The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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Jose Otero, Editor: OK, Brendan, It’s finally time to talk about Breath of the Wild. Let’s focus on what we did after the Great Plateau starting area that’s been shown several times before. It’s a smart tutorial and all, but the readers demand we give them more. Where did you go and what was your goal?

Brendan Graeber, Editor: With a game as open as this, it was hard to choose a plan of attack. I wanted to rush off and follow the story, but as a guide writer for IGN, I had to focus my priorities on filling in the map by finding every Resurrection Tower. I decided to do this straight off the bat with only three hearts – and no clothes.

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That sounds crazy difficult! I don’t envy guide writers one bit. How many did you get done in, say, five hours? (Editor’s note: We’d love to tell you how long it took Brendan to activate all the Ressurection Towers, but we have to hold our impressions to the first five hours of the game.)Things started going downhill fast. I started with the closest tower I could spy from the plateau, thinking it would be an easy first tower to start my adventure with. I was very, very wrong. Things quickly turned into part-sneaking mission, part-avoiding sniper fire from all directions, and I died several times. And that was just the first tower off the plateau – it only got harder from there. I think after five hours I had just barely managed to uncover the top half of the map.

“ I think using the paraglider is one of the best highlights of Breath of the Wild.

You wandered into Guardian territory? Yeah, central Hyrule is full of those creepy buggers. I know the exact spot you’re talking about! And, yes, it’s not a friendly place to be. I wandered over there eventually, but the first thing I did when I left the Great Plateau was start heading East on the paraglider. I think using it is easily one of the best highlights of Breath of the Wild. You can climb anything as long as you manage your stamina properly. And, once you reach the top, you can just sail off into the air and descend. It’s as satisfying as flying around Gotham City in the Batman Arkham games or parasailing in Far Cry 4.

Graeber: The Paraglider saved my life more times than I can count. It’s incredibly useful to be able to stick to high ground and cross canyons and valleys teeming with monsters. The fact that you can avoid potentially lethal chokepoints by climbing up the side of a cliff is amazing and insanely useful when you’re in over your head in a dangerous area.

Otero: It’s so good. And it really plays into Breath of the Wild’s survival angle in a smart way. OK, so what’s been your favorite thing in Breath of the Wild so far?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch Screens Gallery 18 IMAGES

Graeber: Since my first five hours were all about exploring, my favorite thing was how unique and varied every region is. I’m a natural explorer in video games – I remember scaling high mountains in World of Warcraft and sneaking into high level zones, and exploring in Breath of the Wild brought back that same feeling. Every new place I went to had new beautiful vistas, and a good mix of serenity and danger. One moment you’re strolling through a quiet mountain trail admiring the wildlife, the next moment your weapon and shield light on fire and you burst into flames from being in a place that’s too hot to handle.

“ One moment you’re strolling through a quiet trail admiring the wildlife, the next moment your weapon and shield light on fire...

Yeah, I agree. There’s a little crossover, but each region has it’s own flora, fauna, and, in some cases, even types of enemies. I found myself wandering often simply because of curiosity, and each time I did it led to a new discovery about Hyrule I didn’t know before. I can’t tell you how many times I was killed by a stronger enemy with just one hit. It’s brutally difficult in some cases. Breath of the Wild really feels like a survival game, one where you can run into brutally difficult enemies, and I love it for that. The game world is a beautiful and dangerous place, and it’s really up to you how you want to tackle its challenges.I also saw a lot of juicy looking places I had to will myself to avoid. It’s so easy to get lost and lose track of what you’re doing because every area looks so enticing whether they are old crumbling ruins, enemy camps, or just gorgeous looking locales. Still, I needed to fill in the map before I could start unravelling the main story and exploring shrines. How did that go for you?

Otero: I think people would riot in the streets if I told them anything about the story, so I can’t tell you what I did. But the emotional angle of it is striking. Anyway, I just keep marveling at how the rules of this sandbox make sense. Here are some examples.

If it rains, you can’t climb up cliffs and start to slide off.

Every once in awhile enemies will roll rocks down cliff to try and hit me if they see me coming.

Shrine puzzle are fun to solve and they serve as convenient fast-travel locations.

You really need to pace yourself in this game and stop to prep meals for helpful buffs.

I knew you could get struck by lighting if you’re wearing metal during a thunderstorm, but nothing prepared me for the first time I saw an enemy get hit by a bolt for carrying a broadsword. I backflipped just as the it came down. It was exhilarating.

And through all of what I’ve done, I have never run into anything resembling Fi or Navi. You’re never pulled onto the main path.

“ Breath of the Wild really feels like a survival game...

That’s everything we have to say about Zelda so far. But our coverage doesn’t end here. Check out IGN next Thursday, March 2 at 3:00 AM PT/6:00 AM ET/11:00 AM GMT/10:00 PM AEDT for our full The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review.

Jose Otero is an Editor at IGN and host of Nintendo Voice Chat . You can follow him on Twitter Brendan Graeber is an Editor at IGN and is writing the guide for Breath of the Wild. You can follow him on Twitter