 dungeons in the game if you can even call them dungeons that is. These dungeons are just huge empty spaces with one 20-minute puzzle and a boss.
Calamity Gannon shot at me one time and stood there the rest of the fight.
This is somewhat of a nitpick, but the music is really bad. If you have such an epic open world area the music should not have been soft piano. Ocarina of Time of time felt like an adventure with the music.
The framerate is also very bad on the Switch. It was advertised to run at a "smooth 30 fps" and it doesn't if too many enemies are in one area and especially around the Great Deku Tree.
The rain mechanic is very annoying. You can't just start a fire and wait either because that puts out your fire. So, then you need to go back to a town or a covered area and make your climb all over again.
Chests are kind of pointless. They all hold some crappy weapon that breaks in a couple hits.

Pros
You can do a lot of silly stuff, but that's about it.
The visuals look nice when they don't lag.

That's about it.… Expand

Razv

Mar 3, 2017

7

Not as good as the critics make you think it is, but overall a pretty good game. The story is not excellent, the combat could use some more polishing, but the world created is simply marvelous.

TsukasaHiiragi

Mar 3, 2017

7

Sadly, the Zelda fanboy army and obvious paid reviewers are giving this game an artificially high rating whilst in truth it isn't *that* good, there are many glaring issues right now, and the game does get repetitive after about 20 hours in, especially after grinding shrines/temples over and over for little reward.

BotW would have been better if you didn't get all the tools andSadly, the Zelda fanboy army and obvious paid reviewers are giving this game an artificially high rating whilst in truth it isn't *that* good, there are many glaring issues right now, and the game does get repetitive after about 20 hours in, especially after grinding shrines/temples over and over for little reward.

BotW would have been better if you didn't get all the tools and equipment you need within pretty much the first 20 minutes to an hour into the game. The gameplay is also questionable, with strange difficulty spikes basically saying ' you shouldn't be in this area yet ' so you die in one hit, whilst you don't lose anything you can lose durability since your weapons don't last forever and eventually you're going to need to craft items and especially potions.

The crafting elements aside, the game is a psudo mixture of Dark Souls meets Skyrim? The game can be brutally difficult at times, and have a nice balance the next - whilst this isn't neccessarily a bad thing, I'm sure it could cause some player frustration.

Whilst I think its a good opening title for the switch, the 90+ and especially 100s are all vastly over-rated scores, and shouldn't have scored that high. Sure this game is good, but it isn't that 'great' but its a worthy title to hold the Zelda name.… Expand

AwooGirl

Mar 3, 2017

5

If you enjoy just messing around in a large, beautiful world then this game is perfect for you, lots to fiddle around with and definitely worth your money. Someone looking for a more engaging, focused experience will find Breath of the Wild somewhat lacking however. It's an okay game, and I hate to say this, but I can't think of it as anything but a bad Zelda game. Regardless I willIf you enjoy just messing around in a large, beautiful world then this game is perfect for you, lots to fiddle around with and definitely worth your money. Someone looking for a more engaging, focused experience will find Breath of the Wild somewhat lacking however. It's an okay game, and I hate to say this, but I can't think of it as anything but a bad Zelda game. Regardless I will give it a 5 since there are definitely many that will enjoy this type of game.… Expand

pinball123

Mar 8, 2017

7

Was not the biggest fan early on and I thought the world felt a bit empty and felt abit mmo style in it's encounters, after another 10 hours I'm finding I enjoy it much more than my original impressions. The shrines work well at adding a hook and I've been surprised they haven't gotten too dull. I am hoping the frame rate can be improved with a patch because it can chug at times. I stillWas not the biggest fan early on and I thought the world felt a bit empty and felt abit mmo style in it's encounters, after another 10 hours I'm finding I enjoy it much more than my original impressions. The shrines work well at adding a hook and I've been surprised they haven't gotten too dull. I am hoping the frame rate can be improved with a patch because it can chug at times. I still prefer the earlier zelda games but this is solid but a bit over rated at the moment.… Expand

BLK99

Apr 18, 2017

6

Este no es el mejor juego en el momento, tiene un enfoque divertido no lo niego, algunas armaduras me parecen muy bonitas, y los graficos no son punteros pero son agradables, algunas mecanicas aqui y haya, los giños a otros juegos de la entrega y una cantidad de actividades accesorias que alimentan la experiencia, son bien recibidas. El combate siendo sincero no, no es lo mejor del juegoEste no es el mejor juego en el momento, tiene un enfoque divertido no lo niego, algunas armaduras me parecen muy bonitas, y los graficos no son punteros pero son agradables, algunas mecanicas aqui y haya, los giños a otros juegos de la entrega y una cantidad de actividades accesorias que alimentan la experiencia, son bien recibidas. El combate siendo sincero no, no es lo mejor del juego ni remotamente, es de lo mas basico y tedioso, aqui si es donde destaca que es un juego para niños pequeños, claro que existira gente que le despierte nostalgia y es totalmente comprensible, pero que solo por eso deba tener una calificacion perfecta, es ser poco objetivo.

El juego es interesante y divertido pero es para el nene de la casa, bueno y para el coleccionista que crecio con nintendo pero el concepto se ha desarrollado muchas veces y de mejores maneras, la historia de un the witcher, la exploracion de un assasins creed, el espectaculo de un Uncharted, el combate de Nioh, o el realismo de un tomb raider en modo de supervivencia aquellos son juegos que han marcado un antes y un despues. Este es un juego lindo, con mecanicas variadas, pero es todo. Si eres un jugador experimentado y buscas un reto, este juego no es para ti, si al contrario eres un niño pequeño, o guardas un buen recuerdo de nintendo supongo, aunque mi recomendacion es que comprar la consola por un solo juego, con los precios que tiene y la experiencia que ofrece la consola, no es lo ideal, es mejor esperar a que este todo mas barato.

Aunque quisiera agregar que el juego ofrece una gran cantidad de contenido en actividades, y es interesante el enfoque que tiene en abordar el mundo abierto, al darle al jugador la libertad, para que explore y lleve la historia como le parezca, o trate de crear una propia parcialmente que es el punto mas fuerte para mi de todo el juego,

lo que sigue no tiene que ver estricatamente con la review si no es un comentario que me gustaria realizar acerca de los mundos abiertos.

El the Witcher fue un juego increible, pero una vez termine la historia principal y los DLCs no volvi a entrar precisamente por que no habia nada mas que hacer o descubrir despues de llegar al maximo nivel, los combates ya no me parecian un reto, considero que hay muchos mundos abiertos, que estan bien elaborados y tienen unas mecanicas solidas, y no me parece que hacer varias entregas de un juego sea la respuesta, si no que hacer un juego principal y alimentarlo periodicamente y siendo sincero prefiero pagar un dlc con una buena cantida de contenido de un juego que me gusta que por un juego nuevo incompleto o repetitivo.… Expand

ZombiCoon

Mar 23, 2020

7

First (roughly) half of the game is great, but then it becomes repetitive and quite boring at times. Excitement about puzzle dungeons starts to wear out, the enemy variety (especially the robots) is poor, loot is unexciting, and that ridiculous durability system for weapons... Not a bad game though, the "openness" of the world is well done and what I liked the most is the divine beast puzzles.

E3T2

Jan 3, 2022

5

This game is massive, wide as an ocean and deep as a puddle. The open world is the biggest flaw of the game, as it is empty, unrewarding, repetitive and boring. Aside from a few nice moments the game lacks serious motivation as to why someone should wander around this massive, yet empty open world.

They threw away all the traditional things that made Zelda games what they are in orderThis game is massive, wide as an ocean and deep as a puddle. The open world is the biggest flaw of the game, as it is empty, unrewarding, repetitive and boring. Aside from a few nice moments the game lacks serious motivation as to why someone should wander around this massive, yet empty open world.

They threw away all the traditional things that made Zelda games what they are in order to create this massive open world that has anything but depth. Even Assasin Creed games have more interesting open worlds than this. Korok seed after korok seed after korok seed after shrine after shrine after shrine and oh, a chest with yet another breakable item. Copy and paste and repeat.

I can only look back to Ocarina of Time. A masterpiece. Timetravel, young Link, adult Link. THE MUSIC!!!, caves to find and discover, Witches and Witchshops, Fishing, Diving under water, Hookshot, interesting characters and towns full of people. valuable items, the feeling of being a hero on a journey. ALL things that Breath of the WIld misses completely.… Expand

shadowbocksin

Nov 5, 2021

6

The game is a 6/10 and once you take off the fanboy goggles the game isn't the 10 it deserves, okay maybe I should add more to that. The game is 6/10 IF you played other zelda games and other and better open world games and I've done both while not fanboying over this game. So you might be thinking "why would I give this a 6/10" and you're more and likely quick to get fanboy elitist likeThe game is a 6/10 and once you take off the fanboy goggles the game isn't the 10 it deserves, okay maybe I should add more to that. The game is 6/10 IF you played other zelda games and other and better open world games and I've done both while not fanboying over this game. So you might be thinking "why would I give this a 6/10" and you're more and likely quick to get fanboy elitist like fanboys do nowadays thinking I'm some troll but no, compare this game to other zelda games and the only thing it does right is the open world AND THAT'S IT.

It does story in the WORST WAY POSSIBLE not just for legend of zelda standards but for gaming standards in general. The story is optional, let me repeat that, the story is optional. Now I understand zelda isn't really about story that much but again compare this to other zelda games like ocarina, majora's mask, wind waker, and twilight princess and it makes no sense why the story is something that can be ignored.

The game play is decent that's it, I'm not gonna go to far into it but it just does things that are basic like wall climbing, sprinting, and freedom to do fight however you want.

The game is way to easy to the point you're not punished for anything and don't sit there telling me about how you died because that tells me you didn't use (abuse) the cooking system and the stupidly endless amount of ways to help yourself out in a fight. In past zelda games if you died it's because of a certain curveball that was thrown your way unexpectedly but here it's mostly because "I thought the healing/defensive/offensive items I had were enough" which I found that I never ran out of. Again I understand games have to be casual to attract a certain crowd but BoTW is so casual that people go in as their first zelda game and walk out thinking the games have always been this childish of a baby's first open world game that makes even star fox adventures look like ninja gaiden.

The shrines are dumb, stupidly easy, pointless unless you REALLY want the master sword, and not worth it at all since you can still increase your health (temporarily) with potions and food. Now what does shrines have to do with health? When you complete a shrine you get a spirit orb, collect four and you can either increase health or stamina, both of which aren't really needed for the completion of the game since you can just use potions and food to do that for you.

The dumbest one of all that gets defended the most by fanboys, the weapon durability. Compare the weapon durability to something like elder scrolls and if you still defend how quick the weapons break then you're a deluded pathetic fanboy. There is no reason a sword should break by swinging at the air (I'm not even kidding) and by all means please go and explain that I'll grab a chair and listen to whatever pathetic excuse you have for that. And shockingly, the master sword doesn't break but has to "recharge" which wouldn't be so bad if you still could use the sword just as a weaker variant but you can't. It just becomes unusable for 20 minutes and by the time you get it if you decide to go after it the thing does pathetic damage, all that hard work for a sword that does as much damage as a basic hyrule sword and less than the other more powerful weapons.

Overall the game isn't even that good it's just beautiful to look at, enemy variety is basic, like PS1 basic. Have you seen grandma's boy? You know that part where the asian guy tells JP about re-coloring the enemies to save time and not have to re-design them? Yeah that's what it is here like they took a page out of a typical mario game and slapped it on here and before you go "well this is nintendo they always do this" then it means you haven't played any nintendo game outside mario, pokemon, and zelda. At the time of this games release sure it MIGHT've been something worth playing on switch because there wasn't much worth playing till splatoon 2 or Xenoblade 2 dropped but now? Amongst the entire library available? I can think of five better open world games and that was just a 2 second quick thought process, also keep in mind this is a wii u game and even for wii u Xenoblade Chronicles X is FAR more interesting than this and offers a BETTER open world experience with a BETTER VARIETY OF ENEMIES native to each new location.

For that true legend of zelda experience this ain't it chief unless you just want to experience the open world of hyrule that this game offers which is the ONLY highlight of the game, everything else is just mediocre and doesn't compare to other open world games.… Expand

MikComposer

Apr 22, 2023

5

It's not bad, but it's boring. Very boring. And even more annoying then boring. It is not the Zelda game I like. To much running around for nothing. I don't think I will be completing it. Previous Zelda's where much more driven and to the point.

HappySpaceInvad

Aug 27, 2020

7

A lot of 10/10 reviews here, finding no fault with the game despite the outrageously derivative content (Skyrim, Dark Souls, Just Cause, plus every flippin’ Ubisoft open world game). And more than 1,000 ridiculously low scores... this game is certainly above average in some respects.

Personally, I think the Jimquisition review hit the nail on the head with both the score and the twoA lot of 10/10 reviews here, finding no fault with the game despite the outrageously derivative content (Skyrim, Dark Souls, Just Cause, plus every flippin’ Ubisoft open world game). And more than 1,000 ridiculously low scores... this game is certainly above average in some respects.

Personally, I think the Jimquisition review hit the nail on the head with both the score and the two key aspects that spoil this latest Link adventure. It’s the ludicrously fragile weapons, and Link’s surprisingly limited stamina that instantly breaks immersion and make you feel the game doesn’t want you to enjoy your time in Hyrule too much (unless you’re a masochist of course).

What makes this worse is this situation doesn’t improve as you progress through the game. It’s actually impossible to ever get Link’s stamina anywhere near that of an average human (in terms of running ability) and the one single unbreakable weapon you eventually get has a limited number of hits before it’s unusable for a period of time... so not a massive improvement. My personal bugbear is that I never seem to get one-handed weapons other than useless wooden clubs... I have 8 two-handed swords, that I dislike fighting with.

And the faux-English accents of the (American) English language voice actors really are dreadful; if you are even vaguely conversant in any other language (bearing in mind you can retain English subtitles) I would urge you to switch (pun intended). I chosen Spanish (Latin American) myself, which means the game serves a second purpose as a much-needed boost to my vocabulary. Mexican Zelda (Zeldacita?) is much less of a sighing wet blanket, and you can actually hear what she’s saying above the background music, which is a bonus.

