[POLL] IS THE BREATH OF THE WILD (THE ZELDA) REALLY THAT BAD?

7/10

"You have not changed a bit. Once a hero, always a hero." ~ Breath of the Wild

You heard it here first, folks; one hundred years and still no character development. Nintendo, you played yourself.

I can see how the formula does suit Zelda better than other things in the sense that roaming and discovery has always played a big part.
But in the same vein I loved the familiarity and fondness you get of the places you travel through (entering hyrule field <3), so I can see how that is tricky.

Some people love the sense of discovery n novelty in open world games. I never got into it as much myself either.

I am open to try it eventually (when I get the chance to try at someone else's place/console, that is ;))
Yet seing the "weapons" in action where they break after 5 swings ... makes me .. really sad to just watch it lol.
It's like someone went "Remember deku sticks? They broke immediately if you use them for hitting stuff. Let's make all our weapons like that!"

I am EXTREMELY ENJOYING BotW. There is a certain endless sort of fun to be had running around exploring with excellent controls and fun combat. There's not that much to do compared to some other open-world games, but what there is is very well done. Flying around with the glider is massively enjoyable.

I have three (3) qualms with the game:

1) Weapons break far too easily. This is a comment complain and is entirely true. I've been in fights against three enemies where I've broken four medium-tier weapons. Early weapons are even worse. It's not a bad concept, and I've adapted my playstyle to it, but there's no denying it's frustrating when a weapon says "noted for its durability!" and then it lasts two fights.

2) The music stinks. There's not very much of it, and I've only run into a handful of songs I enjoy. I really enjoy ambience in games, but there's not very much of that, either. Some areas are huge exceptions to this and tout excellent sound and music, but mostly there is either no music or not very good music with nothing to fill in that audio space. Zelda is notorious for its incredible music. Why would they change that?

3) It doesn't feel that much like a classic Zelda game, which I imagine is a point of contention for a lot of people. There's very little dungeon development like you'd find in earlier titles. I think it still retains some of the feel, certainly, and I appreciate all the new ideas greatly, so this is a minor qualm. All the really good Zelda games before it have played a part in breaking the mold, so it makes sense that this one would, too.

That being said, I think they're going to be using this engine for the next Zelda game, as well, and I can't wait. With the engine complete, they can focus on adding lots of fun stuff to do to improve the exploration even more. I already know how I'd make it, and I'm interested to see how Nintendo handles it.

re: many complaints about open worldiness: I am replaying Skyrim at the same time as I play BotW, and to somehow equate the two because they're both open world ("everything going open world") is nonsense. Zelda's open world feels like a massive, truly open playground of exploration, whereas Skyrim's is more of a quest/dungeon/treasure hunt. When I play Skyrim I'm looking for things that will get me off the main map and net me specific rewards. When I play Zelda, I'm content to just roam around and see what it out there, knowing full well that even my most prized treasures are fleeting (since they break two fucking seconds later!). They feel nothing alike, despite both being open world.

author=LockeZ
It's impossible for an open world game to be good.

stop

I think it's great, what I've seen of it so far. Granted, I haven't played it since no-one I know has a switch or the game, but hey, I've watched a few videos and it's giving that itchy palm feel of wanting to play.

Then again, I like open world games so nyeh.

author=halibabica

from kentona
I can understand the open-world dislike. It sometimes feel like taking a deficiency and relabeling it as a "feature".

"We don't know how to edit and cut and organize content, so let's just call it 'open world' and call it a day, aight?"

For me, the overhwelming possibilities tend to crush my motivation.

Me: "What am I supposed to do?"
Game: "You can do LITERALLY ANYTHING!"
Me: "._."

Add to that "Nothing you do really matters though!" "Oh, and it also is all the same stuff repeated over and over again"
The AAA industry did pick it up as a trend to boast with bigger and better sizes.

As others said though, there are ways to do it right and a more open exploration and pace can be a lovely thing to follow. It can also be just a relaxed time-sink.
I do think a certain limit (like a size that allows for unique areas and places of importance) really helps to make the upsides shine as much as they can.
(could gothic be seen as open world? prolly not .. but it sure allowed free exploration for training n stuff which was one of the things I really enjoyed about it - exploring and venturing into the wild and seeking out the opponents you could actually face at your level/state and avoiding the rest. just felt like a world. and not a copy paste one heh, my preferences showing!)

I'm glad we all agree that the weapon degradation is a load of bollocks, for a second i was afraid there would be someone willing to defend it.

author=pianotm
Oh, no. I despise weapon degradation with a passion. It's okay in games like Fallout and Baldur's Gate because it rarely becomes a serious issue, but if what I'm hearing described about this game is true, that's absolutely ridiculous.

I saw a gameplay clips.
Yes .. yes, ridiculous is the word.

And that's why they don't work for me personally. I get why others enjoy that sort of thing, but I just don't. When given too many options, I always feel unfocused or worried about what I may be overlooking. It's just not for me.