The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[thelittlemango]

Still obsessed with this game, to the point where I think it might be the game I've had the most sustained enjoyment from.

Most other open world games start with a big cut scene intro or a little village where you learn your quest and then off you go, with the weight of it on your shoulders and a constant feeling of doom and peril as you go from main quest to main quest with some side quests in there to mix things up. What I love about this is the complete lack of pressure because it's the opposite, I don't get put off turning on my switch and playing due to the daunting notion of knowing I'm going to have to commit three hours to a mass of exposition and battles edging me closer to the final battle, which has put me off other games as I need to be in a specific mood and have enough time to commit. With this I love that I can turn it on and work away on what I want, with the big challenges at the back of my mind as something I'm upgrading Link to be better prepared for but knowing I can happily explore the surroundings, meeting all of the inhabitants of the world, doing a bunch of different quests, mini games, shrines, towers, testing the boundaries of the physics and looking at lovely sunsets and then put it away. Moving towards the goal but in a more peaceful way, I find it extremely relaxing, and little moments like being in the North West on a snowy mountain and gliding through a blizzard only to land in the green and peaceful Rito felt genuinely comforting.

It's strange, as before I bought it I thought it sounded like it would be a bit too sparse and dull, yet it gives me a feeling few other games have given me.

End of BOTW ramble.

[Kelvin]

Still obsessed with this game, to the point where I think it might be the game I've had the most sustained enjoyment from.

Same. I've racked up something like 600 hours in my main game, and probably matched that again over several other files. I've sat through both my niece and my friend playing through it from start to finish on my Switch, and enjoyed every minute. I often turn it on for half an hour to race from the great plateau to the castle on my bike or horse, just to soak in the scenery. I go to sleep thinking about it sometimes.

Moving towards the goal but in a more peaceful way, I find it extremely relaxing, and little moments like being in the North West on a snowy mountain and gliding through a blizzard only to land in the green and peaceful Rito felt genuinely comforting.

Exactly. I actually think the atmosphere and pace of the game are the single most important parts of its appeal for me, and strangely, the things that seem to get discussed the least. People talk about the versatility of the mechanics, the climbing, the exploration, and the environmental story-telling, but when I think of BotW, I think of Link running through a handful of trees, grass blowing, blue skies, with dears springing about, and birds in the distance. That's the magic ingredient to me; how stripped back everything is, how simple and uncluttered. No ticking clock, no cutscenes, no po-faced dialogue, lots of nice little villages and kooky characters. As you say, it's a fundamentally relaxing game, but with something always driving you over the next hill.     

[Bazooka]

I wish I felt the same I really do, I've really never had any desire to return to it.

[Thursday]

Same. I've racked up something like 600 hours in my main game, and probably matched that again over several other files. I've sat through both my niece and my friend playing through it from start to finish on my Switch, and enjoyed every minute. I often turn it on for half an hour to race from the great plateau to the castle on my bike or horse, just to soak in the scenery. I go to sleep thinking about it sometimes.

Exactly. I actually think the atmosphere and pace of the game are the single most important parts of its appeal for me, and strangely, the things that seem to get discussed the least. People talk about the versatility of the mechanics, the climbing, the exploration, and the environmental story-telling, but when I think of BotW, I think of Link running through a handful of trees, grass blowing, blue skies, with dears springing about, and birds in the distance. That's the magic ingredient to me; how stripped back everything is, how simple and uncluttered. No ticking clock, no cutscenes, no po-faced dialogue, lots of nice little villages and kooky characters. As you say, it's a fundamentally relaxing game, but with something always driving you over the next hill.     

Yeah I get why people wanting a traditional Zelda game might be disappointed, why it might not be as "fun" and it can seem boring, but for me it's always just about existing in this world. It's tragic, it's on the verge of getting worse but also full of beauty and hope, and wonder. Nothing's ever quite felt like it since.