If the game didn’t apparently hate me so much, I’d love to give it 8 or 9 out of 10. As it is.. 7 will have to do.… Expand

Mindurbidniss

Jan 31, 2022

6

The hype for this game is outrageous. Sure it's fun, but it's designed to discourage such paper mache' weapon durability, ultra thin stamina and health meters, quests that are structured to frustrate. This game will take more from you than it will give. Prepare for boredom, frustration, and the urge to just quit. After you can get past these initial feelings the game opens up and you beginThe hype for this game is outrageous. Sure it's fun, but it's designed to discourage such paper mache' weapon durability, ultra thin stamina and health meters, quests that are structured to frustrate. This game will take more from you than it will give. Prepare for boredom, frustration, and the urge to just quit. After you can get past these initial feelings the game opens up and you begin to understand its systems. After reaching this point countless hours will pass and you won't even realize you've been playing that long. A sense of accomplishment will come with each shrine puzzle completed or mini boss defeated. You'll become immersed. If only it were a more reciprocal relationship.… Expand

ShadowofZexa

Oct 25, 2021

7

Breath Of Wild is a great game, no doubt about it. However the game feels way too different from other Zelda games and feels worse because of it. The combat in Zelda hasn't been amazing but it worked in this game it's very difficult since the game wants have good reaction time to pull off attacks that do a lot damage. That's okay but having to do this a lot since your weapons in this gameBreath Of Wild is a great game, no doubt about it. However the game feels way too different from other Zelda games and feels worse because of it. The combat in Zelda hasn't been amazing but it worked in this game it's very difficult since the game wants have good reaction time to pull off attacks that do a lot damage. That's okay but having to do this a lot since your weapons in this game don't do too much damage. There is also no way to upgrade your weapons to make them do more damage. One issue in this game that is almost a dealbreaker at times is your durability of your weapons they feel like sticks and break very easily. There is also no way to upgrade your weapons making for a lot of weapon hunting and inventory management which is very slow and boring.
The story is pretty good but not amazing like in Skyward Sword, The graphics look amazing and I love the way Nintendo made the visuals in this game. Another thing I do like the use of voice acting in the game and it's a welcome edition to the Zelda series. Overall Breath Of The Wild is good blueprint for BOTW 2 that I believe can be an amazing game if they improve on it's flaws.… Expand

RDonnell

Nov 22, 2021

7

Good game, Innovates but technically a failure. The art style will be eternal and will scale well in future but clearly the game is not being done justice. This 30fps 1080p nonsense is just that. This is a masterpeice of art constrained to an underpowered platform. I would give this game 9/10 if it were on a better gaming platform that could enable 4k/60. Byt Nintendo are so jealous andGood game, Innovates but technically a failure. The art style will be eternal and will scale well in future but clearly the game is not being done justice. This 30fps 1080p nonsense is just that. This is a masterpeice of art constrained to an underpowered platform. I would give this game 9/10 if it were on a better gaming platform that could enable 4k/60. Byt Nintendo are so jealous and greedy they continue to persist on only allowing you to see the true art of a game many years later. The HD Skyward Sword release is a perfect example of this crime!… Expand

zekepliskin

Mar 14, 2023

5

Some good bits and innovations, but It's painfully overrated at this point.

There are a lot of clever bits, sure. Do the tutorial and go explore the map, getting to the top of those often pretty challenging in a good way towers, unlock the map. Initially the variety of the shrines is engaging. Interactivity like being able to make your own shelter and fire from flint you found, scaleSome good bits and innovations, but It's painfully overrated at this point.

There are a lot of clever bits, sure. Do the tutorial and go explore the map, getting to the top of those often pretty challenging in a good way towers, unlock the map. Initially the variety of the shrines is engaging. Interactivity like being able to make your own shelter and fire from flint you found, scale any mountain you can see and have stamina for, prepare your own dishes. This sets a new standard for open-world games.

The problem I found is, after a while it just gets repetitive and the flaws start to become obvious while the initial novelties of the gameplay mechanics start to wear thin. I did 30-50 hours on the Switch, put the game away and then never felt compelled to play it again. I got to the elephant Divine Beast, Ruta or whatever it was called, and was bored.

I think what gets me the most is that basically all weapons other than the Master Sword break. No, you can't repair them. They all shatter. The Master Sword, while it doesn't have that problem, constantly needs recharging. I suppose if you own an iPhone you're used to that in the real world, but it doesn't make it acceptable in a game.

Even if the weapons weren't constantly exploding, forcing you to kill the momentum of a battle by scrolling through your inventory looking for a suitable substitute, there isn't exactly a huge variety of enemies to dispatch with them. You'll see palette-swapped Hobgoblins or Bokoblins or whatever they're called all day long. Same old Guardians everywhere; when you learn the trick to destroying them that gets monotonous too. Lot of the bosses and mini-bosses get reused. I get it, animation is expensive, but I would have chosen a smaller map and more enemy variety, personally, spend the game budget there instead.

You can tell it was designed for the dual-screen Wii U; there's a lot of legacy references to it left in. Nintendo spent too much money developing it to let it die on the Wii U, clearly, so they ported it here. Might explain the pretty poor DRS and frame rate issues; it's easy for the engine to get overstressed and start dropping those frames.

The shrines, too, get overdone. Sometimes the biggest obstacle and most fun part is getting to them, only to find it's a rehashed Mini Guardian boss fight or some ever-so-slightly-different iteration of some puzzle that was only vaguely challenging the first time. Never seems like they get more complex or force you to think much, or combine the unlockable powers in interesting ways.

The story is a bit thin, too. There's not much in the way of character development, or indeed many story-relevant characters at all. Zelda is somewhere between a cardboard cutout and a fairly standard warrior princess cliché; not much going on there.

I'd like to say the music is memorable, but beyond reusing the standard Zelda themes and musical cues from older games I preferred (Link's Awakening, while pretty linear, was more fun than this is to me) I can't remember a note.

I think I might have given the game a six or seven but the amount of praise heaped on BotW, I just don't get it, when people say "there isn't a thing wrong with it" and I can list a few things right away. A lot of the open world "innovation" is just stuff I thought you should always be able to do in games, and some that came before it had elements of those anyway, so I wasn't "blown away". Even reading through the most recent reviews it just reads like simping for the game while not even being able to articulate specific things they like about it before they hand it another easy 10. I wish it were better to me, I wish I was playing the same game everyone else was, but honestly it's a bit meh; certainly not terrible as there is stuff here to praise, but not the wondrous all-encompassing masterpiece some people seem to think it is.

I personally think as hugely-praised and sometimes criticised for it open-world RPGs go, Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are the greater achievement. The Witcher 3 is dripping with fascinating characters, multi-part arcs, a nice balance of linear storytelling versus explore and find yourself. Stumbling onto quests and things in that game feels more organic, and I can tell you more about Zoltan and Triss from that one than I can about the lumps of unshaped clay that are the "characters" here. There's more world building, more lore. Actually the same is true about Skyrim, to an extent, and even though that's got a creaky old game engine powering it, was a more fascinating world too. I can't remember a lot about the questing I did in BotW, but I certainly remember things like the vampire DLC storylines, the thousand steps (and yes there are way less than a thousand) and Ebony Warrior character pretty well in that game.

And you know the great thing? Both Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are also available on the Switch… Expand

Wimpher

Nov 9, 2022

7

Wow like wth is up with all these 10’s? I think everyone just WANTS this game to be the greatest of all time. They’ve decided this long before the game even came out. It’s ZELDA, after all…and Nintendo. They can do no wrong, right?
So yeah, has anyone figured that maybe, just maybe those 0 reviews are just counterweight to all the mindless, brainless 10’s this game is receiving? Because toWow like wth is up with all these 10’s? I think everyone just WANTS this game to be the greatest of all time. They’ve decided this long before the game even came out. It’s ZELDA, after all…and Nintendo. They can do no wrong, right?
So yeah, has anyone figured that maybe, just maybe those 0 reviews are just counterweight to all the mindless, brainless 10’s this game is receiving? Because to me this is nowhere near as charming of a game as Ocarina of Time was. And that game I bought day one and even got the gold cartridge. I find BotW to be one of the most grossly overrated video games I have come across.
There’s greatness in there, sure…but overall I find the games design to be bland and dull. The dungeons are a huge yawn fest compared to the masterfully designed areas of OoT and I found the entire soundtrack to be lazy and boring. Also I can’t stand the new design for Link.

I don’t know….I just feel this game isn’t really the Zelda I once loved. OoT and TP are both vastly superior Zelda games to me.

Lastly, the original Final Fantasy VII is still the greatest video game ever made and no one will ever change my mind.

See? Opinions. Not everyone is going to be brainwashed into praising this game like it’s the second coming of Christ. Seriously based on all these 10’s that’s what I was assuming and came out absolutely disappointed. I ain’t gonna give it a 0 ad it’s a solid video game but I understand why some are gonna want to give it a 0.
There are so many games that I find far more superior such as Shadow of the Colossus (ps4), God of War, A Plague Tale (both games), Resident Evil 2, The Last Guardian, etc.

Honestly, I think I have very particular tastes and unique style and many games of this new generation don’t even really appeal to me anymore. Most of my other all time favs ever come from the past like Silent Hill 2, FFVII, FFVIII, FFX, Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver, ICO, Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Tekken 3, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Contra, Streets of Rage, Ninja Gaiden I can go on and on…..

Breath of the Wild isn’t my cup of tea but it is simply a good game. Nothing more, nothing less.… Expand

HDRip

Apr 26, 2023

5

It's not a bad game, but it's far from perfect either. The gameplay is reminiscent of Ubisoft games: a large open world in which there is nothing interesting, except for enemies and a lot of fairly monotonous activities. Primitive combat system, for the most part consisting of calling enemies with one button. Yes, the game provides a lot of options that allow you to diversify the battles,It's not a bad game, but it's far from perfect either. The gameplay is reminiscent of Ubisoft games: a large open world in which there is nothing interesting, except for enemies and a lot of fairly monotonous activities. Primitive combat system, for the most part consisting of calling enemies with one button. Yes, the game provides a lot of options that allow you to diversify the battles, but there is no real need to use them, because. it will not make your fight faster and easier, it's just a way to somehow dilute boredom and monotony. I personally sorely lacked the spirit of exploration in the game, which I feel, for example, in the TES series or in The Witcher 3, when I study the map and constantly stumble upon something interesting: some quest character, notes, an interesting unique situation, etc. d. In Zelda, I only ran into enemies, enemies, enemies, enemies. And I didn't find anything interesting.… Expand

SirAwesomeness5

Jun 30, 2020

6

I gave the game a chance, but I could not get into it at all. However, I can tell that it is a very polished game, and that everyone should at least give it a chance.

Carlinhos_86

Nov 23, 2019

7

Zelda: Breath of the Wild is huge, beautiful and plays great, and I love that ramp up in combat challenge compared to past Zelda iterations. But to me, the positive aspects of this game end here, and its downsides sum up to make it only a passable Zelda experience.

I personally miss the thematic dungeons of past games, and the gadgets you earned in them. In the previous entries, it feltZelda: Breath of the Wild is huge, beautiful and plays great, and I love that ramp up in combat challenge compared to past Zelda iterations. But to me, the positive aspects of this game end here, and its downsides sum up to make it only a passable Zelda experience.

I personally miss the thematic dungeons of past games, and the gadgets you earned in them. In the previous entries, it felt like all the minor puzzles in a dungeon were part of a bigger, cohesive puzzle that led me to a reward in the form of a the new trinket, and an epic boss fight. This feeling is gone in Breath of the Wild, as the beasts and shrines offer no new tools for your inventory, and the boss designs are uninspired.

Enemy variety is lackluster.

The weapon breaking system was a joy killer, since it turned weapons into basically consumable items. They could've made the system similar to Dark Souls, where the weapons last much longer than a couple hits and are repairable. This way, the top tier weapons are provided to the player much more sparingly, and they actually feel like a reward, instead of a consumable. This even opens up room for the existence of unique boss weapons, since you can repair them if they break.

This last complain is a nitpick of mine, but I loathe autosave, specially when it saves to multiple files. This seems to be a trend in the latest Nintendo's first party games (looking at you, Luigi's Mansion). If you're going to make an autosave system, give me the option to turn it off and/or make me able to delete the files I don't want to keep.… Expand

Mordes

Jul 4, 2020

5

No story, useless quest rewards, outrageously uninteresting boss dungeons and repetitive. The game is just not finished. To many shrines with ALL the same color, I was just hoping for a one room shrine to get ride of it. It was a wonderful creation for his visuals and the playability of Link. But the broking weapons were horrible. I usualy love Link's games but this one was a message.No story, useless quest rewards, outrageously uninteresting boss dungeons and repetitive. The game is just not finished. To many shrines with ALL the same color, I was just hoping for a one room shrine to get ride of it. It was a wonderful creation for his visuals and the playability of Link. But the broking weapons were horrible. I usualy love Link's games but this one was a message. Somone jaser to tell the truth! I love Nintendo! Peace!… Expand

fedehorn

Jul 10, 2021

7

Finally after all the good reviews I played this game and maybe because my expectation were high I felt a bit disappointed. I didn't really appreciate some game mechanics like the absence of a weapons status (since them can be destroyed you don't really know which one is worth to kept), some special moves have the same buttons of others attack (ZL is used both to guard and for Daruk’sFinally after all the good reviews I played this game and maybe because my expectation were high I felt a bit disappointed. I didn't really appreciate some game mechanics like the absence of a weapons status (since them can be destroyed you don't really know which one is worth to kept), some special moves have the same buttons of others attack (ZL is used both to guard and for Daruk’s Protection, and long Y press for strong attack and for Urbosa’s Fury) and more in general the combat sistem could be improved. Some other thigs didn't get a proper tutorial so on early fase was vary hard to manage (horse mount and the mechanism to create potion and food). The game doesn't give a proper count of all the sub activities like shrine, you don't really know how many of them are missing unless you walk without a real dastination, in an area you could have done everything but the game didn't inform you. That's sad because the shrine puzzles were the funniest part of the game. From an aestetic and graphic point of view I've nothing to say, just awsome some times a slightery frame rate drop but nothing to impossible to face. The story is maybe to weak, I would have preferred more dept and diversify main missions, in the end you just need to do the same thing 4 times before facing the boss.… Expand

Zethor

Aug 17, 2020

7

Breath of the Wild is a wonderfully ambitious game with so much to offer, but its ambition often gets in the way of becoming a more well-made game. It is one of the most free games out there supporting so many different playstyles and approaches, yet has baffling decisions that restrict these freedoms. It is a game that respects your time and allows you to ignore key story beats and createBreath of the Wild is a wonderfully ambitious game with so much to offer, but its ambition often gets in the way of becoming a more well-made game. It is one of the most free games out there supporting so many different playstyles and approaches, yet has baffling decisions that restrict these freedoms. It is a game that respects your time and allows you to ignore key story beats and create your own adventure, yet tries to railroad players into playing through its narrative anyway, causing the game to feel hollow for anyone expecting a game similar to previous zelda titles, as the strong linear dungeon design and memorable plots that define that game are completely absent here. It is a game that tries to present puzzles to the player through its various shrines, only to make these puzzles feel half-baked and incomplete. Breath of the Wild is a game of contradictions; a game that will likely feel middling to those wanting a more traditional Zelda experience.

Despite these criticisms, Breath of the Wild is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played; its weak dungeon design and unmemorable plots make it easy for a player such as myself to simply ignore them and enjoy the freedom the game provides me, the various restrictions on one's freedom such as rain allow me to find new creative ways to find my freedom anyway by using the game's incredibly strong - and at the same time horribly broken - physics, the half-baked puzzles lend themselves to being broken and ignored entirely with enough creativity, with any two trips through many shrines not being the same for me between playthroughs as I slowly learn how to abuse the game's physics more and more to reach the end of these shrines in the strangest, most satisfying ways possible, and for those seeking a more traditional Zelda experience the game still provides an abundance of sidequests that allow my friends who don't have the same outlook as I do to sink 200+ hours into this game in a single playthrough. I myself have done the same, but over multiple playthroughs as I find new ways to bend this game to my will; this game that provides a sense of freedom and satisfaction unlike any other. This isn't even getting into the game's art and music, both of which are absolutely stunning; this game is the best that the Zelda series has ever looked, and the competition for a title like that is strong.

