Breath of the Wild: First Impressions

I’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for just over 20 hours now, but I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. I thought I’d write an initial impressions post to talk about my experience so far.

The main problem I’ve had with the game isn’t so much an issue with the game itself, but with me. Muscle memory is a funny thing, and switching from a 360 controller to a Wii U controller has proven troublesome. But I’m pleased to say that after 20 hours of play, I can now reliably press at least 3 of the 4 face buttons. Give me another 10 and I’m confident I’ll be able to press all 4.

Graphically, Breath of the Wild is gorgeous. It has a lovely ‘watercolour’ aspect to it. Still images of the game really don’t do it justice. When animated, the world of BotW is beautiful to behold. Sound design in terms of ambient audio is excellent, but there’s been a noticeable lack of strong musical tracks – at least so far.

Playing BotW on the Wii U, I’m actually surprised by how impressive it looks and how smoothly (overall) it runs. The frame rate does suffer in certain locations, particularly in the two villages I’ve visited. It also takes a hit when multiple explosions occur. It’s a noticeable drop, but far from unplayable.

I found it strange when I saw articles talking about Zelda ‘going open world’ because all of the previous Zelda titles were open world to a limited degree. And BotW is the most open yet. It doesn’t quite strike you at first, even after an initial panoramic reveal. But as you begin to explore, it dawns on you just how vast the world of BotW really is.

What’s impressive isn’t so much the size, but how everything feels hand crafted. It really does feel like a real world you’re stepping into, as opposed to a collection of copy pasted zones. Yes, I’m looking at you Ubisoft.

Ubisoft took the concept of the open world and refined it into a very ‘efficient’ (and successful) formula. But it’s a formula that I’ve (and I’m sure many others) have grown considerably tired of. Playing BotW feels like a breath (!) of fresh air in comparison.

It’s a fantastic example of how open world should be done. After departing the initial ‘tutorial’ area you really can go anywhere you want. You see that mountain? You can climb it! And you’ll probably find something really neat at the top when you do.

There’s no ‘zone’ check lists to complete before moving onto the next. Your progression through the world and the design of the world itself feels very organic, as opposed to the artificial and structured experience of the Ubisoft Game Template.

Breath of the Wild, quite refreshingly, doesn’t hold your hand. It provides enough visual clues to prod you in the right direction but it never treats you like a fool. For example – in an early tutorial mission, you have to enter an area of extreme cold. The game doesn’t ‘tell’ you how to survive it as such, but you do find a journal that hints at a recipe for a cold resistant meal.

It provides the clue, but it doesn’t use quest markers to point to key ingredients or shove ‘collect 3/6 peppers’ on your screen whilst you do. The game gives you enough information for you to figure it out on your own. It trusts that you’re not a complete moron who needs to be led every step of the way. I’m looking at YOU Ubisoft.

It also doesn’t feel the need to shove all its CONTENT into your face. LOOK HOW MUCH CONTENT THERE IS. LOOK AT ALL THESE QUEST MARKERS AND COLLECTIBLES. Once you enter a new region you can climb a tower to ‘unlock’ the local map. But that’s all it does. The rest is up to you to explore and discover on your own.

And if there’s one thing I’d advise when playing BotW, it would be to switch off the mini-map and other HUD elements. You honestly don’t need them. The problem with mini-maps in general, is that you sometimes end up watching where you’re going on them as much as what’s before you on the screen. Turn that shit off immediately.

There’s lots of little things I’ve experienced in my time with BotW, little stories I could talk about all day. Like when I climbed a mountain and found three round boulders perched on top of a small hill. I then noticed two trees, standing apart, at the bottom. The game didn’t tell me what to do. I just knew.

The world is full of lovely little touches and animations. The attention to detail is quite remarkable. Entering a village at night or during bad weather is a different experience to during the day or when the sun is shining. Characters change their routine or even their dialogue as appropriate. Many games simply don’t bother with these little touches, but it’s these small moments that massively enhance the overall experience.

Combat in the game is fairly simple, but fun. Unlike previous Zelda titles you don’t have ‘set’ weapons or gear, but instead continually cycle through new equipment as you progress. Weapons break over time and must be replaced, which can be annoying if you’ve found a weapon you really like, but you soon learn not to grow attached. It does provide a nice degree of variety to combat as you’re forced into using different types of weapons, each with their own attack style.

If there’s one thing the Zelda games have always done well, it’s provide this wonderful sense of adventure – and Breath of the Wild may be the best yet in that regard. Exploring the world is a joy. You’re never far from something to see or do. And because the game never tells you exactly what you’ll find or where, it maintains this wonderful sense of mystery.

Which wouldn’t work at all if there wasn’t anything interesting to actually find – but there nearly always is. Every time I saw something that looked interesting at a distance, I was never disappointed by what I found, even if what I sometimes found was a world ‘boss’ who one shot me.

That doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have any structure. It does. There are ‘main’ quests on which to embark and different side quests to undertake. But you never know when or where you’ll come across them, and how you approach them is entirely up to you.

If it wasn’t already clear, my initial impressions of Breath of the Wild are extremely positive. I played for 20 hours over two days which probably wasn’t very healthy, but it was honestly hard to stop. I can’t remember the last time I lost myself quite so much in a world.

It’s a game with a true spirit of adventure and I hope the next 20 (or however many hours it takes to complete) are as impressive as the first. Don’t expect a full review any time soon. I’m taking my time with this one.