Once in a while a game comes around that completley knocks you on your feet and reminds you why videogames are so great. Whats strange to me Once in a while a game comes around that completley knocks you on your feet and reminds you why videogames are so great. Whats strange to me is, i would have never expected it to be a zelda game. The thought alone is bizarre , we all expect every mainline zelda game to be really good, as i did with this one. But i have to be honest, i expected it to be “just another zelda.”



My favorite zelda game is the original legend of zelda for the NES. Link to the past on the SNES and Link awakening on the gameboy were amazing games, fantastic even. Ocarina of time was really on a HO Notha level. After that point, sadly, my hype for zelda started to decline. The series was stating to get comfy with its tried and true formula, as were its hardcore fans. Ive always thought zelda could be better, not that Skyward sword, Twilight princess and windwaker were bad games, just that at their core, they were still mimicking the same fomulaic approach. So why or even how would a game thats expected to be good, still blow away expectations as breath of the wild has? By breaking that mold, chewing it up, adding some acorns and mighty bannanas, throwing it in a pan over a fire, and making a monster of a game that absolutley no one expected to be this incredible.



GRAPHICS



The game runs fairly smooth with some slight fps drops in certain moments, never to the point where it interrupts gameplay. Despite being originally developed on the archaic and weak capability of the wiiu, Breath of the wilds graphics are absorbently stunning, every vista looks like a watercolor painting. The character models look great and feel like they fit the fantasy world perfectly. Enemies come in diffrent shapes and sizes, from small bat like keese, to hulking one eyed giant orge like beasts to even bigger enemies(wont spoil it for you) The wildlife in this game is beautiful to look at, even the smallest insect.



GAMEPLAY



Running, jumping, fighting,climbing in Breath of the wild is silky smooth, there is actually so many things and so many controls for link to learn that you might find yourself pressing the wrong button at times, so it does have somewhat of a learning curve, but never to the point where i got annoyed. Link can sprint or climb using his upgradable stamina bar, a feature new to the series. Every weapon that link collects attacks diffrently, and there all fun to use, some more than others (im looking at you boomerang.) You can make food and potions to help you on your quest, this part is actually a lot of fun, as you’ll want to collect as many ingredients: trees,plants,fruits, enemy drops(i mean the list goes on and on.) The abilities that you receive early in the game are also a blast to use, especially paired with the incredible physics engine of this game. its unlike anything you’ve ever played, it really is.



SOUND



Music in this game is also unlike any other zelda game, where other zelda titles, there was always an overworld theme blasting, marching towards adventure no matter what you were doing. This game makes you really feel your surroundings with its soundtrack, it lets the sounds of nature swoop in and take over at times, this mixed with the incredible



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scenery make for an audiovisual experience thats extremely satisfying. There are excellent tracks in this game, from the celtic sounding theme of hateno village to the jazzy sounds of the goron/valcano theme. There is also remade editions of old favorites. Overall there’s never been a zelda soundtrack with more emotion than in this game.



STORY



The legend of zelda has never been known for its story elements, that being said it has a decent tale told in a very intresting way. Ive been playing about 70 hours, and honestly have not focused too much on reaching the main story plot, that being said from what ive seen, its definitley a step up from previous iterations.



CONCLUSION



Did i think nintendo had it in them to make a game like this? Yes, did i expect it with breath of the wild? NO, but im sure glad they did. As many positive things i have to say about this game, i cant help to assert that you have to play this game to really understand and appreciate it. No review can really do it justice, and with that being said, i give this game a 10/10.



The good: True open word gameplay that gives you a sense of freedom



The bad: slight fps drops in high activity areas



The ugly: Moblin guts? really? eww… … Expand