This does not mean that the complaints are not warranted. Those complaints are what make this game worthy of a 7, despite my glowing review. But it is because of these complaints that a simple score cannot do this game justice; it may be a horribly flawed game with issues one could talk about for hours, but it's also one of the most ambitious games I've ever played, and is my favorite game currently on either of the consoles this game was released on for that reason.… Expand

ThatguyUknow

Apr 14, 2021

6

As a game, it's good but poorly implemented grind (to showcase features of hardware) and weapon deterioration, as a LOZ game, it's terrible because it's story felt like it got thrown in late in the game's development so what little story we did get was reminiscent of Destiny 1's launch story. My gripe of lack of character maybe because it's a massive world and so the characters of theAs a game, it's good but poorly implemented grind (to showcase features of hardware) and weapon deterioration, as a LOZ game, it's terrible because it's story felt like it got thrown in late in the game's development so what little story we did get was reminiscent of Destiny 1's launch story. My gripe of lack of character maybe because it's a massive world and so the characters of the world are spread out.… Expand

Slmft

Mar 30, 2023

7

Open world way too huge and repetitive for hours... meh! Shrine after shrine... meh! Dungeons/titans were really boring. Weapon "system" good Idea but after many broken swords and shields... meh! Story(telling) was really good.

CoolBR

Oct 17, 2022

7

It is a good game, I can see the amount of effort that the developers put into this game.

The only thing I didn't like was the story. I've felt a lack of a good story, it is just too generic about saving a kingdom, also I despise mute protagonists. Maybe I didn't like the story because I didn't play the older Zelda games, but I still think that the story is generic anyways and IIt is a good game, I can see the amount of effort that the developers put into this game.

The only thing I didn't like was the story. I've felt a lack of a good story, it is just too generic about saving a kingdom, also I despise mute protagonists. Maybe I didn't like the story because I didn't play the older Zelda games, but I still think that the story is generic anyways and I appreciate a good depth story in the games I play.

The gameplay is the best part of the game, the combat is awesome. The base is a "Souls Style of Combat" but it has some peculiarities that make it even more interesting. The weapons you use always will break there is nothing you can do to stop them to break so you need to change the weapons and each weapon has a different type of attack and some have special moves like light beams, that really incentive the player to try out different weapons and I really liked. It is cool you don't need to upgrade your weapon to use it, so you can pick up any weapon from the ground and you are ready to use it immediately.

Another peculiarity is how intuitive is the combat, pretty much everything you think works out like you can make things fall over the enemies to kill them, you can throw them on the water, you can use stealth. It is really fun.

The puzzles and the exploration are good, nothing at Mario Odyssey puzzles level but it is still better than the average puzzles you see in the games industry.… Expand

starki11er

Apr 30, 2023

7

Despues de 6 años que se puede escribir de este juego?
Si bien no es excelente, se ha repetido tanto que es una joya, un caliz perdido, un cambiador de vidas que la mentira se convierte en verdad indiscutible, los compradores han hecho tan propia la IP que al decir que el juego no es perfecto lo defienden con uñas y dientes mas que su propia familia.
la nula variedad de enemigo, laDespues de 6 años que se puede escribir de este juego?
Si bien no es excelente, se ha repetido tanto que es una joya, un caliz perdido, un cambiador de vidas que la mentira se convierte en verdad indiscutible, los compradores han hecho tan propia la IP que al decir que el juego no es perfecto lo defienden con uñas y dientes mas que su propia familia.
la nula variedad de enemigo, la falta de piezas memorables de koji kondo, armas de cristal, enemigos esponjas, espacios tan vacios, nulos calabozos son algo que no se pueden pasar por alto.
sin embargo la experiencia de la exploracion es lo que es un punto de inflexion para la franquicia que atrajo a propios y extraños.… Expand

Uhrmacher

Mar 2, 2021

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unpopular opinion: Playing Breath of the Wild through for the first time and I don't get the hype. It is no where near the quality of ALTTP and OOT. Definitely not the best Zelda ever. The weapon durability system is stupid. Everything doesn't need to hit like a damn truck. The dungeons are pitifully short. Most of your playtime is spent running around and climbing. The mechanics are poorly explained. The food system is interesting but annoying. The tutorial plateau was the most fun part until I was met with the disappointment that was the rest of the game. It's like they created this huge open area and then added the other stuff last minute. Even Phantom Hourglass was better than this. I'd maybe place it 5th or 6th in the list, below ALTTP, OOT, LA, and Link Between Worlds. I get that they wanted to change up the formula, but this just isn't good.… Expand

xXClutchDutchXx

May 18, 2020

7

This game.... idk how to describe it. I like/dislike it so much. It's got such good concepts and feel. It's all there. All the material is there and it just buries it. U can't see past the grind. The experience is 75 percent of a slow crawl just to get to that amazing 25 percent. This might be fine in some cases but when u have 75% in a 50hr campaign, it's hard to forgive. It's likeThis game.... idk how to describe it. I like/dislike it so much. It's got such good concepts and feel. It's all there. All the material is there and it just buries it. U can't see past the grind. The experience is 75 percent of a slow crawl just to get to that amazing 25 percent. This might be fine in some cases but when u have 75% in a 50hr campaign, it's hard to forgive. It's like playing all that middle section for red dead 2, only double it. The "stamina" mechanic feels put in just to lengthen the game. The maps mostly empty, with very slim ways to travel. Every tomb has the same dialogue at the end, the bosses are just reused, u might see 2 people in the game every 18hrs. The people u do get are interesting, along with their side quest but it's like none we're put in. If anyone else done something like this (no man sky) it would have been torn apart. Take the Zelda name of the game and tell me it would be the same... if u haven't played the game yet, I recommend trying the new o e when it comes out. I'd say it will have quest in it then.… Expand

MisterMacys

Feb 16, 2021

7

It was alright. I get that the devs wanted to emphasize personal exploration, but it meant the plot just ended up lacking any real drama or sense of urgency. Also the lack of any dungeons was ass, and NO the guardians don't count; they're just bigger shrines.

thecasualgaymer

Feb 16, 2021

7

A great game, but not my cup of tea. The shrines didn't feel like compelling puzzles, the combat was fine but the frequency of the weapons breaking was annoying, and the post game content is literally nothing. It's just the game pretending as though nothing has changed.

The shining gem of the game is of course the exploration, and in that area it is a shining 10/10, but exploration doesA great game, but not my cup of tea. The shrines didn't feel like compelling puzzles, the combat was fine but the frequency of the weapons breaking was annoying, and the post game content is literally nothing. It's just the game pretending as though nothing has changed.

The shining gem of the game is of course the exploration, and in that area it is a shining 10/10, but exploration does not a full game make.… Expand

Bro2

May 20, 2021

7

Decent game as a whole but it gets boring fast. Very limited by the switch’s power so I’d put it as an equivalent to a 10 year old PC game. Good story, looks decent but so many other games are better in 2021

Poti

Jun 4, 2023

6

I love Zelda games and I thought that this could be the best, it is not even close for me, fun but I don't see what everyone sees in this game, the story is empty and badly told. The side quests are all something like: give me 10 apples and I'll give you 50 rupees. Link seems like a lifeless being, no matter what happens he doesn't show any facial expression, something that happens inI love Zelda games and I thought that this could be the best, it is not even close for me, fun but I don't see what everyone sees in this game, the story is empty and badly told. The side quests are all something like: give me 10 apples and I'll give you 50 rupees. Link seems like a lifeless being, no matter what happens he doesn't show any facial expression, something that happens in Zeldas from dozens of years ago. and among many other things (The variety of enemies is ridiculous, the "dungeons" are very bad, the menus are clunky and stop the gameplay a lot, and more), people say that the exploration is the best thing about this game, but in My opinion feels very empty, I felt a loop where I said: Look what a beautiful place, let's see what there is, and there was a chest with a weapon worse than all the ones you already have or 1 kolog with the same puzzle that you have done 40 times. Morrowind feels much more alive and came out in 2001.… Expand

EisenHans

Aug 19, 2020

5

I think this game is just bland and a waste of time. I enjoyed most of the other zelda games, but this one isn't my thing.

LasseRon

May 25, 2023

7

Weapon system is horrible and it feels really unrewarding to explore as the only thing you can really discover is shrines and koroks.

adrielcarv

Jun 20, 2020

7

Minha primeira vez jogando essa bem-sussedida franquia. Talvez o que tenha me faltado pra julgar melhor foi a nostalgia. Achei um jogo muito lindo, no entanto enjoativo.

Hewron

Mar 28, 2021

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is really overrated!
The story is ok, combat is annoying, enemies are far too obnoxious to fight, bosses are actually kinda cool except for ganon in his second phase and the divine beasts were god-awful. The worst one was the fire one. Jesus christ. Looking back at the game it was not worth the 60$ price tag.… Expand

sicksak

Jul 19, 2023

5

I think this game is just bland and boring. I enjoyed most of the other zelda games, but this one isn't my thing and the weapons are breakable.

Brand0n

May 25, 2021

7

Is a great game because link is a fantastic character but the game is not better than the calculator

BLueSS

Dec 31, 2021

5

Cooking and crafting. Once I'm required to do these in my rpg, I lose interest. Bummer.

jELeeoo

Feb 6, 2022

6

It seemed promising at first, but every aspect of this game has been outplayed by prior titles (except for graphics). This game is mostly proud of how big its open world is, but not what's actually in it, all you'll find is a barren wasteland that reminds you that the story you wish this game could have took place 100 years prior.

Radlerdani

Dec 4, 2022

5

Ein gutes Adventure Game aber kein Zelda für mich. Mehr als die Hälfte der Zeit im Menü um seine kaputten Waffen durch zu switchen, große Welt mit wenig Inhalt und keine klassischen Dungeons. Lieber eine kleinere Open World, Dungeons und klassisches Schwert / Item System.

MetaBones

Apr 4, 2023

7

Giving this thing anything less than a stellar rating is quite controversial but nevertheless, I need to be honest. 90% of the game is phenomenal. The other 10% is detrimental enough for my own enjoyment that it brings the entire game down in my book.

First, the great. The open world aspect lends itself well to the franchise and was a fresh take on the formula. Starting off with allGiving this thing anything less than a stellar rating is quite controversial but nevertheless, I need to be honest. 90% of the game is phenomenal. The other 10% is detrimental enough for my own enjoyment that it brings the entire game down in my book.

First, the great. The open world aspect lends itself well to the franchise and was a fresh take on the formula. Starting off with all your necessary tools and learning how to use them promotes creativity for problem solving unlike anything I've ever seen in a game. The exploration has scale and depth I truly wasn't expecting. The survival elements to the game were very interesting and was mostly executed well.

Next, the negatives. This boils down to really just one: weapon durability. The constant and pervasive anxiety I had while fending off enemies, wondering if I'll be able to defend myself in any moment decentivized me from exploring further or engaging in combat. This was a huge detriment to me as a part of the combat is getting creative and problem solving. When I was constantly going into battles and burning through literally all of my weapons and still having enemies left, I ended up needing to run away with no weapons left and nothing to show for my efforts. If the game had provided some ways to repair some weapons or increase durability just by a bit, things could've been different.

Exploring new locations, gaining new skills and equipment, meeting new people all lost its vigor when I simply just didn't want to explore anymore due to the stress this aspect brought. Even a game as brutal as Dark Souls manages to keep weapon durability reasonable and repair options accessible. BOTW did neither and created a rather stressful and frustrating experience. It's a shame too because besides that issue, the game is phenomenal in every possible way. I just wished they would've made that aspect more player-friendly so I could enjoy the experience more.

While the game has deserved the praise it has received, I haven't returned to the game after about 20 hours. I just stopped and didn't want to return to the world that did not provide the tools I needed from the beginning.… Expand

Digijon

Apr 4, 2023

5

The game has such awesome potential but is massively let down by an overly complicated and frustrating combat system, with most of the monsters being able to kill you with one hit. It's such a shame they couldn't learn from ocarina of time, where you could lock on and stay locked on to enemies. Also, pulling out your shield should override everything else, if the enemies are going to beThe game has such awesome potential but is massively let down by an overly complicated and frustrating combat system, with most of the monsters being able to kill you with one hit. It's such a shame they couldn't learn from ocarina of time, where you could lock on and stay locked on to enemies. Also, pulling out your shield should override everything else, if the enemies are going to be quick your blocking needs to be quick.… Expand

Tselel

Mar 14, 2017

7

Story - Of course, its your typical Zelda game with good vs evil or to be specific Link (amnesiac) vs. Calamity Ganon. The difference in this installment is that before the start of the game. Zelda lost...thats that. Nothing really interest me the whole campaign nor there was any good characterization of each and every character. Its like the game assumes you know who is who and what isStory - Of course, its your typical Zelda game with good vs evil or to be specific Link (amnesiac) vs. Calamity Ganon. The difference in this installment is that before the start of the game. Zelda lost...thats that. Nothing really interest me the whole campaign nor there was any good characterization of each and every character. Its like the game assumes you know who is who and what is and whats not. I cant say it is bad, but on today's standards...Typical doesn't do anymore. A score of 7/10

Gameplay - Now this is where the game shines. Its gameplay is great! The open world is interactive, storms gets you lightnings if you wield a sword, rain makes climbing slippery and boxed, things, etc. actually hurt when it falls on you, Fruits actually grow on trees through time. The fighting mechanics is also good, with the addition of parries and slow motion mode. Added those things with the unique and classic great puzzles of the zelda franchise. However, not everything is perfect in this aspect. The durability system is **** up that weapons get destroyed in 5-6 hits used. in fact you need atleast 20x of each types of weapons to actually not worry about losing them, next the bosses as well as ALL enemies of this game has bad AI, other than them looting weapons on the ground(which is cool btw) nothing really gives me any challenge from any of them. You just need to press that attack button and no need of actual dodging to actually beat most of the creeps ingame and lastly, the world despite being ok, is lifeless. Therefore, a score of 8/10

Graphics - Well, its cartoonish, colorful but....Its butt ugly as of today's console standards. Yeah the graphics IS decent in handheld mode, but the console is really a pain in the eyes to see. Its so outdated, the design of walls, etc. pixels are so obvious its painful. Thus, a fair score of 6/10.

Sound - I dont have any complaints with the soundtrack of the game. Its great, the intruments used are good, pleasant to the ears and soothing. The same could not be said to the character voice though, i could say the devs didnt really put any effort on that aspect which clearly showed how lazy they are in doing atleas a decent job in putting gooding voice acting to the game's characters. A score of 8/10

Total average = 7.25

First of all. Imo, seeing how HIGH this game in the critics column of the game page. I could say its really overrated. Seeing as most of the reviewers that made it where mostly likely been a fan of the franchise since they were little and that feel of nostalgia got them to be biased with the game. As for me, its not right, BOTW IS A GOOD GAME, but no way in hell it is a masterpiece. The game doesn't really did any revolutionary in its gameplay to consider it a "best" nor its story is that engrossing too as well its graphics and environment ist really that good or anything. IT IS JUST A GOOD GAME WITH A ZELDA TITLE. hell, i think if its another title an d without "zelda" in it then this would be averaging 70-75 in the metacritic. regardless, i gave what i feel a score that shows what the game is to those potential buyers. Is it worth it if you have a switch? well, you dont have a choice since its the only decent out there. But imo, wait for more good games to come out before buying switch.… Expand

BouncingBest

Mar 14, 2017

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Before you lose your minds, understand this is a good game and it's worth a purchase if you enjoy Zelda and I love Zelda, it's my favorite series.