[thelittlemango]

Exactly. I actually think the atmosphere and pace of the game are the single most important parts of its appeal for me, and strangely, the things that seem to get discussed the least. People talk about the versatility of the mechanics, the climbing, the exploration, and the environmental story-telling, but when I think of BotW, I think of Link running through a handful of trees, grass blowing, blue skies, with dears springing about, and birds in the distance. That's the magic ingredient to me; how stripped back everything is, how simple and uncluttered. No ticking clock, no cutscenes, no po-faced dialogue, lots of nice little villages and kooky characters. As you say, it's a fundamentally relaxing game, but with something always driving you over the next hill.   

That's it, in my Rito example I'm gliding there after struggling through snowy terrain not because I'm hoping to get there to meet someone who will tell me where the demon's lair is or give me a weapon to help kill it, but because I genuinely want to visit it and speak to the inhabitants and learn the back story and find out what's happening in that part of the world. Anything which will help me kill that demon is presented naturally, whether it's a side mission which ends up giving me heat-proof armour which allows me to get certain weapons which help in the end goal, or if it's a character talking about someone they know in a nearby land who can provide some learned knowledge you can take with you for the rest of the game. It feels very natural and unforced.

Saying that though, I'm still raging at the Yiga stealth mission, no saving mid-level? Are you having a laugh? They can stick their bananas up their arse.

[jobotic]

Saying that though, I'm still raging at the Yiga stealth mission, no saving mid-level? Are you having a laugh? They can stick their bananas up their arse.

I had to cheat for one part of that. I have never had any idea how people can do games like this without referring to a walk-through. The Wind Waker was the worst for this, how on earth could anyone figure where to go when?

People do though, I know. I'm just shit at gaming.

[rack and peanut]

It's also the one part of the game where the open world/ sandbox philosophy gets chucked out of the window. IIRC it's possible to skirt round and reach the boss lair from the outside, he's just not there. How hard would it have been to have a slightly different cutscene or lines of dialogue if Link circumvents the base?

[thelittlemango]

I bailed out of there and have vowed to make Link so strong that I can return through the front door and destroy them all one by one without a moment of stealth, as cute as it is to see them hobble over to pick up their prized bananas.

[Kelvin]

The trick is to get above them, on the pillars and rafters, then just hop over to the guard above the exit, drop something to distract him and then drop down and run through the door.

[jobotic]

Eventide Island is another that you can save isn't it? That's fun though. The first time I went was quite early in the game and I was rubbish. The second time, after I'd done all the Divine Beasts was much more enjoyable and successful, although obviously starting with nothing again. I was just better at playing the game.

[Dog Botherer]

i remember the stealth bit being hard but then not too bad once i realized you could just climb for 90% of it. i had a full stamina wheel and fully upgraded stealth armour though, probably helped.

think i used the stealth armour by far the most actually, especially while exploring. made catching critters and avoiding battles much easier.

[jobotic]

Got the Master sword, Master shield, top armour.

Still haven't defeated one single Lynel Blair.

[rack and peanut]

Great fairies are thicc hotties

[jobotic]

They're pretty full on. MAkes me uncortable. "I'm only just over 100 years old miss, stop it"

[Kelvin]

Just got the Creating a Champion book today. It's a collection of early, unused and completed art work from the game's development, accompanied by story information and background from the developers/artists about why they made the creative decisions they did. I've only glanced through it briefly so far, but I've already seen several tidbits I didn't know, like the dragons being part goat, and what the inner city looked like before it was destroyed.

Here's a video of someone browsing it, so you can see how ridiculously huge it is. It must be 2.5 inches thick. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx3NhnGQ0Xg     

[rack and peanut]

Any artwork of great fairies?

Here's a video of someone browsing it, so you can see how ridiculously huge it is. It must be 2.5 inches thick. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx3NhnGQ0Xg   

Not nearly thick enough.

[Dog Botherer]

Got the Master sword, Master shield, top armour.

Still haven't defeated one single Lynel Blair.

i only ever beat them by fully upgrading my armour, getting some big fucking swords, and spamming food constantly til they finally die.

upgraded stasis is useful.

