The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch) – a world of adventure

Nintendo’s highly-anticipated new adventure is finally here, but is it reason alone to buy the new Switch console?

Ocarina Of Time may have been the best thing to ever happen to gaming, but it’s long seemed a curse to The Legend Of Zelda series. Whereas the Super Mario games have happily reinvented themselves with each major sequel, Zelda has wilted under the shadow of what many still proclaim to be the best game ever made.

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That’s not to say many of the Zelda games released since haven’t been good, but they’ve struggled to either match Ocarina Of Time or find a way to reinvent its formula. Breath Of The Wild does both.



Although we still consider it the best of the post-N64 home console games, the reputation of 2011’s Skyward Sword has sunk considerably over the years – with fans, with critics, and seemingly with Nintendo themselves.


But its failings seem to be the driving force behind Breath Of The Wild’s changes, which is surprising considering both games share the same producer and director. Where Skyward Sword was criticised for its poor pacing and restrictive environments, Breath Of The Wild luxuriates in one of the largest and most intricately detailed open world landscapes ever seen.

And while Skyward Sword took painful long hours to get going, Breath Of The Wild has you out fending for yourself in mere minutes.

Although it seems impossible that a modern title could take any useful inspiration from a 31-year-old NES game the influence of the original The Legend Of Zelda is surprisingly obvious, as you’re thrust out on your quest with the very minimum of instruction – free to go where you like, and defend against extremely dangerous enemies, from the very start.

The Zelda games have always resisted easy categorisation but Breath Of The Wild more so than ever. It’s the closest the series has come to being a true role-playing game since Zelda II, but it also owes a strong influence to survival games.

Link still doesn’t have any stats but his three-piece outfits do, and so do the weapons, armour, and shields he picks up. The outfits can be upgraded but the equipment has an extremely short half-life before it breaks, and cannot be repaired.

Breakable weapons are not usually a favourite mechanic of ours, but here it’s used much more effectively than usual – to emphasise Link’s vulnerability and to force experimentation with the vast array of equipment.

From swords and two-handed spears to boomerangs that you have to catch and a variety of elemental wands, the range is hugely impressive and all handled by an elegantly simple control system.

Fundamentally it’s not very different to Ocarina Of Time, and still uses Z-targeting, but dodging or parrying at the right time opens up enemies to more powerful attacks, adding an extra layer of tactics. Meanwhile, firing your bow requires considerable skill and judgement to get the arc of the arrow’s flight on target.



We found the latter surprising at first, but Breath Of The Wild features not just a robust physics engine but an unexpectedly realistic approach to most of its mechanics.

Climbing becomes more difficult in the rain, and there are optional on-screen meters to measure both the temperature (you grow exhausted in the heat or freeze in the cold) and the amount of noise you’re making.

Even the artificial intelligence is remarkably good, as monsters gang up and retreat when necessary, or know to pick up dropped weapons. They’ll kick away unexploded bombs and throw explosive barrels – or even smaller monsters if they’re one of the bigger enemies.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch) – you can own up to five horses at a time

Set off a bomb in the water and fish will come flying out, while a magic ability lets you pick up metallic objects and throw them around like a wrecking ball. You can create balloon bombs to send floating into an enemy camp, sneak in at night and steal their weapons so it doesn’t matter if they raise an alarm, or use the call for your horse to distract guards.

Everything works as it should in the real world, from metal items conducting electricity (put your sword away in a thunderstorm!) to the pull of gravity on every object, and all of this is used in both combat and pre-designed puzzles.

Breath Of The Wild is not just different mechanically from previous games but structurally too. There’s no preset path and the main thrust of your quest involves completing a task in each of the four corners of the map, which can be done in any order.


You’re not told what you have to do for each of them or even specifically where to go, and it’s so easy to get sidetracked with other things that it was over 20 hours before we even started to think about tackling one of them. And that was us in a hurry to get this review done.

The main quest does involve a small number of what are essentially traditional Zelda style dungeons. But they’re shorter than normal and, apart from boss battles, focused almost entirely on puzzle solving.

This is clearly to stop the problem in previous Zeldas where the overworld felt merely like an insubstantial interlude between each dungeon. But it also gives the designers an excuse to up the difficulty and to add in 120 optional shrines.