With that said - Breath of the Wild tries very hard to be a modern open world Dark Soulsy meets Skyrim kinda game but the mechanics cause it to fall on it's face. One hit kills are a thing. Lock on isn't as easy to use as before. Weapons are as durable as icicles on a hot summer's day (unless in the enemies hands, they never break then) until you have grinded hours and can get better ones and the promise of "do anything you want, BotW says YES" comes with the fine print of "as long as you have the right gear/food/hearts/stamina/amiibos/etc". The Pay To Win amiibo aspect is also predictable but disappointing. Be warned that things like getting Epona via Amiibo comes with the fine print of "if you turn off your game or don't stable her, it never works again". Also be warned the strategy guide seems to purposely be missing things like amiibo functionality which is unforgivable and should be there to prevent things such as having to restart due to losing Epona.

So with that out of the way, let's talk about the positives. This game is beautiful. The world is beautiful. Finally being able to scale mountains is amazing and the fact that you can take your time and do numerous side quests or just explore instead of being stuck in the main story is a huge improvement. Cooking your own elixirs and food can give you a near limitless supply of health, stamina, and other items so you don't need to worry about purchasing them or having the luck to find them. There are so many great things that were added to this game that it's a shame the bad mechanics and flaws bog them down. This could have easily been a truly incredible experience, not a 10 because few games are that perfect, but at least a 9.

If you love Zelda, buy this. Don't be afraid of the Wii U version if you can't get a Switch, there isn't a huge amount of difference. If you're not into Zelda, then this is probably a skip. Other games did open world better and those will be more to your liking but if you feel little tingles of excitement every time you get a new chance to adventure with Link like me, you want this - flaws and all - just because it's Zelda.… Expand

prohobo

May 24, 2017

7

If you're reading through reviews wondering if everyone is insane, then let me tell you that this is the review I wish I had read before buying the game.

It's just as boring as you think it is. When people say that there is 'so much to do' they mean that you can do the same things, over and over again, a lot. * The puzzles are boring and/or annoying. * The exploration is fun forIf you're reading through reviews wondering if everyone is insane, then let me tell you that this is the review I wish I had read before buying the game.

It's just as boring as you think it is. When people say that there is 'so much to do' they mean that you can do the same things, over and over again, a lot.

* The puzzles are boring and/or annoying.
* The exploration is fun for about 10 hours (meaning that it IS genuinely fun, but it gets old if you're looking for any kind of depth).
* The story is cringe-inducing.
* There is no depth beyond the exploration, combat, and the crappy puzzles (shrines). Those three things are what you cycle through endlessly until you get tired or you decide to beat the game.
* This isn't really Zelda, not at all in it's ideal form.

If you consider Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask works of art, or 'experiences', then you will see right through this game. I'm not saying you won't like it, I'm just saying that you'll know exactly what's what after about 30 minutes.

Now, gripes out of the way: This game is RELAXING. Play it if you want to just do random stuff all day in Zelda-land and sometimes impress yourself with your ingenuity, find cute things to giggle about, and just kind of mindlessly 'do something'. The game, however, is not worth investing your imagination into, there's nothing here. It's a theme park.

A solid 7. Good sand-box toy/game, bad Zelda experience.… Expand

HeartThrobinson

Mar 12, 2017

7

Good: This game explores open world in a brand new way that hopefully other triple A games pick up on. The way Link moves around and explores the map from climbing to custom map markers makes this world more open than any open world before it. The map is bigger than Skyrim and smaller than the Witcher 3, but it is the only one where 100% of the maps surface is explore-able, thanks to theGood: This game explores open world in a brand new way that hopefully other triple A games pick up on. The way Link moves around and explores the map from climbing to custom map markers makes this world more open than any open world before it. The map is bigger than Skyrim and smaller than the Witcher 3, but it is the only one where 100% of the maps surface is explore-able, thanks to the mechanics of exploration.

Te combat is interesting and makes you think more than past Zelda titles. You can't just charge into a battle with even smaller enemies and expect to live. The world is full of things to do, and the biggest problem with completing objectives is how easy it is to get distracted on your way. The funny but sensible cartoon physics make the game more interesting.

The NPCs are all super interesting, and dialogue with them is snarky and funny. They also act like a regular village or explorers and make the world feel alive.

Bad: Despite how excellent an open world game this is, it did make mistakes.
The destructible weapons mechanic is one you can get used to. But that is the best I can say for it. It doesn't really add much to the game. It gets you to try more types of weapons, but there are only about 5 types and worrying about breaking your good ones actually locks you into using your worst and least enjoyable weapon most of the time. They could have included the varying weapon system and allowed people to keep the best weapons they got and achieved the same effect.

The cooking mechanic is kind of fun for the first couple meals you cook, but then it gets tedious. They should have used it exclusively for stat buffing, and left in game health recovery and buy-able health potions, so only those who wanted to cook a lot had to, and no one had to spend twenty minutes preparing their health recovery items.

Zelda does dungeons better than any other series out there. There are plenty of great dungeon crawlers, but none of them have the unique, beautiful, puzzling, and epic dungeons the Zelda series is famous for. This game does away with that.

There are few dungeons, and they are all short and have a bland, brown aesthetic. They combined could have made a single dungeon in another Zelda game, and not a very interesting one.

They used shrines, mini-dungeons, to address this. The problem is the shrines also have a consistently boring aesthetic, and aren't that interesting either. I completed every single shrine in game, and maybe 10 of them had interesting puzzles. The rest of the shrine puzzles were pretty obvious, and more designed to show of the game mechanics than to puzzle you. On top of that a huge chunk of them was just a repeat of the same three kind of boring fights with the same slightly varied enemy. An enemy that could have easily just been an over world enemy.

The side quests are almost all just fetch quests. There are a few really interesting and fun ones, but overall they are kind of boring, and most of the interesting ones are just a shrine in disguise.

Shrines end up making up for what the game is lacking in both dungeons and side quests, and while they are cool on their own, they are not enough to make up for either of those things. They at best can replace the over world puzzles that led to getting heart pieces before, they serve the same purpose and have the same length and difficulty. So they took three of the best parts of the series and tried to bundle them into one inadequate mechanic. If the shrines were put together you would have enough content for just under two dungeons in this game, including all of the actual dungeons.

Concerning other reviews: Yes, this is getting extra high scores because people are on a New Zelda high, and that will die down eventually. However anyone who has tried the game obviously knows it isn't a zero either. These people are just petty and for some reason offended that a game which isn't their favorite got good reviews.Ignore those morons, and don't believe people who overpraise it either. In a few months they will stop being so hyped up they can more accurately assess this game.

Its great, but could have been much better. This game does the worst thing you could to a lifetime Zelda fan. It gives you the craving to play Zelda, but it doesn't satisfy or meet that craving. This is mostly because of the lack of interesting dungeons and in depth side quests.

I give it a 6.5 out of 10.… Expand

Ubermonkey88

Jul 17, 2017

7

I must admit I've never been a massive Zelda fan over the years - I've enjoyed some of the games but it's not a series I've been mad for. However, with the hype surrounding this latest installment, I thought it's time to dust out the Wii and have a go! After playing through it, here's my thoughts from a neutral standpoint!

The Good Given the Wii U or Switch can't compete with PC orI must admit I've never been a massive Zelda fan over the years - I've enjoyed some of the games but it's not a series I've been mad for. However, with the hype surrounding this latest installment, I thought it's time to dust out the Wii and have a go! After playing through it, here's my thoughts from a neutral standpoint!

The Good

Given the Wii U or Switch can't compete with PC or other consoles from a hardware point of view, Nintendo have done very well to create a distinctive style for this game, and I think it works very well. Sunrises and sunsets are pretty, character models are well designed and the landscape is nice and varied. It's a cartoony style that I think works very well.

Combat, although basic, is grand. There's a variety of melee, ranged and magical weapons available and encounters with groups of enemies or strongholds include a degree of strategy or planning required. There are some annoyances though, which I'll mention later.

The inclusion of shrines was a sore point for many but I enjoyed looking for them and completing them, especially as each shrine gave you a token to use toward increasing your heart containers or stamina. Some are very short and simplistic but the majority of them are well thought out.

The Bad

The open world, although well designed and very pretty, can be a bit barren at times. There are very few major settlements throughout the map, aside from a handful of villages and stables to rest. I found myself spending too much time running across landscapes looking for something of interest, only to find very little.

Combat, although quite good, does have it's issues. Firstly, the lack of variety in enemies means it can get repetitive very quickly. Secondly weapon degradation is an issue. Many have pointed out this to be a minor annoyance, however I disagree. There's nothing worse than finding a great weapon only not to use because you don't want it to be destroyed after 3 hits. It takes away from the enjoyment of finding weapons. Also, during battles it's incredibly frustrating to have a weapon break and have to pause the game mid-battle to change it. It certainly helps break the immersion of the game.

Story is something that is an issue for many open world games (The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption being exceptions), and BOTW is no exception. There's a story in there somewhere, but it's very bare bones, and the open world format takes away any urgency of the main quest - "Please Link, you must get to Castle Hyrule as soon as you can and help Princess Zelda!" "Sure, but after I find 300 Korok seeds and all 120 shrines, then we'll think about it".

Overall, BOTW is a very good game, and is worth playing if you have a Wii U or Switch (well if you have a Switch, you've already bought it!). However, it's not the best open world game out there, and i fear that the very high scores are a lot to do with the fact that it has "The Legend of Zelda" tacked on to it. There are definitely much better open world games out there (Witcher 3, Skyrim, Horizon ZD, Red Dead Redemption, GTA V) but again, it's faults aside, it is worth playing and is an enjoyable game.… Expand

Kirahategod

Mar 14, 2017

7

This game looks pretty fresh, but gameplay is poorly balanced. Each weapon is made of literally glass and breaks after 5-15 hits. No matter how you insist about being "openworld rpg" it does not making it better rpg, its only making it more empty, it breaking the flow of the game, and if some games, like skyrim or witcher 3 builded arround this concept wisely, here i feel it a bit empty, aThis game looks pretty fresh, but gameplay is poorly balanced. Each weapon is made of literally glass and breaks after 5-15 hits. No matter how you insist about being "openworld rpg" it does not making it better rpg, its only making it more empty, it breaking the flow of the game, and if some games, like skyrim or witcher 3 builded arround this concept wisely, here i feel it a bit empty, a bit ubisofty if you ask me/ Its good game, but not 10out10 in any way.… Expand

Xeliassame

Mar 14, 2017

7

It's an okay game. The world is cool, there's lots of stuff to do, but sadly there's too many things interrupting you from playing the game (limited stamina, weapon made of glass, constantly having to faf through the menus.) And while the puzzle are fun, they feel extremely out of touch with the rest of the universe, confined in very one-tone mini dungeons, while the rest of the game seemsIt's an okay game. The world is cool, there's lots of stuff to do, but sadly there's too many things interrupting you from playing the game (limited stamina, weapon made of glass, constantly having to faf through the menus.) And while the puzzle are fun, they feel extremely out of touch with the rest of the universe, confined in very one-tone mini dungeons, while the rest of the game seems to ignore the fact that this is a zelda game.… Expand

DeViLzzz

Mar 15, 2017

7

Here is why Zelda Breath of the Wild is not a 10/10 game -

1. Frame rate (FPS) .... abysmal at times dipping below 30 which is totally unacceptable for this sort of game. 2. Copy and pasted towers all over the place that you need to go to. I couldn't believe Nintendo couldn't do better than that. 3. A bad camera where you have no options to change things. 4. Enemy AI at times isHere is why Zelda Breath of the Wild is not a 10/10 game -

1. Frame rate (FPS) .... abysmal at times dipping below 30 which is totally unacceptable for this sort of game.
2. Copy and pasted towers all over the place that you need to go to. I couldn't believe Nintendo couldn't do better than that.
3. A bad camera where you have no options to change things.
4. Enemy AI at times is pathetic. Enemies staying up in towers when it is clear they are getting nowhere firing at your with arrows from there and also even when they see their foes dying they don't come to their aid.
5. Stamina meter
6. Weapons breaking all the time for so little use. What in the hell was Nintendumb thinking?
7. The game on the Nintendo Switch barely looks better than the Wii U version as only a few simple lighting effects add more glare which is actually blinding at times so there may be players that don't even like the so called extra graphical feature.

ETC. ETC.… Expand

KesslerCOIL

Mar 15, 2017

6

I'll start off by saying I am keeping this review as honest as possible and 6/10 is NOT a "bad review", the game is good but the faults I've encountered just sorta chip away at the fun for me.

The combat is simple, but varied and I've found myself using a large variety of weapons, however not by choice. The weapon degradation (or rather fragility) is something I cant bring myself toI'll start off by saying I am keeping this review as honest as possible and 6/10 is NOT a "bad review", the game is good but the faults I've encountered just sorta chip away at the fun for me.

The combat is simple, but varied and I've found myself using a large variety of weapons, however not by choice. The weapon degradation (or rather fragility) is something I cant bring myself to forgive, especially with how severe it is, the basic trash weapons I can understand breaking quickly, but if I find a weapon with solid damage that is (relatively) hard to find then it should last more than 8 swings. This constant fumble for weapons and inventory management isn't fun for me and breaks up the combat way too much, alongside forcing me to decide if an enemy is even worth breaking my weapons on.

The visuals are beautiful, though I found my frames dipping a lot in bad weather and mountains. The art-style is minimalist, but not simple and the physics in combination is pretty damn impressive for a game on a hybrid handheld console..

The story I feel could have been great, but I found digging for breadcrumbs rather tedious and wishing I got to see more of the other characters. Some of the characters I honestly wish I could play instead of Link, they seemed more interesting, deep and fleshed out.

The world is expansive and deceptively large, expanding more and more as you play. The stamina meter often puts a hamper on the experience until you've invested time into increasing it's size however.
The enemies are probably the biggest highlight of the game, they're interesting, cute and truly feel like they live in the world around you, often times they're interacting with things in a way I wouldn't expect from a nintendo game.

Overall, the game is pretty damn good if I must say so, but the glaring things in the game like excessive weapon degradation punishing players at every turn, stamina nagging at you for having too much fun and the constant dips in framerate (yes, even when docked) made for a rather taxing experience that didn't start to feel tolerable until I was very deep into the game.

6/10, stop putting weapon degradation in games.… Expand

hoogafanter

Mar 13, 2017

6

Just another modern open world survival element **** game with a half-assed Zelda skin. Not a bad game by any means, but completely average in every way possible. The only thing that makes it stand out is it's lack of game breaking glitches that plagues the market today. Unfortunately you're forced to play it on one of many awful controllers, so there's that to deal with...

Tenks

Mar 14, 2017

7

Legend of Zelda BoTW what is there to say about this game that hasn't already been said. Its a huge open world adventure game that puts you in the shoes of the hero of hyrule yet again.

Pros: Open world Lots to explore with the shrines and side quest Voice acting Hours and hours of content. Cons: This may be me but if feels as if it spikes in difficulty to fast Weapon durabilityLegend of Zelda BoTW what is there to say about this game that hasn't already been said. Its a huge open world adventure game that puts you in the shoes of the hero of hyrule yet again.

