The success of open world games relies on sense of adventure, as well as sheer freedom. Wondering about in an open world can be boring if the obstacles are not exciting and challenging enough. The Legend of Zelda surprised me by delivering way more than I had expected. Exclusively developed for Nintendo, this game gives you sheer freedom and a great feeling of adventure in the beautiful landscape of Hyrule. In this open world, there are various ways that the game utilizes to pique your curiosity. From the challenging hidden puzzles to raiding enemy camps for weapons, as well as treasures, you will stay hooked on the game for hours. One of the major standout features of the game is that you do not run out of things to do. I mean, I have been roaming around Hyrule landscape for over 40-hours, but I am still left with a load of mysteries to discover and beautifully designed puzzles to solve. This is by far the largest scenario of gaming world that the series has ever presented. One thing that I would warn you about when it comes to this game is that is that it’s so damn addictive. In most cases, I find myself counting hours to get back at it.
The Legend of Zelda excels in implementing real-life expectations into the game. The post-apocalyptic land of Hyrule, which is untamed and a techno-fantasy does not only bear the beauty of the evergreen grasslands, as well as alpine mountains that are craggy, but it is also structured in a manner such that realistic rules apply making it possible to execute solutions that are intuitive. Everything follows the natural law as the trees bear fruits and living creatures behave in a more realistic manner. When exposed (objects such as wood, rocks, as well as metallic blocks) to some sort of pressure like magnetism and fire, the response is what you get in real-life. The game pushes you to think differently in order to survive the wilderness as you are required to be cautious and imaginative.
Breath of the Wild propels you to reappraise your past game skills as it brings a whole new setup compared to the previous entries. And, while most of the games focus on front-loading all the excitement and wonder, The Legend of Zelda manages to sustain the thrill of unpredicted findings throughout. Although you are likely to experience framerate dips here and there, this action-packed game will consistently trigger bliss, as well as excitement in equal measure. Another thing that impressed me most about the game is the storyline of rescuing Princess Zelda. And, come to think of it, you begin this mountainous quest with no more than a tree branch to use in defending yourself against the goblins. However, the good thing is that there are dozens of weapons you will blow through during your adventure.
Enemies think differently in this game, thus, if you are a lazy-ass thinker, then you will get whooped as frequent as you come across an enemy. The key is in studying the behaviour of your opponent diligently to come up with the best fighting strategy. For example, you can topple basic enemies through the cautious utilization of a shield, however, when you come across hard enemies, this defence move will get destroyed with just a single hit. So, it becomes essential to time your parry or dodging tactics to trigger slow-motion moment that will enable you to unbridle a flurry of attacks towards the exposed enemy. A word of advice, make sure to use these moves as your last resort and precisely time them.
The surprise factor in The Legend of Zelda never seizes, and to make it more fun, the game teaches you nothing. For instances, in order to add your enemy arrows to your inventory after blocking them, you need to holster your shield. I got surprised when I mistakenly grazed one of my enemy’s wooden weapon with fire, therefore, setting it ablaze. This, in turn, made the fight more difficult. Regardless of the beauty, the behaviour of enemies, as well as how challenging the puzzles are, Breath of the Wild will surprise you throughout the game with its newfound rules. The game never stops the fun and this is what every gamer is looking for. Trust me, even after 50 hours of playing the game, you will still have much to discover and enjoy. With that said, I can safely say the 2017 version of The Legend of Zelda is by far the best in the entire series.
The Anxious Gamer 