Finding a shrine creates a fast travel point but completing it rewards you with an item which can go toward increasing your maximum health or stamina.

Shrines vary considerably in difficulty and focus, with many different puzzle styles and some that are based around combat or platforming. There’s always an extra chest with a valuable item too, for that extra challenge.

The other major gameplay element is the resource-gathering and crafting.

There are no hearts to restore your health and instead you have to collect plants and hunt animals (although the latter isn’t mandatory) to cook meals or potions that not only restore health but add buffs such as heat resistance or increased attack power.

This almost seems like a game in itself, as you collect the ingredients to make everything from a mushroom salad to a fruit loaf. If you’re not interested then basic recipes take only seconds to make, but the whole feature is a useful way to unwind between quests and consider the strategy of your next move.


As usual in Zelda the story is very minimal. But it begins with Link waking from a century-long sleep and takes a surprisingly maudlin tone during the occasional cut scenes.

The formal storytelling still only takes up a tiny percentage of the whole game, but for arguably the first time Link and Zelda are portrayed as real characters, even if the former remains entirely mute.

Most of the dialogue is still plain text but the most important sequences do feature proper voiceovers. The acting is not always great, but the mix of styles works well enough.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch) – you can buy your own house in this village

By now we’ve outlined the basics of what Breath Of The Wild is and how it works, but we’ve still only scratched the surface of why we think it’s one of the best games ever made.

To put things dispassionately it’s the level of detail and flexibility the game world offers. But the way that manifests is through the countless unforeseeable events and stories that lie around every corner. From your first falling to star to spotting smoke signals in the distance and wondering who they’re from, the game has an almost infinite capacity to surprise and delight.

Breath Of The Wild provides an endless stream of incidental moments that stick in the mind, like exchanging words with a desert-dwelling Gerudo woman as she runs through the rain looking for shelter, appalled at the unfamiliar climate of a forested area.

Or stumbling across a party of horseback-riding monsters as they hunt, then stealing one of their horses, breaking it in and taking it back to a stable where you can examine its stats and name it if you decide to keep it.

The open world manages to seem like a vast sandbox and an intricately designed puzzle all at the same time. There’s something new to see and do at almost every step and yet somehow the game is able to have its cake and eat it: giving the impression you’re exploring untouched wilderness, that no-one but you has ever laid eyes on, and yet also a landscape where every tree and boulder has been placed with the utmost care and forethought.

None of this should necessarily be seen as a validation of the Nintendo Switch though. Breath Of The Wild was originally designed for the Wii U and the only difference between the two versions is slightly improved performance and resolution on the Switch.

Breath Of The Wild can be a stunning-looking game at time, with some excellent lighting techniques, but it’s also filled with some very simple textures and geometry; which become more obvious the less vegetation there is around. Although how much that is due to the Wii U origins is impossible to say at this point.

There are also some very minor frame rate issues, although our only real complaint about the graphics is the desaturated colour scheme. The effect varies depending on the time of day and weather but at its worst it made us pine for the more sumptuous colours of Skyward Sword.

And while some may be taken aback by the understated soundtrack, it sensibly keeps itself in check until moments of high tension and mixes perfectly with the ambient noises of the world around you.

Finding fault with Breath Of The Wild is almost the hardest task in the whole game (almost, since it is surprisingly difficult and the game over screen will become a constant companion until you find your feet).

The new Zelda is an outstanding achievement in video game design, even by the standards of the franchise. But the size and scope of the adventure, and the freedom you’re given to create your own stories and cherished memories, makes this the best Zelda there’s ever been.

And that’s no small compliment, because that immediately confirms it as one of the best games ever made. Only hindsight will be able to decide whether it’s literally the best, but this not only breathes new life into series, and Nintendo’s new console, but into future expectations for all video games to come.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild In Short: The best Zelda there’s ever been, and very possibly the best video game ever made. Pros: Incredible attention to detail and interactivity at every level, from the massive open world to the exciting combat, intricate puzzles, clever AI, and charming dialogue. Cons: Desaturated colour scheme can spoil the look of the visuals. You can’t rename Link. Score: 10/10

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed) and Wii U

Price: £59.99

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Release Date: 3rd March 2017

Age Rating: 12

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