Pros: Open world
Lots to explore with the shrines and side quest
Voice acting
Hours and hours of content.

Cons: This may be me but if feels as if it spikes in difficulty to fast
Weapon durability is way to small this is a big sticking point for me
Finally Dungeons there are only a hand full and they are short I guess you
could say that it was balanced out with the shrines but they could of used a
little more for the big dungeons.

Thoughts: Should you play this game? Yes I recomend this game whole heartedly. It is a good game just has a few design choices that make it feel more like scavenging game than an adventure game.… Expand

eaboo316

Mar 16, 2017

7

I have super, super mixed feelings about this game. To provide some context, I have grown up playing games from Japanese RPG series, and I only play JRPG's mostly because I know I'll enjoy them, and there's too many games in the world to try with too little time, so I limit my choices to games I know I'll love - games from the Legend of Zelda series being one of them. I am also prettyI have super, super mixed feelings about this game. To provide some context, I have grown up playing games from Japanese RPG series, and I only play JRPG's mostly because I know I'll enjoy them, and there's too many games in the world to try with too little time, so I limit my choices to games I know I'll love - games from the Legend of Zelda series being one of them. I am also pretty flexible with the games I like, the FF series has changed their gameplay style almost every game, and besides the online games, I've played and enjoyed all of them. So, I have played a mix of open-world and linear games, and tend to prefer something in the middle.

Before I delved into BOTW, I decided to play and beat Wind Waker HD to get myself reacquainted with the Zelda series before this game, because the last time I played a Zelda game was Skyward Sword in 2011, which I loved. And I loved Wind Waker as well. I knew this game would be a bit different with an open-world concept, though I have played similar open-world ish JRPGs before, so wasn't too worried. Though, almost 20 hours put into the game, I did not feel the same level of engagement that I immediately felt with Wind Waker just a couple of weeks before, and I decided to pause playing it.

The story is not as engaging as previous titles. While the previous games pulled me in right away, I felt like I was trying to hurriedly get through the first four shrines in the beginning of the game just so I could get to what was happening. And this is the main issue I have with this game. As someone who appreciates a good story and character development in a game, the benefit of exploring a vast, virtual world in order to do so, is not appealing. I also enjoy doing side quests in JRPG's, and try to do all of them. But the side quests in here hinder me from progressing to the main story, and reap rewards that aren't very helpful. I also tend to hoard items and weapons whenever I play, and the fact that weapons and shields have to be thrown away or broken at some time, really bothers me.

I love the graphics and the character design, the world is quite beautiful. I liked how the runes are incorporated and can be used pretty flexibly (though would lead me to mostly try to use bombs to kill enemies because I didn't want a sword to break or arrows to run out -_-). The method of taming horses is cool too. For me, the fun kinda stops there though. I play games to destress from the difficulties of the world, and just kick back and play through a good story, and on the contrary this game stresses me out. @_@ A virtual world can be too vast for some people, perhaps.

I think I will try to beat this game at some point, but the excitement that I usually feel for a Legend of Zelda game isn't there. I could just be becoming a dated gamer (hopefully not, in my mid 20s here), but I miss the intricate dungeons, the different tools (hookshot, boomerang, etc), and most especially the engaging story and lovable characters. I think this game is more appealing to those who play Western RPGs more, though I hope the next title in the Zelda series tries to attempt a more universal appeal and mixes both linear and open world storytelling (maybe something like Xenoblade). If not, I think I will keep to re-playing the older games, which is fine with me, and stick with new games from JRPG series that release games that creatively build on their previous games without needed to transform it completely.

I'm glad most people are happy with this game and perhaps are even getting introduced to the Zelda series for the first time (because it's an awesome series!! Go to the LoZ concerts!!). Though for me, this is just an okay game outfitted with the Zelda name (did not mean to make that rhyme, but it came out well). There is not much really besides the names of the characters and typical Zelda items (master sword, boomerang) that make the connection with the rest of the series, and if these characteristics are swapped out, no one would know this is part of a series, and that's really disappointing to me. For now, I'll put it down and use my destressing time to play the recently new entry of another JRPG series that I am enjoying, and get back to this one later.

Overall, if you are like me and like JRPG games that put a lot of emphasis on storytelling and character development and have fun gameplay, this may not be your cup of tea. Though if you love open world games and exploring virtual areas with little direction to go through the story your own way, and don't mind doing tasks in video games w/o incentives, then you will most likely enjoy this game.

Whichever type of gamer you are, how well you enjoy a game is ultimately up to you, and don't let others push you down for what your opinion is, whether you love this or any game or don't (my wise words after reading forum discussions that are virtual war zones w/ words).… Expand

revillo

Apr 11, 2017

7

This is an enormous game that functions well as a casual handheld experience. Pick it up whenever and kill a few hours running around its theme park mmo style world. Solve a few shrine puzzles, clear out some monster encapments, finish a quest, see what's on the other side of that mountain etc. It's your run of the mill RPG experience, but with stunning draw distances that let you seeThis is an enormous game that functions well as a casual handheld experience. Pick it up whenever and kill a few hours running around its theme park mmo style world. Solve a few shrine puzzles, clear out some monster encapments, finish a quest, see what's on the other side of that mountain etc. It's your run of the mill RPG experience, but with stunning draw distances that let you see clear across the gargantuan map, and somewhat novel climbing and paragliding mechanics that help you get around.

It's easy to be blindsided by the scale of the game, but after spending a few dozen hours grinding through it, I'm finding myself a little baffled by the perfect scores. The essentials here are weak, from the dark-souls-for-children combat mechancis, the ability to heal yourself whenever in the middle of combat with essentially limitless potions, puzzles that telegraph their solutions so blatantly you don't feel much reward in completing them, and maybe worst of all, an awkward, gaping void where a story ought to be.

There's fun to be had for sure, especially when you find some novel way to play in Breath of the Wild's coherent but gimmicky physicsy sandbox, it's just that little charming quirks don't add up to a deep gaming experience. The expertly polished, pitch-perfect game design i've come to expect from the series appears to have peaked with Twilight Princess. I'm genuinely happy Nintendo is flexing their engineerig muscle and taking some big risks with a change to the formula, but I hope they make a smaller, more concentrated map next time and fix this game's clunky controls and shallow components.… Expand

Methanol

Jul 29, 2017

7

Breath of the Wild is not a Zelda game anymore. They've changed so much and made things worse.
It could have easily be a real 10/10, if they just had sticked to the original Zelda formula.

josei1985

Mar 24, 2017

7

Zelda Breath of the Wild es un grandísimos videojuego que sin tener los gráficos de la actual generación es realmente bello. Cuando estamos en la cima de una montaña o en una torre y nos lanzamos con la paravela nos damos cuenta que estamos ante un espectáculo visual. Y si coincide con un amanecer dejaremos la misión o lo que quiera que estemos haciendo para observarlo.

Es un juego queZelda Breath of the Wild es un grandísimos videojuego que sin tener los gráficos de la actual generación es realmente bello. Cuando estamos en la cima de una montaña o en una torre y nos lanzamos con la paravela nos damos cuenta que estamos ante un espectáculo visual. Y si coincide con un amanecer dejaremos la misión o lo que quiera que estemos haciendo para observarlo.

Es un juego que te atrapa, donde estaremos horas y horas que se pasarán en un suspiro. Podrás jugar seis horas seguidas sin darte cuenta, sin apenas avanzar en la historia principal o haciendo apenas un puñado de misiones secundarias o superando santuarios. Más de 105 horas tengo a mis espaldas tras habérmelo pasado.

Los detalles según lo que hagamos, las físicas, son sin duda una lección magistral para otras desarrolladoras. Ver la hierba moverse según sopla el viento, como ésta va cediendo a nuestros pasos, cómo podemos cortarla cuando está alta y pueden aparecer animales que hacia un rato se había escondido a nuestro paso, cómo nos cuesta escalar cuando llueve (todo cuanto veamos es escalable, según la resistencia que tengamos), cómo podemos quedar achicharrados si en una tormenta de rayos vamos equipados con nuestro escudo/espada, el movimiento del agua cuando estamos en ella, poder cortar árboles al golpearlo ver cómo se deslizan si hay pendiente, la IA de los enemigos al eliminar o devolverte las bombas que les lanzas, ,... Alguno le parecerá una tontería pero no muchos juegos atienden a estos "detalles".

No hay mucha gente con la que charlar salvo en postas y aldeas y los que nos encontremos en el camino nos podrán dar pistas de tesoros o lugares que hasta ese momento no hayamos tenido noticia o puede que se conviertan en enemigos. En las aldeas, lógicamente, no hay muchos edificios pero en todos ellos podremos cotillear, sin excepción. Lo cual deja a otros mundos abiertos como una decoración de cartón piedra.

A continuación les paso mis puntos negativos:

- Poca profundidad en la historia y escasas misiones principales. Eso sí, las cinemáticas son muy bonitas y bien hechas.

- Quitando postas y aldeas, poca vida (humana). La interacción con estos poco profunda.

- Misiones secundarias decepcionante. El héroe de Hyrule reducido a recadero: tráeme X gemás luminosas, X setas raudas, etc. o busca a menganito que no sabemos dónde está. Ni rastro de misiones secundarias tan buenas y con tanta enjundia como una principal, que vimos en juegos como The Witcher 3.

- Sistema de combate ortopédico (hasta que con el paso de las horas vamos puliendo, pero es malo). Venir de jugar Nioh y encontrarte con esto.. cierto, no son géneros comparables, pero deja mucho que desear la simplificación del combate.

- Dificultad del juego. Nula. Nula para jefes finales de las bestias divinas y Ganon. Si no estás pendiente de la vida, si no tienes flechas ancestrales o no cuentas con la espada maestra, puede que te cueste. Si tienes todo eso, prácticamente a la primera los vencerás. En cambio, los guardianes pero especialmente los centaleones son muy complicados. Lo curioso es que son enemigos opcionales. No tiene lógica.

- Algunos tirones en modo TV, no molestos, pero siendo exclusivo es imperdonable. También el último día me hizo una cosa extraña en modo portatil, auqnue aquí el juego es estable y se ve de lujo. En modo TV jugando con el mando pro gana muchísimo.

- Esto es más subjetivo: tras 105 horas y con estos puntos negativos, no entiendo tanto maldito 10 de la prensa. Maletines?

Para mi estas contras le hacen bajar mucho y por eso le pondría un 7,5.… Expand

Eylul

May 23, 2017

7

You are basically travelling, visiting, cooking and helping people for hours and hours because fighting break your beloved weapons, story is not that immersive, shrine and korok seeds grinding is repetitive and main quests too less to make it a great game.
I hope upcoming DLC will breathe some more life into it.

paulthehanna

Jul 14, 2017

7

I don't understand all the 10/10 reviews. I finished this game today. It was disappointing from the start. I've played and enjoyed Ocarina of Time, Link to the past, Majora's mask, and many other legend of Zelda games, so I have some experience of the series.
The music is dull, the graphics are nice but ultimately do not make up for the sparse storytelling, the uninspired game-play andI don't understand all the 10/10 reviews. I finished this game today. It was disappointing from the start. I've played and enjoyed Ocarina of Time, Link to the past, Majora's mask, and many other legend of Zelda games, so I have some experience of the series.
The music is dull, the graphics are nice but ultimately do not make up for the sparse storytelling, the uninspired game-play and the scaling of difficulty. Worst of all, this game does not live up to the previous series in terms of solving the dungeon puzzles. I didn't enjoy unlocking shrines.
The first few hours are excruciating. It can take up to 10 hours for the game to pick-up and then the reward is minimal. After climbing this starting requirement, the game is actually too easy and the final boss was pitiful.
Everyone praises the huge open world but most of is empty. They have taken an ordinary Zelda game and stretched it out. In fact, this is an apt metaphor for this game. The game may be longer, bigger and so forth - but this isn't matched with story elements, interesting characters, or enjoyable game-play - this game lacks depth. Every Zelda game but this one has hooked me from the start by making me care about the characters, having strong story elements, and rewarding puzzles (i.e. getting a cool new item as you complete a dungeon). Finally, the game lacks many of the enjoyable quirks that characterise the Zelda series.
I look forward to these things being rectified in Breath of the Wild 2.… Expand

Braduk

Sep 15, 2017

7

Breath of the Wild is a decent and mostly fun open world game, but it is missing a lot that would make it a good Zelda game in my eyes.

-- For starters, it suffers a lot of the problems that a lot of other modern open world games do, where the content is stretched out quantity > quality type content. Skyrim has a lot of dungeons with copy-pasted aesthetic and radiant repeating questsBreath of the Wild is a decent and mostly fun open world game, but it is missing a lot that would make it a good Zelda game in my eyes.

-- For starters, it suffers a lot of the problems that a lot of other modern open world games do, where the content is stretched out quantity > quality type content. Skyrim has a lot of dungeons with copy-pasted aesthetic and radiant repeating quests for example. A good chunk of Breath of the Wild's content comes from having 100 shrines with a copy pasted aesthetic, fighting the same enemy outposts, and having 900 koroks to find (a task that, really, no one finds fun and is really tedious). This is the bulk of the overworld's content. So it ends up feeling kind of lacking. Especially when, other than a handful, the shrine puzzles are really easy and not that in-depth, and when you have 100 of them and only a handful are somewhat difficult, that's not a good ratio.
Another a problem that comes from it being open world is how barren the overworld feels at times. You go through large expanses of just, emptiness, too large of expanses, even. And there's really no places to explore or discover other than shrines and koroks. There aren't any unique secret or interesting areas to find. It's just, well, kind of bland.
The point being the actual content that is in the game is just overall not very engaging, innovated, or unique, despite what everyone claims.
-- Outside of the problems that come from it being open world the other main issue is how much it lacks of core Zelda aspects and mechanics. Dungeons have always been a very big part of the series, especially dungeons where each one has its own theme. Breath of the Wild only has four dungeons and all of them share the same theme amongst them. In addition to that, all the dungeons are also really easy and not memorable at all.
Along with reused dungeon aspects comes the fact that the bosses are all literally the same. They're all aspects of Ganon and other than different elements behave the same. This is a big downside in a series where boss fights have always been a focus, as well, and the series has a lot of memorable and unique bosses in it. Breath of the Wild does not have that. Another memorable part of the series is the OST. Most of the time playing Breath of the Wild is spent with no music outside of a few clicks of a piano, the OST is really only in towns and other similar places, which is a shame, really.
-- The last and probably most impacting missing series staple is having a large variety of equipment and items at your disposal. Breath of the Wild has tons of breakable weapons to use, but they all bubble down into one of four categories, and outside of combat melee weapons there's not that many different items in the game. There's no hookshot or pegasus boots, two items that'd make for VERY good later game upgrades, there's no ball and chain which would have worked perfectly with the combat system, there's a lot of series staple items missing and it really is a shame, because it would have helped liven up the gameplay having more toys to play with. Instead Breath of the Wild has probably the least amount of items in it out of any 3D Zelda game.
-- Breath of the Wild does some things right. The story is good, though the story is also not there that much. The characters are for the most part also good. The new species designs are great and other than looking washed out at times the game has a decent art style. But there's so many flaws in the game and there's so many elements of a good Zelda game missing that it boggles me that it has such perfect reception from the masses, and it's disappointing that there's so much missing when the base idea has so much potential.… Expand

