Bounding emphatically out of the mouth of a mountain – from a tomb encased in stone, forged from an ancient science – Link once again finds himself proving the old idiom true: you just can’t keep a good hero down. The young hero quickly finds himself standing on the edge of the world; his eyes weary from a hundred year sleep. They settle on a beautiful, sprawling vista quite unlike anything he has seen before across his storied adventures through time. Luscious green fields and forests greet the distant horizon, the calm blue sky unfazed by the calamity occurring beneath its puffy clouds. Silhouettes of ancient Hyrulian landmarks – such as the Bridge of Eldin, Death Mountain, Hyrule Castle and the Temple of Time – cast a long shadow against the expansive landscape; relics of an old world in desperate need of restoration. Link’s memory of the kingdom may have vanished, but its legend survives on the breath of the wind.
All of this space is yours to conquer. The untamed wilds of Hyrule that you see stretching off into the distance are yours to explore, its mysteries waiting to be uncovered by the brave and the bold. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’s opener is a stunning statement of intent from Nintendo, it’s quite unlike anything we’ve ever seen from the series or studio. It’s an immediately striking moment and the sheer (almost daunting) scale of the world is worth taking pause in. All of this built by long-standing Zelda manager Eiji Aonuma and his team at Nintendo EPD, a group that has long been criticised for failing to stray from the beaten track.
But no such claims of resting on blatant familiarity could be made in regard to this upcoming Wii U and Nintendo NX release, as Breath Of The Wild introduces mechanical upgrades and systemic innovation to just about every aspect of Zelda’s DNA. It all spirals out of the colossal overworld, some 12 times the size of the one found in 2006’s Twilight Princess. That revelation may cause some concern, and justifiably so, as Twilight Princess’ vast Hyrule Field was a hollow façade; an empty void that looked impressive but failed to engage in any real tangible sense. But it’s clear that – even at this early stage – this iteration of Hyrule has countless secrets to discover, dungeons to explore and creatures to encounter.
The Great Plateau, an area that represented just two per cent of the total map space, was the playground in which games™ could run wild. A lengthy hands-on session gave us a taste of what’s to come when Breath Of The Wild launches in March 2017, and it felt more expansive than anything we’ve seen before from a Zelda game. The tragedies of this land’s past may have been obscured by the unchecked aggression of nature, but rich environmental storytelling ensures that there’s always something impressive to be marvelled at. It’s easy to be left awestruck by the scope of Nintendo’s vision and simultaneously difficult to understand how Breath Of The Wild has been patchworked together to run on the Wii U.
Exploring led us to stumble upon Shrines, mini-dungeons of sorts, which we were free to enter at any time and in any order – over a hundred of which are scattered across Hyrule. Entering such a locale could reveal unique treasures and items to be used across our adventure, while diving deeper would eventually lead us to a mysterious Sheikah monk – a Spirit Orb the reward for overcoming the Shrine’s intricate puzzle rooms, though the use for such a powerful item is still unknown. The usual dungeon-sized trials are out there to be discovered too, though they proved to be far too elusive during our time with the game.
That’s not for want of trying either, but Breath Of The Wild has a purposefully open design. Looking at the mountain ranges and fields; corrupted castles and farmers’ huts; enemy encampments and hidden dungeons, it’s clear that this game has more in common with 1986’s The Legend Of Zelda’s design than any of the games that have followed it. While the map highlighted a few points of interest, you are left to explore the open world at your own pace, directed by your own initiative. Whether you decide to follow the story, visit the villages, or head out in pursuit of dungeons is your decision – Nintendo is done with hand holding.
Which makes Breath Of The Wild something of an oddity amongst the suite of modern Nintendo releases. It’s a difficult game, obstinately challenging at times in fact. Zelda veterans will have no trouble getting into Breath Of The Wild – the basics of its real-time combat largely unchanged – though mastering it is clearly going to take some time.
Given the open-ended nature of the game, every moment of Breath Of The Wild feels like a puzzle in and of itself. Your control over Link has been upgraded, as the hero is now able to manoeuvre himself around the environment freely with a dedicated jump button. You can scramble up just about any surface too, from trees and mountains, to even the bodies of some of the larger enemies – all of which is governed by a stamina gauge. Link can swiftly paraglide from great heights and even use his shield to surf down hills or slopes, firing arrows as he wilfully skims across the environment.
