What makes “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild” such an amazing game?

A gentle voice calls to you, waking you from your slumber. Your eyes open and you realize you’re lying in a pool, not remembering anything. Standing up, you stretch out your limbs and walk towards the exit and are greeted by the blinding sunlight. Once your eyes adjust, you look at your surroundings and realize the vast landscape before you is remarkable. The beautiful green land in front of you, along with the dark, gloomy castle that sits far beyond the orange-tinted horizon. As you take in this sight, you realize that this isn’t going to be like any other game you’ve experienced. 

In 2017, Nintendo released an action-adventure game titled “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild” for their Nintendo Switch and Wii U consoles (Lopez, 2017). The single-player video game allows the player to control a protagonist named Link, Hyrule’s heroic knight, as he embarks on a journey to save the Kingdom of Hyrule and Princess Zelda while trying to regain his memory (Pratama, 2022). Unfortunately, he has no recollection of events prior to waking up, which leaves him clueless as he sets out on his mission. Along the way, memories and clues of the past will reveal themselves to help Link piece together the events that occurred before he fell into a deep slumber. For those of you who haven’t experienced the game, now is the best time to click away from this article to prevent being spoiled. With that in mind, let’s talk about what makes “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” such a beloved game.

The game presents players with a vast and open world, which means players are free to explore the world without limitations or instructions (Balasubramanian, 2022). Breath of the Wild offers unparalleled freedom to its players, allowing them to explore objectives, challenges, and storylines with their own approach. The map is filled with beautiful landscapes, from lush green forests to towering mountains, filled with hidden treasures and missions waiting to be explored by players.

The open-world feature of the game also allows players to stray away from the traditional and linear mode of storytelling. Instead of playing the game with step-by-step instructions and chronological order, the player is allowed to explore Hyrule on their own, discovering pieces of the story while interacting with interesting side characters without being tied to a set path, so they can explore and learn at their own pace. Nintendo has also ingeniously crafted the game with beautiful details. From the lovely flora and fauna to the complex puzzles and quests, nearly every aspect of Breath of the Wild has details that tell you how meticulously crafted the game is (Webster, 2017).

The music and scoring of Breath of the Wild have also received praise due to how well it’s composed. Lots of the world-building in Breath of the Wild is uniquely intertwined with its soundtrack (Herinkova, 2022). The soundtrack and background music in the game changes accordingly to the situation, location, and events that are occurring which immerse the player into the game even more (Richtmyer, 2021). It also serves as an excellent audio cue during battles, missions, puzzles, and other parts of the game. With the help of the music, it truly elevates the experience of playing Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild has managed to solidify its status within the gaming community and is considered to be one of Nintendo’s best games due to the fact that nearly everyone who has played the game thought it was amazing. Almost all game critics, publications, and reviews have given Breath of the Wild either a perfect score or something close to it. Not only has the game won the hearts of its players, but it has garnered admiration from prestigious institutes that awarded the game with honorable titles such as “Game Of The Year” at The Golden Joystick Awards, The Game Awards, The D.I.C.E Awards, SXSW Gaming Awards, and The Game Developers Choice Awards (Dwan, 2017; IGN Studios, 2018; Makuch, 2017, 2018a, 2018b).

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an undeniably fantastic game with so many lovable features and aspects. Some would even say it’s close to perfection. From its expansive open-world mode to the amazing scoring of the game, it continues to captivate players and is recognized as one of the best games within the Legend of Zelda franchise. Breath of the Wild is an excellent game that showcases how powerful video games are as an art form and sets a new standard for future open-world gaming endeavors. 

References

Balasubramanian, K. (2022). An Introduction to Open World Games. Retrieved from gameopedia.com: https://www.gameopedia.com/introduction-to-open-world-games/

Dwan, H. (2017). The 2017 Golden Joystick Awards winners have been revealed. Retrieved from telegraph.co.uk: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/news/2017-golden-joystick-awards-winners-have-revealed/

Herinkova, E. (2022). How BOTW Uses Music & Sound To Create An Unparalleled Sense Of Place. Retrieved from screenrant.com: https://screenrant.com/zelda-breath-wild-botw-music-soundtrack-link-story/

IGN Studios. (2018). Here are the 2018 SXSW Gamer’s Voice Awards Winners. Retrieved from ign.com: https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/04/26/sxsw-gaming-awards-2018-winners-revealed

Lopez, G. (2017). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, explained. Retrieved from vox.com: https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/3/14787382/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-reviews

Makuch, E. (2017). The Game Awards 2017 Winners Headlined By Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’s Game Of The Year. Retrieved from gamespot.com: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-game-awards-2017-winners-headlined-by-zelda-br/1100-6455467/

Makuch, E. (2018). Game Of The Year Nominees Announced For DICE Awards. Retrieved from gamespot.com: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-of-the-year-nominees-announced-for-dice-award/1100-6456107/

Makuch, E. (2018). Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Wins Another Game Of The Year Award. Retrieved from gamespot.com: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-wins-another-ga/1100-6457600/

Pratama, K. R. (2022). Ini Dia 5 Game dengan Gameplay Serupa Genshin Impact. Retrieved from tekno.kompas.com: https://tekno.kompas.com/read/2022/09/26/17300097/ini-dia-5-game-dengan-gameplay-serupa-genshin-impact?page=all

Richtmyer, S. (2021). Why Breath Of The Wild’s Minimal Music Was A Good Choice. Retrieved from screenrant.com: https://screenrant.com/breath-wild-music-minimal-good-quiet-peaceful-world/

Webster, A. (2017). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review. Retrieved from theverge.com: https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/2/14787082/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-review