TripleMoonPanda

Mar 1, 2018

7

So I wanted to actually play this for a while before I left a review so after about 40 hours I think I'm ready.
Massive open world with great variety of environments and weathers. The survival aspect is superb.. The climbing mechanic they added was also a really nice touch and made exploring the world just that much better. You see a mountain and you're like "I wanna go and climb thatSo I wanted to actually play this for a while before I left a review so after about 40 hours I think I'm ready.
Massive open world with great variety of environments and weathers. The survival aspect is superb.. The climbing mechanic they added was also a really nice touch and made exploring the world just that much better. You see a mountain and you're like "I wanna go and climb that mountain and see what's up there" and you can do every bit of that plus some. The story is good, not great but much better then the past couple of Zelda games. Side quest are also good, I think they could've improved more on these though. A lot of them seem kind of shallow and also I feel like there's not enough of them scattered threw out the world. A bethesda game like Skyrim or Fallout 4 feels like it has a smaller map but they feel that map with many memorable locations and more quests that are more fleshed out then BOTW, and I'm not even going to compare side quest in BOTW to side quests in the Witcher 3 (honestly BOTW can't compete with the Witcher 3 in this aspect).
Dungeons. . . I really would've liked to see more large scale dungeons like in previous Zelda games. The 4 main ones are really short and really easy. I was honestly bored with them. I found many of the shrines to be more challenging then the 4 main dungeons. Oh and about the Shrines, sure there's a bunch of them (100 to be exact) and I like the aspect of completing these shrines for increasing your health and stamina to be a nice addition but I still would've like to see fewer more challenging shrines. The dungeons and the shrines I feel are really not all that good and I would much rather have the old large challenging dungeons in place of these.
Weapon variety in this game is great but another big negative for me is the weapon durability mechanic. This is just annoying, weapons break far to easily and you can't repair any of them. It feels like fake difficulty because you have to keep picking up crappy weapons and use them and you don't get to keep any of the cool weapons you get besides the master sword. I would've like to see a much more indepth durability system with crafting and repairing and also make metal weapons last longer then the sticks. All the weapons no matter what they are seem to break after the same amount of use. I get like 3-4 hit's with a stick and with a metal sword it feels like I only get 4-5 hits before it breaks and I have to use the freakin stick anyways.
Now on to performance. . . Performance on the switch is really unexceptable. Constant frame drops and only 30 fps. 720p resolution that actually drops down lower when playing in handheld mode and only 900p which also can drop when docked. Now this isn't really the games fault but the fault of the switch. I like that is portable but they really could've put more powerful hardware in the thing (plus WTF Nintendo only 32GBs of storage unless I shell out another $50 - $70 for a 128GB Micro SD card) after getting tired at the crappy frame rate while docked, I actually ended up downloading Cemu and running the game threw that with some mods that let me play it at 60fps and a resolution of 1440p which made the visuals look much, much better. Oh and visuals that's another thing I understand the switch doesn't have the power to do it, but the visuals look like a game from 2011 and not 2017 luckily the fantastic art style and weather system really make up for the lack fancy graphics and effects.
So all in all I rate the game a 7/10 it's really good but not as good as everyone will have you believe, I consider the Witcher 3 a 9/10 and compared to that game BOTW sits at a solid 7. One piece of advice I would give you guys is if you actually OWN THE GAME and have a decent gaming PC then download Cemu and play it there instead of playing it docked on the switch. If you wanna play it on the go then the Switch is a great/only way to play.… Expand

newrandomage

Mar 17, 2017

7

This is the most overrated game of 2017 so far, and I doubt that any other game in this year is going to be so expected and cause such dissapointment. This is the biggest bet on open world games from Nintendo until this day and while it isn't poorly executed and implements some interesting ideas, the reality is that it is far from the masterpiece everyone is selling that it is. The worstThis is the most overrated game of 2017 so far, and I doubt that any other game in this year is going to be so expected and cause such dissapointment. This is the biggest bet on open world games from Nintendo until this day and while it isn't poorly executed and implements some interesting ideas, the reality is that it is far from the masterpiece everyone is selling that it is. The worst part of all that should kill it for most people is performance; if we would ignore that 720p 30FPS is unnacceptable on 2017 (or 900p with bad performance), the game has unnacceptable fps drops and a graphic style that while it is unique, it isn't impressive at all. I'll overlook the last part just a bit to give it a 7/10. Strong contender for "Most overrated game of 2017" without any doubt.… Expand

Lorenzo92_

Mar 13, 2017

7

I'm a great fan of Zelda series;
I have completed most of Zelda's games from "A link to the past" to "The wind waker".
I have bought Zelda and the Nintendo Switch to revive my old passion for this beautiful series, but it has really disappointed my expectations. After entering more and more on the real gameplay of Breath of the Wild, i feeling annoying and unsatisfied. After i haveI'm a great fan of Zelda series;
I have completed most of Zelda's games from "A link to the past" to "The wind waker".
I have bought Zelda and the Nintendo Switch to revive my old passion for this beautiful series, but it has really disappointed my expectations. After entering more and more on the real gameplay of Breath of the Wild, i feeling annoying and unsatisfied.
After i have discovered first villages and played "dungeons", i feel playing another game.
Zelda of the past years contains long and difficult dungeons, in those Zelda they are only mini games and four - five dungeon.
Let's talk of the World Map: what the meaning of having a really extensive world map but with only few contents?
This is not the game that i expect;
This is a Zelda too different from other games.… Expand

licorice

Mar 15, 2017

7

Breath of the Wild is a very fun game, and it has voice acting which is generally pretty good but can be dodgy at times. However it loses major points with its weapon durability system that proves to be nothing more than an enormous headache. Aiming is a bit of a pain in the ass as well and arrows never seem to go as far as you'd expect.

It's a good game and it looks like a lot of fun,Breath of the Wild is a very fun game, and it has voice acting which is generally pretty good but can be dodgy at times. However it loses major points with its weapon durability system that proves to be nothing more than an enormous headache. Aiming is a bit of a pain in the ass as well and arrows never seem to go as far as you'd expect.

It's a good game and it looks like a lot of fun, but the intense frustration of the poorly designed weapon durability system is no end of frustration.… Expand

blakehaas

Mar 24, 2017

7

This game looks beautiful, has some good game mechanics but has a pretty boring story (didnt grow up playing zelda). Ontop of the boring story, it quickly gets lonely in this large world. The primary fun things are the ruins but after a while the puzzles get tiring and you dont have much left to do but to fight random enemies that are scattered around the land.
This feels like a lord ofThis game looks beautiful, has some good game mechanics but has a pretty boring story (didnt grow up playing zelda). Ontop of the boring story, it quickly gets lonely in this large world. The primary fun things are the ruins but after a while the puzzles get tiring and you dont have much left to do but to fight random enemies that are scattered around the land.
This feels like a lord of the rings game without the ring.. I just dont feel any compelling reason to beat the game. I feel like this was beyond hyped and really is only for zelda fans.

Overall i was disappointed.
Snipperclips is the hidden launch title gem btw.… Expand

GK0

Mar 13, 2017

7

Really good game - great graphics, the music is fantastic, the story is good, but the stamina bar location is kind of irritating and the fact that weapons break literally every 10 seconds during combat is so incredibly stupid. Weapon durability systems are garbage and should stay in the trash heap of design choices where they belong.

Antioch

Mar 13, 2017

7

I, like many others bought the Switch solely for this game. I bought a console, for one game... and note that I'm predominantly a pc gamer. Not many games has that power over me but I have had a thing for Zelda games since childhood. So needless to say I had high expectations.
This game delivers on alot those expectations but also comes with alot of dissapointment and some frustratinglyI, like many others bought the Switch solely for this game. I bought a console, for one game... and note that I'm predominantly a pc gamer. Not many games has that power over me but I have had a thing for Zelda games since childhood. So needless to say I had high expectations.
This game delivers on alot those expectations but also comes with alot of dissapointment and some frustratingly annoying obstacles and imo mindblowingly stupid decisions that does not add but detracts from the gameplay and ultimately stops it from reaching a higher score.
It's a beautiful world filled with alot of stuff to do but there are also alot of empty areas. You are completely free to explore it at your leasure. You can even run to Ganons castle and take him on right off the bat, of course your chances of success are very slim to none in doing so wich in a way forces you to play certain areas in order to get your character strong enough.
There are shrines with puzzles around the world that can give you uppgrades and four big bosses to take on in what you could call dungeons, even though they are more like puzzle rooms with a boss at the end.
The enemies arn't at all that waried and mostly comes in the form of the same enemies with a different color, but they behave in quirky funny ways reacting to what you do. They even goof around going about their business even when not engaging you.
Normally most games borrow from Nintendo games but there are aspects in this game that you can clearly see they have borrowed from other games like the "Far cry towers" and some DS influences.
Combat is generally fun although the difficulty in this game is just making enemies hit harder and be damage spoonges. It also borrows from survival games and the witcher where you can cook and make elixirs. The menu/item management for this task is a bit fiddly. In fact inventory and menu management overall are a bit fiddly and non intuitive.
Motioncontrol is implemented but in a smart, good and creative way, it never felt like a chore.
The bad comes in the form of frames tanking heavily alot. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this than others beeing a pc gamer, but when it happens during combat it has such a negative impact on gameplay, especially when the max is already a low 30fps.
"Link" also has a ridiculous low level of stamina to start with. Stamina shows up as an ugly bloblike green circle above your character that drains when you sprint, swim, climb etc. And I kid you not a fat legless man can outrun "Link" and you need to spend atleast 4 upgrades on stamina to even get to the level that I think is the very least Link should have started with. And these upgrades comes at the cost of much needed health.
Also when you climb Link slips ALOT if it rains (and it rains ALOT), most of your stamina is drained while getting nowhere... wich means if you're half way up the mountain and it rains you are utterly f*cked. A pointless frustrating gamemechanic that adds nothing, it doesn't really add challenge, it only adds frustration based on bad luck.
Unlike some previous games you don't really get a specific special magical bow. You can find alot of bows but they are utterly useless because arrows have a dropchance akin to legendary drops in a Diablo game and are too expensive to buy.
But one of the worst things they added to the game is weapondurability. I never really cared for weapondurability but they were okay and manageable in some games like the DS series. There resource managment and preparation was a huge part of the gameplay. Also the weapons lasted pretty long and could be repaired to their former glory.
Weapons in BOTW are made cheaper than the cheapest chinese fake copies and rarely last you more than a few enemies. And each time a weapon breaks you have to pause mid combat and choose another weapon, if you don't have any you have to scroungefor defeated foes to pick up their sh*tty sticks to fight with.
The few weapons that can be repaired are needed to be taken to certain npcs and they cost so much to repair they are never worth the resources to repair to just last a couple of enemies more.
The only weapon I came across that breaks but can return to it's former glory is the master sword, but even that comes with alot of caveats.
This constant breaking of weapons means you never look forward to looting new weapons and you are put off using the better ones because you want to "save them" for a special enemies, meaning you will be fighting mostly with crapweapons the entire game.
This was to me a mindblowingly unnecessary sh*t gameplaymechanic that detracts so much from the game. Constant interuption of flow and combat with frustration as a result. Atleast if the durability and repaircosts were somewhat reasonable it'd be a bit better but as it is now... no it is a HUGE negative.
But despite that, overall this is still a good game but it is not the masterpiece alot of people claim. I do recomend it to anyone having a wii u or switch… Expand

DeLaGuardia

Mar 12, 2017

7

A new Zelda with new features, but in overall an empty trial of innovation who forgets the roots of an unforgettable saga in the wake of an huge open world. Definitely a great point unless you remember its poor graphics and minimalist even silent music. In addition, its story fluctuates between the tasteless and the power of emotional remembering of Ocarina of Time's plot and world.

InA new Zelda with new features, but in overall an empty trial of innovation who forgets the roots of an unforgettable saga in the wake of an huge open world. Definitely a great point unless you remember its poor graphics and minimalist even silent music. In addition, its story fluctuates between the tasteless and the power of emotional remembering of Ocarina of Time's plot and world.

In overall, a good game in THE LEGEND OF ZELDA's saga, but definitely not the definitive ZELDA.… Expand

Billydju

Mar 8, 2017

7

As an old zelda fans, this game is quite nice

But man, ignoring the fact that Nintendo switch works really bad with this game isn't going to make your reviews valid.tbh the game got a bunch of potential, i don't even mind they decrease the graphic so the game can be playable.

ShadowMan64

Mar 19, 2017

7

It's good but not groundbreaking. Few technical issues that needs to be ironed out.

All in all it's fun to to play but the dungeons are a letdown for me.

DMJohn0X

Mar 23, 2017

7

The best Zelda game? Maybe. Personally, LttP will always be the quintessential Zelda experience. But we are talking about BotW.

This game is a great entry into the 3D open world genre and the physics system is quite fun, allowing you do float objects with baloons. On the surface, it doesnt seem very special, but later when you find yourself bombing grass for flames just to swap to yourThe best Zelda game? Maybe. Personally, LttP will always be the quintessential Zelda experience. But we are talking about BotW.

This game is a great entry into the 3D open world genre and the physics system is quite fun, allowing you do float objects with baloons. On the surface, it doesnt seem very special, but later when you find yourself bombing grass for flames just to swap to your parachute to use the wind currents generated by the flames to drop in on an unsuspecting encampment and you gain an appreciation for the nuances this system lends to your playstyle.

The story is good for a Zelda game, but don't expect an epic tale of any sort. The worst here is how lame Gannon feels in this game. He doesnt come across as particularly powerful and dont expect to learn much about his character or motives. He's simply the generic bad guy this time around and hardly memorable.

Now the bad.

The UI is awful, you cant reassign buttons, they arent intuitive, and early game weapons break often times every other screen making the first 6 hours of the game feel like an exercise in menu navigation management. The interface doesnt lend well to how many weapons drops given your limited inventory space. Due to the frequency by which your weapons break, the band aid fix was to throw a limitless supply of loot at you so often you'll find yourself spending far too much time browsing your inventory and dropping weapons to pick up new ones, until you get to the point where you wont pick stuff up anymore.

Another issue is the lack of music, much of the game is supported by ambient noise and what music is here, isnt anything compared to older games in the series.

Lastly, On NX Switch, the game suffers frequent frame drops and stuttering in docked 900p mode. This is mostly resolved in portable mode. And DigitalFoundry on youtube has done a great video on documenting this topic.

Ultimately, I can only give this game a 7.5 out of 10. This game was a GREAT Zelda game, but just missed the mark on several issues and ultimately takes a hit due to performance. I think many of these reviewers are doing a disservice rating botw 10/10 which should be reserved for Genre defining works of art rather than just a good game.… Expand

Texxy

May 10, 2017

7

Breath of the Wild is beautiful. It's enormous and abundant in exploration possibilities. It's challenging and very rewarding to those who take the time to master it.
Almost completely ruined by the weapon breaking mechanic, which made it very easy to walk away from.

jeffbizloc

May 31, 2017

7

The more I thought about it the more I did not think this was anywhere close to a perfect game. It was still good overall with the bonus being a Zelda game.