[petercussing]

You just need to get good at dodging them and maybe spam them up with a load of arrows before that, as most of them are near places where you can hid and fire at them from without them knowing you are there. That can knock them down too and you can get to the point where you can climb on them and that fucks them up, too. That said, they will still kill me if I fuck about too much

[Blinder Data]

I feel like I'm only halfway through the game and, while Lynels are rock-hard, they are beatable. If you've got the upgraded stasis power, freeze then batter them with a big weapon. Dodging/running away is key though.

[jobotic]

I have got upgraded stasis, forgot about that.

Also got a Lynel mask but they're not fooled once you hit them

[thecuriousorange]

I'm stuck at the first boss I've reached (Waterblight Ganon, inside the elephant), so I've just been exploring the world and trying to level up a bit by completing shrines and doing side quests. I've got all the towers and opened all the map, but I'm still finding new things and places each time I go for a rummage. I know where the other three divine beasts are and know who to talk to for two of them, to start those bits. But I'm waiting til I finish off elephant dungeon first.

The climbing and gliding are an utter joy and I love just spending time in this world.

[thelittlemango]

I have got upgraded stasis, forgot about that.

Also got a Lynel mask but they're not fooled once you hit them

Forgot about upgraded stasis too, going to have a go at walking through the Yiga lair and freezing and walking straight past them I think.

Love all the possible solutions in this game, another one I was thinking of trying is laying the cube bomb in their path to distract them and then blowing it up if they start coming back to the area where I am.

Excited to know I've got Goron city to go, the colosseum, Hyrule castle and three of the divine beasts (plus a million other things) despite putting more hours into this game than I have with most others. The only thing that makes me want to buy the DLC is for the hero's path map thing where it shows you everywhere you've been, so I can make sure there's nothing I'm missing out on.

[Dog Botherer]

that heroes path thing was a godsend for korok hunting. never did find that last one though. stuck on 99.9% forever. desolation.

[jobotic]

I've done all four Divine Beasts, about 75% of the shrines, and I still find places I've never been to when I go for a wander.

Just did the sand boot quest - I don't really need them anymore but it was fun.

[Dog Botherer]

snow boots are a lifesaver in several areas, i got them very late and was annoyed with myself.

[thelittlemango]

Is the DLC worth getting? Seems quite light for the money...

Also just finished the Tarrey Town quest, really lovely and the ending was great, I almost wish it was a slower burn quest that built up over many hours but it's one of my favourite parts of the game so far.

[Dog Botherer]

how much of the game do you have left? it's the kind of thing that is best played alongside the main game.

although you could always start a new game on Master Mode, which is a genuine challenge without being insanely punishing.

[thelittlemango]

I'm just exploring and ticking off side quests and looking for interesting weapons, armour and shrines at the moment, 3 Divine Beasts to go and obviously Ganon as I know those all mark the end of the game, sounds like it might be worth getting in that case.

[Kelvin]

Is the DLC worth getting? Seems quite light for the money...

Also just finished the Tarrey Town quest, really lovely and the ending was great, I almost wish it was a slower burn quest that built up over many hours but it's one of my favourite parts of the game so far.

Someone asked this recently in the main Switch thread. On that occasion, I said:   

It's more of the same, a bunch of new shrines, a few retro costumes, and one (good) dungeon. Then the motorbike as a reward. It's good fun, but it does fuck up the pacing and difficulty of a first playthrough, as it's basically adding a chunk of game at the point you should be heading to Ganon, and you'll be massively over-powered for the final battle. My advice is to beat Ganon, then buy the DLC afterwards. It will just drop it into the game for you to play at your leisure. Good stuff, but not A tier.     

I'll reiterate, though, that it really does mess up the pacing and difficulty of a first playthrough, so it's best played after beating Ganon, but before mopping up the remaining sidequests and shrines. That way, you get the proper experience of the core game, but have a cool bike to ride around while you tie up loose ends.



Imagine being this dreamy.

[thelittlemango]

Thanks!

Which aspects of the DLC mess up the pacing/difficulty? From what I can see the major advantage you get from it is the chance to do the Trial of Swords and have a perma-charged Master Sword but are there other things as well?