Pros: - Excellent puzzles in the shrines - The 4 dungeons though small were also excellent - The world was overall pretty good as far as traveling and climbing - The runes were a lot of fun and sort of go along with theThe more I thought about it the more I did not think this was anywhere close to a perfect game. It was still good overall with the bonus being a Zelda game.

Pros:
- Excellent puzzles in the shrines
- The 4 dungeons though small were also excellent
- The world was overall pretty good as far as traveling and climbing
- The runes were a lot of fun and sort of go along with the enjoyment of puzzles

Cons:
- Weapon system just not a fan of the unrealistic durability
- I love Zelda music. This game did not have that epic exploring feel. I understand in the open world for realness but give it as an option or make the 4 dungeons have that awesome music.
- No achievements. Ok that is on the system but I feel to get all the shrines and do all the upgrading is entirely unnecessary to beat the game. Why have all these sidequests and large universe if they don't really matter for the end goal.
- Too easy. You don't need to do much to easily beat the game. A couple health potions is all you need.
- Combat. Basic overall. I did like some of the techniques used on the bosses that were creative but overall it was basic and unchallenging.
- Enemies were very sparse. The ones you do find in the overworld I am not sure the point of fighting them.
- Crafting I am not a big fan of in general. I am sure Zelda does it fine here but again you don't really need much of it.
- Stamina meter. Wait it takes stamina to run and climb but not in combat?… Expand

Cdom

Oct 1, 2017

6

The game itself may be fun at first but the more you play it the more dull it feels the combat isn't very interesting and the types of weapons that aren't just different because of their higher damage, is low and the enemies aren't much of a threat if you think that the "Master" mode will be more difficult you are wrong, what is actually does is make gameplay MORE dull and boring as theThe game itself may be fun at first but the more you play it the more dull it feels the combat isn't very interesting and the types of weapons that aren't just different because of their higher damage, is low and the enemies aren't much of a threat if you think that the "Master" mode will be more difficult you are wrong, what is actually does is make gameplay MORE dull and boring as the enemies have more health and regenerate said health making any strategy that doesn't involve damaging the enemy every 2.5 seconds invalid. The map design although is pretty enjoyable and by far the best part of the game is just exploring and doing puzzles but even then the puzzles can be pretty dull sometimes. There is also very little true adventure in the game it never feels as though you really are at risk, making you just get bored and listen to a podcast or something while walking through the open plains of hyrule.… Expand

Dangem91

Jul 10, 2017

7

The game is very good, but not the masterpiece everybody is overrating.

The game is amazing when it comes to the sense of adventure. Exploration element is good. It is very immersive as you feel like you have to take notice of everything around you, cook food, take shelter, hunt, change armor depending on area. The art style really suits it. Main quest is good. Shrine puzzles areThe game is very good, but not the masterpiece everybody is overrating.

The game is amazing when it comes to the sense of adventure.
Exploration element is good.
It is very immersive as you feel like you have to take notice of everything around you, cook food, take shelter, hunt, change armor depending on area.
The art style really suits it.
Main quest is good.
Shrine puzzles are awesome.
Sound and music are good.
Game word is diverse in terms of areas but not in terms of enemy diversity.
After the boasting that Nintendo did about how Zelda is 1.5 times bigger than skyrim map, there are only 8 types of enemies with some enemies having different forms ice, fire, red, blue, etc.

Cons/needs improvement:
The game falls short when it comes to actual progression of your character; By this i mean your character will not be any different than your friend who's also playing the game.
This is a weak area in BotW when compared to the likes of Elder scrolls or Witcher where you have to upgrade skills and stats.

In Zelda the only choice you get to make when it comes to character progression/customization is whether you want to upgrade your health or stamina.
Even when it comes to armors, most of the time you will be using a specific armor set not because its strong or looks cool but because you have to (in volcano area you need to equip the flamebreaker armor set for fire resistance, In desert area you need to equip the Gerudo armor for heat resistance, same for when it's raining you need shockproof armor or when its color you need cold resistance).

Weapons break after 30 seconds of using them means the game is basically treating an the weapon system as scraps/tools to use and throw away after a few slashes, instead of encouraging exploration to get a weapon that you want and grow attached to it.

Fighting monsters in the wild is pretty useless since you don't gain anything and lose more weapons.

Side quests are also a bit boring and bland. While some might argue it is a good thing that the game does not tell you where on the map you must go to complete a side quest to encourage exploration and immersion, and i agree to the extent that the side quest is interesting.
In Zelda's case most side quests are so basic (go fetch "add here") that doing them does not feel worth the time since you rarely get anything noteworthy as a reward.… Expand

nintenbr0

Mar 13, 2017

7

Worthy addition to the Zelda franchise! Has the freshness and brilliance of pulling ideas and gameplay from OTHER open-world games that you love and expertly fuses them with the nostalgic elements, settings, and quirky characters from the Zelda games that you love as well. Absolutely love this game!

But I can't deny that it doesn't really do anything monumentally different, as most ofWorthy addition to the Zelda franchise! Has the freshness and brilliance of pulling ideas and gameplay from OTHER open-world games that you love and expertly fuses them with the nostalgic elements, settings, and quirky characters from the Zelda games that you love as well. Absolutely love this game!

But I can't deny that it doesn't really do anything monumentally different, as most of the game mechanics and "ideas" are just watered down versions that you've seen done in other games. That's not to say this game doesn't do it just as well, if not better. But I can't praise a game for simply taking elements from other games and jamming them into a Zelda game and calling it innovation. Love the game, and having a blast playing it, but don't go in expecting a "true" Zelda game, 'cuz it ain't. It's Skyrim with rupees and no outstanding musical scores to even mention. Ouch.… Expand

Emkuzet

May 15, 2017

7

The game have amazing soundtrack, lore and the whole idea of playing on portable device AAA title is great. But fight mechanic is awful, and lack of voice acting is frustrating.

Captiosus

Jul 26, 2017

7

I grew up playing Legend of Zelda. The first game on NES was one of the first games I saved my allowance and mowed neighbors yards to buy. With exception to Skyward Sword, I have enjoyed all of the mainline console entries (and many of the handheld entries) of the Zelda franchise. So when I finally got my Switch, and thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I was stoked to pop inI grew up playing Legend of Zelda. The first game on NES was one of the first games I saved my allowance and mowed neighbors yards to buy. With exception to Skyward Sword, I have enjoyed all of the mainline console entries (and many of the handheld entries) of the Zelda franchise. So when I finally got my Switch, and thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I was stoked to pop in Breath of the Wild.

30 hours of gametime later and I'm woefully bored. Let me be succinct: This isn't a Zelda game. Sure, it has the location and character names, the stylization, the same old "beat Ganon"/Triforce story, but don't let that fool you. The core of the game is a mediocre open world collectathon.

If I were to mention a game where you have to collect hundreds of items to upgrade your inventory, health, and stamina, have multiple in-game currencies for items and other upgrades, and have to climb towers to unlock area map information while using a scope to identify landmark points of interest, you'd think I was talking about an Ubisoft open world game. Except that's precisely what Breath of the Wild does.

BotW takes this penchant for collecting further by almost becoming a survival game. Gone are the days of buying/finding jars, buying potions in shops (or from witches!), finding hearts in containers, or keeping fairies in jars. Now it's all about hunting animals for meat, gathering insects, enemy parts, ores, herbs, spices, and other ingredients and then cooking. Endlessly cooking - and there are HUNDREDS of different materials. The materials themselves give paltry benefits (if any at all) but cooking them turns them into feasts and exilirs. Unless you go look up a strategy guide for what ingredients you need, the cooking process is all experimentation. In the 30 hours I've played thus far, I wouldn't at all be shocked if I've spent a third of that in front of a fire.

It doesn't end with just cooking. Weapons and shields have paper thin durability so you're constantly breaking weapons even in the most basic of fights. This requires constant carrying of extra gear in order to swap when your weapon, bow, or shield inevitably breaks. You must also carry different sets of elemental resistance gear because if you wander into an area that's too cold or too hot and don't have enough resistance from gear or potions, you can DIE from exposure as it reduces your health as a damage over time effect. And just to remind you that they're going for realism, basic actions can become more difficult with various weather conditions (e.g. climbing while raining means you'll slide down a lot and have to start over).

"But the shrines", I can hear people saying. Sorry, these Shrines are a very poor imitation of what previous Zelda game dungeons had been. They're often only one or two rooms with little to no challenge. Take ten of them and mash them together and you'd be close to having a proper Zelda dungeon. Quantity (and there are many, again, see "collectathon") doesn't equal quality.

I don't know what this game is. It looks and sounds like Zelda but it plays like a sub-par mashup of open world games from Ubisoft, Rockstar, and Bethesda. Stylistically it looks great and despite the occasional frame drop, I enjoy looking at the game and visiting its locales. But the combat, the constant need to be a hunter/gatherer and cook, the open world fluff and the snorefest Shrines.. it's all just so dreadfully boring.

It's not a 9 or 10, nor is it a 0 or 1 game. It falls squarely in the middle. On some level, it pains me to rate this so low as it's clear they put a lot of effort into it; However, this is an example where going to a western RPG open world style fundamentally changed the core of what made the franchise and not in a good way.… Expand

slugfest321

Mar 16, 2017

7

TO start im coming at this as someone who has never finished a zelda game and the las zelda game i played before breath of the wild was wind waker. ive probably put 25 hours int botw now and can say i like the game and its a good game but it has its problems for me. The shrines feel too easy and short as well as never reaching that wow this is cool moment, the weapon durability is aTO start im coming at this as someone who has never finished a zelda game and the las zelda game i played before breath of the wild was wind waker. ive probably put 25 hours int botw now and can say i like the game and its a good game but it has its problems for me. The shrines feel too easy and short as well as never reaching that wow this is cool moment, the weapon durability is a nascence but i dont feel its a massive downside to the game. another problem for me is the lack of truely cool places to discover outside of quests like ive never come across a cave thats keeps getting deeper n deeper full of enemies n cool scenery leading to a cool reward. It does get boring time to time runing in the open spaces of botw but so does any open world game however despite the negatives the game does keep me engaged and is a fun game so for me i give it a 7/10… Expand

LudwigBeethoven

Jul 27, 2017

7

•No music
•No renaming Link
•No other player profile (only 1 player save) •No forward rolling anymore (can't hit/ram a tree to shake it like in all zelda games) •No first person camera view (like in all 3d Zelda games) •No large dungeons with items! •No quiver, bottles, wallet or hookshot !!! •No witches, or witchshop or elixir shop •No diving !!! and No fishing ! •No caves or•No music
•No renaming Link
•No other player profile (only 1 player save)
•No forward rolling anymore (can't hit/ram a tree to shake it like in all zelda games)
•No first person camera view (like in all 3d Zelda games)
•No large dungeons with items!
•No quiver, bottles, wallet or hookshot !!!
•No witches, or witchshop or elixir shop
•No diving !!! and No fishing !
•No caves or holes in ground to discover

•Annoying stamina meter
•Annoying cooking animation every single time you cook!
•Annoying animation and text popup when upgrading armor.
•Annoying animation everytime you complete a shrine, and there are hundreds of them!
•Annoying breaking weapons, even Master Sword breaks and needs to reload.

•Inventory (WAY too many different items + too much time spend in inventory menu)
•Bad / Inconvenient inventory management (to drop item or weapon you have to press start first)
•Durability of damaged weapons/ shields, doesn't show how many more strikes until it breaks.
•Sprint and jump button layout very inconvenient
•WAY too many armor sets and pieces. And most of the armor makes Link look even more feminine.
•Link looks like a girl / shemale / very feminine
•Link is Spider-Man. Link can climb ALL walls like spiderman, even flat surfaces.
•Link can't climb walls in shrines = Inconsistent!
•Link can't DIVE UNDER WATER in this game! Not even with Zora armor.

•Combat feels clunky, jumping instead of rolling
•No more Z-Target Bow/Arrow shots
•Swordplay is big degradation compared to all other 3D Zelda games. No horizontal or vertical attack with sword anymore, only one type of attack.
•Little to no enemy variety. Same enemies over and over. After first couple of hours you have seen all enemy types.
•Bombs are infinite , overpowered and boring.
•Bombs are infinite , why bomb arrows not? =Inconsistent
•Map is way too big, therefore empty and boring most of times.
•Your horse wont hear your call 99,9% of the time, have fun walking around this huge map.
•You spend 90% of the time climbing some damn rock!
•Game physics: items and bodies tend to slide/roll very fast, as if the ground is out of ice
•Killing harmless animals (birds, squirrels, fox) and eat their flesh? WTF Nintendo?
•Stupid animation when killing an animal = animal turns into a steak!

•Fairies look like fat transvestites. -No joke. What happend to OoT good looking fairies?
•Korok Seeds are boring and very, very cheap map filler. Have fun finding 900 of them.
•NPCs have no character, are not memorable and look like anime cartoon.
•Shopping is boring. Shopkeeper in old zelda games had charisma and were memorable. Not in Breath of the Wild.
•Sheika Slate, an electronic iPad like device in a Zelda game WTF? It just doesn't fit!
•Chests and sidequest will only give you useless rupee or another breakable item. After a while you wont even bother openening chests anymore.

•Very bad voice acting. Not only the voices are bad, but also the usual zelda npc noises sound worse compared to other zelda games. One example: Beedle, the merchant from Wind Waker, sounds overly exited, as if he was on drugs, which makes him sound silly, and he doesn't say "thank you!!" anymore. The overall voice acting is just disappointing. Also, speaking voices don't fit in a Zelda game at all. They should stick with noises and text.

Final thoughts:
Breath of the Wild is like a very expensive bottle of whiskey or wine, which has been mixed with too much water. There are very good elements in this game, but it is watered down by the overly huge map size, which makes it feel empty and boring at times. The lack of connection to the actual story, the fact that the sidequests and the million chests that you can find in this game are completely unrewarding, the lack of background music combined with the fact that there are no valuable weapons or items since all of them break, makes this game feel more like an open world, survival, climbing simulator, than a real Zelda game.… Expand

vincesz

Mar 26, 2017

7

I dunno what it is about zelda games that makes every 'professional reviewer' think they have to give it a 10.

This game is solid, it's tight, it's good but it's not a 10. Props to Nintendo for taking chances with the same old formula. It really felt like for the past 20 years they've just been trying to recreate the magic of Ocarina of Time and failing. Now they've finally figured outI dunno what it is about zelda games that makes every 'professional reviewer' think they have to give it a 10.

This game is solid, it's tight, it's good but it's not a 10. Props to Nintendo for taking chances with the same old formula. It really felt like for the past 20 years they've just been trying to recreate the magic of Ocarina of Time and failing. Now they've finally figured out that it's about trying to do something completely different.

The combat is the biggest change here. They have an item system with durability rolled in so weapons and items are all temporary. There's no more 1 sword, 1 boomerang, etc. You get tons of swords and boomerangs. Makes it that much more special when you find the master sword.

The game is also hard. I used to rarely if ever die in a Zelda game. I died a few dozen times in the first couple of hours alone in this one. It's more like Dark Souls than the typical Zelda. They also realized that getting items like the bow and bombs and all that is really boring so they made them super easy to access right from the get go.

The game has been refocused on exploration with the new climbing system, which is really the only true innovation in the game. Almost every terrain is climbable. It adds a new dimension to the exploration that has always been a Zelda mainstay.

The puzzles are fun but not too challenging, pretty typical to the Zelda series. They did try for different ideas in this new game with spatial problem solving which I appreciate. The dungeons seem to have taken a few pages from the Shadow of the Colossus book.

One of the coolest, most thoughtful additions is that the last boss is accessible probably less than an hour from the start of the game. And you can go try your luck too! A really cool idea and it was very well implemented.

So with solid combat, great exploration, and good puzzles why is it a 7? The game just has too many noticeable flaws.

The voice acting is terrible. Everyone is gonna complain about it, it's truly God-awful. I wish I could just have silence and read text but there's no option to do that. What a shame...

Second, the graphics. They're bad. I get that Nintendo never cares about graphics and while the art is beautiful, these textures are worse than games from 7 years ago. I almost want to say I've seen better texture work in games like Gears of War 1 from 2006... That's just unacceptable. Being 2-3 years behind is whatever, being more than 7? Give me a break.

Third, music. I hate it. They tried to make the whole thing into a Miyazaki movie. The music just doesn't fit at all. You don't need symphonic music for everything with little cutesy piano pieces. It just doesn't fit the action or what's happening on the screen at all. I just never get that exhilarating feeling during action sequences because of how low-key and mellow the music is for fighting. I never felt like any of the zones had music that fit the mood or the atmosphere. It really detracts from the experience very very noticeably.

Lastly, the open world concept was just not done well. There's not enough here to warrant exploring an open world. There are only so many moblin camps you can clear out before it gets boring and old. While some of the environmental puzzles and enemies (like stone monsters you have to climb on) can be fun, the novelty wears off. Eventually it dawns on you that you're completing little mini-games. Where other games made their side quests deep and immersive (a la Witcher 3, Skyrim etc) this game's side quests are fairly bland and unimpressive.

The game is fun, if you're gonna buy a switch you probably already have it. If you're debating whether you need to buy a switch for it: pass.… Expand

bennibop

Mar 8, 2017

7

Good game not great and not one of the best Zelda games. The game has 4 dungeons and 100 shrines (mini dungeons) all of which are very easy and pose no challenge unlike previous instalments. Finding new Vistas and the sense of exploration can be great but getting there in the first place can be repetitive and frustrating as you are unable to climb when it is raining (which is the mainGood game not great and not one of the best Zelda games. The game has 4 dungeons and 100 shrines (mini dungeons) all of which are very easy and pose no challenge unlike previous instalments. Finding new Vistas and the sense of exploration can be great but getting there in the first place can be repetitive and frustrating as you are unable to climb when it is raining (which is the main mechanic for getting anywhere.)

The games framerate is awful, probably the worst I have seen since Just Cause 3 and it can impact on the game and definitely does on the immersion. I have also seen issue with physic where the game seems to stutter (perhaps due to switch cartridges.) Considering this is a Nintendo game it is very surprising as they have always prided themselves on high quality software.… Expand

Liverpoolgamer

Mar 7, 2017

7

Well i have been playing this and horizon since their launches to get a good feel of both games. I am not a fanboy, i own every console currently on the market and a P.C. Nintendo has been with me since a very young age, and i will always continue to invest in them for myself and my kids. But in my opinion this just is not the perfect game that a lot are making out. I can see the positivesWell i have been playing this and horizon since their launches to get a good feel of both games. I am not a fanboy, i own every console currently on the market and a P.C. Nintendo has been with me since a very young age, and i will always continue to invest in them for myself and my kids. But in my opinion this just is not the perfect game that a lot are making out. I can see the positives but it just does not give me the enjoyment i have experienced with past Zelda games. The visuals are not stunning for a brand new console, the textures seem very outdated and this affects the overall effect. Because there is a lot of empty space, the views of the world just dosn't have that wow factor. There is also alot of pop ins which can be distracting. Don't get me wrong it still has some of the charm you come to expect but comparing to HDZ this dosn't have the same appeal. Once i spend more time i may review my score, but at present it is only slightly above average.… Expand

SpideyWebs

Mar 12, 2017

6

I found the game to be more frustrating than fun and more monotonous than interesting. It was just a generic open world game with The Legend of Zelda slapped on the cover. Not much in this felt like a LoZ game and in my opinion that was a negative not a positive. Definitely the worst Zelda game I have ever played.

GhettoBoxMan

Mar 8, 2017

7

This game does not deserve a 10/10. People who give Zelda BOTW that score are being completely bias because they are a "Fan Boy" and by giving the game a 10/10 they are staying that nothing is wrong or should be changed in the game, which is ****

This is the first Zelda game I have ever played and the only reason I played it is because there were no other good launch titles for theThis game does not deserve a 10/10. People who give Zelda BOTW that score are being completely bias because they are a "Fan Boy" and by giving the game a 10/10 they are staying that nothing is wrong or should be changed in the game, which is ****

This is the first Zelda game I have ever played and the only reason I played it is because there were no other good launch titles for the Switch. Many people say this is the best Zelda game in the series but of course as this is my first Zelda game I can not confirm that. I am pleased with the game and have a sorta "Addictive" feeling to keep playing it, but I also have many issues with the game.

Yes, the game looks amazing and it is kinda fun to play but that doesn't mean its a perfect game.

What I mostly don't like about the game is the Lack of purchasing weapons. This is an open world game where weapons, shields, and bows have a breaking point. It is very hard to get through harder portions of the big map because you have to find weapons and you can't just go to a village store and purchase some like almost every other RPG game has, Instead you have to find chest hidden throughout the map with items in it. With weapon degeneration this makes it especially hard to fight bigger enemies since you have very limited item space for weapons and once your weapon is broken you lose it forever and can't go purchase a replacement.

The music in this game is ABSOLUTELY annoying and repetitive in the Villages or Stables, all you hear is "DO DO DO DOOOOO" on a repeat and it pisses me off to the point where i just have to turn my volume off.

On that point I would like to complain on the lack of settings the game has. There is no Audio control for the sounds and music in the game like every other modern game has, there is no button remapping, and overall the settings are just so basic that it makes me wonder who the **** made this game. I feel like a mental retard must of made the setting tab because it seems like they forgot most things that belong in a settings menu.

Now lets get to the gameplay, the fighting mechanics can surly 100% be improved upon. This is a up close and personal combat game that does't have proper DODGING OR ROLLING! Like WTF basic movements are not even in the game. There's really no combos ether (or at least the game hasn't told me how to do them).

Most of the time when doing missions the game doesn't even tell you in detail where to go or what to do, the game gives you a brief "Clue" on what to do and expects you to know exactly what to do. Most of the time I'm left looking up the game guide to know.

The shrines in the game are repetitive, its the same room just a different puzzle and they get harder depending on where you are on the map.

The map is big but it is also very empty, where is all the big villages? All you get to go to are small villages that have more people than they do houses.

Where is the in game voices? You get little voice acting in the game. You can go from a character talking in a cutscence to being quite back in the game. They shouldn't of put voices in some parts of the game but then leave the rest quite. Surly the Zelda creators have enough money to have everyone in the game speak, but I guess they were to lazy to do that.

There is also a lack in dialog you can say and the outcome you will have, you get no sense of choice in the game.

There is a lack of places to explore to, all you really explore in the game is the wilderness that's it. No caves, no abandon places, no random structures, nothing other than the shrines.

There is no recipe book ether for cooking, most of the time you have t go off memory on how to cook certain stuff. I don't get why they couldn't add a basic book or recipe tab in the inventory menu.

There are many more things in that this game has wrong/lack with it that I can't get into because of the 5k character limit but what I can say is that this is just an average game in its series. It may be the best since is is now open world but it does not deserve a 10/10.

This game is a very basic Open World RPG. In fact if you took away the Zelda name it would really just be an "Okay" game. You add Zelda to the title and everyone instantly gives it a 10/10 because they are fan boys who find nothing wrong with it.… Expand

Gecko300

Mar 11, 2017

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll some this up in one sentence.
This is a great game, it's not a great Zelda game.

Lets start with THE GOOD:
-The open world aspect IS fun, exploring the world and wanting to know what's just over that next ridge is thrilling. (However this does wear thin pretty fast .... see bad.)
-The combat is probably better than it has ever been; rather than enemies being mostly a nuisance that you just thwack away at...these enemies take some timing, potions and skill; especially in that early-mid game. It's not dark souls/witcher but it's V.Good for Zelda.
-The artistic design is nice and never gets stale to look at. It's a far cry from the drab and dreary OoT or Twilight princess.
-It's different...hell that might be a bad or a good thing but I'm putting it in the good. Zelda has been doing the same thing for 30 years and it's nice to see them try something else.

THE BAD:
-The story, I'm not asking for greatness in a Zelda game, however it was so cool in OoT when you pull out the sword and fly forward in time...In link to the past when you go to the dark world. Where is THAT here? It feels like I'm playing half the game most the time...with all the coolest and most fleshed out characters left 100 years in the past!
-The "dungeons." These are embarrassing to say the least, why even keep these hollow shells of their former renditions in the game? Just try something different. Instead we are left with what essentially comes down to 4 larger shrines that take all of 10-15 minutes to complete with 0 difficulty and 4 end bosses that fight/look almost identical.
-The sidequests, 90% of these SUCK SO MANY EGGS. This is basically about an effort/reward type deal. Minor spoilers but one person wants me to go searching high and low for rare ingredients or a super rare weapon and rewards me with JUST 100 Rupees!!! (Which I could get in 3 minutes from grabbing all the apples in a town and throwing them in a pot.) With heart/stamina containers given out for completing the shrines and the breakable weapons it almost makes the sidequests completely pointless.
-Which goes back to exploring...I used to search in Zelda games because you are looking for that hidden quest that leads to a heart piece or some rupee's for a bag upgrade. But with nothing to really upgrade other than armor it's kinda worthless other than just enjoying the beautiful world.

THE UGLY
-The music: for a series that is known for it's beautiful music...this game is severely lacking in it. A few musical cue's here and there and a bit of fight music. The rest of the time enjoy the dead silence and the sound of Links sword banging against his shield.
-The faaaaarming. Ok the most farming I've personally ever done in a Zelda game before this is about 30 mins farming in Majoras mask for the biggest wallet upgrade. But in BotW my God...to upgrade all the armor would take hundreds of hours of just running around following the bleeping and picking up fish/mushrooms/guts/butterfly's. I think I've already put in over 15 hours of solid farming for armor upgrades.

Again this review may come off as negative but it is a beautiful and fun game.
However take out the useless side quests, crappy farming and kinda not worthwhile exploring and you're left with maybe 12 hours of main quest line for a mediocre story.

It might be harsh...however if they continued to improve on this formula + did the classic 2D Zelda for a handheld console. I think I'd be in heaven.… Expand

lefix

Mar 15, 2017

7

The game has several flaws, which makes all the 10/10 reviews very questionable. The story is rather poor. The world isn't as "alive" compared to most other AAA open world games (Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Horizon) we have seen lately. The move to open world/survival/dark souls is an interesting direction, which has both it's pros and cons. There are however lot's of lovely details in this gameThe game has several flaws, which makes all the 10/10 reviews very questionable. The story is rather poor. The world isn't as "alive" compared to most other AAA open world games (Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Horizon) we have seen lately. The move to open world/survival/dark souls is an interesting direction, which has both it's pros and cons. There are however lot's of lovely details in this game and the gameplay is mostly fun.… Expand

AxelDrakness

Mar 31, 2017

6

Dont listen to the fanboys, it's the worst Zelda, only the map and the physics are great, that's all. If you have played the rest of the saga this game will disappoint you.

GalacticWorld

Mar 13, 2017

7

Okay, all reviews here are either 10/10 or 0/10 so This game needs a FAIR review. The game is amazing, but not without its fault. Its graphics are good, it's mechanics and game design are pretty decent. It's a nice open world game, but it isn't perfect. I would prefer OoT or maybe even the original, although I did like WindWaker. I think the game is fun, but I think it needs a tad bit ofOkay, all reviews here are either 10/10 or 0/10 so This game needs a FAIR review. The game is amazing, but not without its fault. Its graphics are good, it's mechanics and game design are pretty decent. It's a nice open world game, but it isn't perfect. I would prefer OoT or maybe even the original, although I did like WindWaker. I think the game is fun, but I think it needs a tad bit of more tutorial. The fighting mechanics are nice, but not the best again. The story might need a slight bit more work, but I will wait for the expansions. The soundtrack is also another plus. In my opinion, the main points holding it back for me is the lack of a tutorial and the fighting mechanics. The world is massive, and if you are a die-hard fan, go get it. If you're a casual Zelda player, go get it. If you've never played, it's a nice entry to the series. If you don't like open world or adventure, I would not recommend. I think the story is nice, but once again, slightly lacking.… Expand

Bullish

Jun 26, 2017

5

Been playing Zelda games since the early 90s and this is easily the most impressive world they have ever created. It's just a shame they put nothing in it. I 100% completed this game just so I could say this confidently: This game is trite. Look up the word, and you'll know I'm right.

It's almost as if the creators are laughing at me for collecting all 900 seeds. When you get 900 KorokBeen playing Zelda games since the early 90s and this is easily the most impressive world they have ever created. It's just a shame they put nothing in it. I 100% completed this game just so I could say this confidently: This game is trite. Look up the word, and you'll know I'm right.

It's almost as if the creators are laughing at me for collecting all 900 seeds. When you get 900 Korok seeds, you're rewarded with a gold trophy that looks like a pile of **** and in the description it even says it stinks.

+ Huge World
+ Exploring, especially the climbing and flying around
+ Shield surfing

- There's nothing in the enormous world but repetitive shrines and a billion Korok Seeds. While on the topic of Korok Seeds. There are 900 seeds, discovered by 12 different puzzles. 900/12=75. That means you are doing the the average Korok Seed puzzle 75 times each. That's awful.
- Cooking was tedious and made Link unkillable
- Weapons/Shields/Bows all broke too easily
- The Master Sword has a battery life
- No balance in the 4 main dungeons (the 2nd was a rubix cube the others were a joke)
- Lack of enemies, especially in the 4 dungeons
- All the bosses look the same and took no thought. If you had enough food you could just beat them to death. Not that every boss needs to be puzzle, but I think it would have been better if they were. It is a Zelda after all.… Expand

Zemeckis

Apr 17, 2017

6

I played all previous Zelda games and couldn't continue with this one after 12 hours. The game is just not fun for me. Weapons that break all the time? Cheap deaths like in swimming or lightning attacks? One-hit kill by stronger enemies? Starting the game with tons of powers instead of gathering one by one as the story progresses? Framerate issues? Seriously, how come people say this isI played all previous Zelda games and couldn't continue with this one after 12 hours. The game is just not fun for me. Weapons that break all the time? Cheap deaths like in swimming or lightning attacks? One-hit kill by stronger enemies? Starting the game with tons of powers instead of gathering one by one as the story progresses? Framerate issues? Seriously, how come people say this is the best Zelda, and even the best game ever made? Better than A Link to the Past, Ocarina and Majora's? Extremely overrated, in my opinion. If it were any other game without the Zelda name on it, it would not get more than a 7 or 8. Some things in this game are great, like physics, visuals... But that's it. I'm concerned about the future of this franchise.… Expand

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