You could stumble onto an enemy encampment at just about any time and it’s upon finding one of these outposts that you’ll start to push the game, to see what will bend to your will and what will break it – though *spoiler alert* it seems Nintendo has thought of just about everything. You can crouch, utilising stealth to sneak up on targets; enemies’ actions changing dependent on the time of day. You could scale a building and attack from above, pushing bokoblins into a state of chaos as they struggle to locate you. Or, of course, you can charge straight in with sword held high and alert all of the enemies to your presence.
Link is still able to hack at enemies through a press of the attack button, and holding it down will still enable Link to unleash his signature spinning attack, though combat now has a sharper edge to it. It doesn’t matter what weapon (or shield) you’re holding – be it a straight sword, fiery twig or overbearing enemy battle axe – they will all deteriorate and eventually break. Your sword could crumble to ash in the middle of a battle – your shield could snap leaving you defenceless – forcing experimentation with split-second accuracy. Do you attempt to quickly equip a backup weapon from your bag by utilising a handy pop-up menu (controlled by the D-Pad), or do you make a dash towards the corpse of a fallen enemy and appropriate its weapon? Do you make a swift retreat, using a bow and arrow to snipe at an enemy from afar or attempt to use the environment against them, kicking boulders down from a height to crush everything in its path? Never quite knowing whether you’ll have the tools to take on a foe, especially when you come up against some powerful and strange new threats, is genuinely thrilling – as is finding a powerful weapon that makes you a (temporary) force to be reckoned with.
Much like Breath Of The Wild’s open-ended design structure and staggering open world, this approach to combat feels less of a nuisance and more of an awakening; it’s made Zelda feel refreshingly modern. For 30 years, Zelda’s combat has revolved around a now iconic structure: at the centre of the experience is Link’s trusty sword and shield, beyond that are an array of tools that you can collect as you progress through the linear narrative that can double up as weapons. Of course, Wind Waker toyed with the idea of picking up and utilising enemy weapons back in 2003, but Breath Of The Wild is all in; a dramatic and welcomed change to the dynamic.
Every weapon has its own stats (which are incredibly easy to parse), attack animations and durability. It’s different, but fluid in a way we haven’t seen demonstrated from the studio in some time. It’s as if Nintendo has taken the standard found in every other action-RPG currently on the market and simplified it. Increased the fun factor without diluting the inherent challenge such systems impose on a game experience. Basically, it’s largely impressive stuff.
These changes also apply to the loot and resource systems too. No longer are you able to slash through long grass to find rouge hearts or break pots to find rupees, now you’ll need to spend time foraging and preparing for, well, anything that the game may throw at you. You are going to need to rely on food that you have found and cooked to keep you going, not only in battle but during exploration too. Fruit can be found and gathered from bushes, while hunting a pack of boar will fill your pouch with uncooked steaks. Enemies will sometimes leave behind other consumables, along with their weapons and armours, that you can gather too. You’ll need to find a fire to light a cooking stove, put the ingredients together from the pouch and then sit back and watch through an adorable animation as Link whips it all together.
Not everything will combine to become a tasty meal, though smart assembly of your ingredients will produce hardier meals. Potions and elixirs can be created this way that have application outside of health regeneration. One combo may boost your speed while others will make you quieter, some may even bestow a temporary health boost – increasing the amount of hearts you have is perfect prep for a boss battle.
We’ve even managed to whip up an elixir that provided benefits outside of combat entirely, helping us to further explore new and deadlier parts of Hyrule than we would have been able to with our basic equipment. During Link’s time in stasis, nature has reclaimed the world, and that means that the natural elements hold all the power. Venturing into snowy mountains will make you freeze, while heading into heat will also have an adverse affect on your survivability; both noise and temperature factor into how Link reacts (and survives) his surroundings, each monitored by an on-screen gauge. To combat this, certain elixirs will increase your aversion to heat or cold, or you can dress Link up in a wardrobe of different items. That’s right, the classic green tunic is gone – or it isn’t the standard attire, at least. Take thermal clothing into the snow, you’ll stay warmer for longer or – if you are happy to risk putting your weapon away – strike a twig against an open flame and you’ll be able to turn it into a torch.
Of all of the core changes to the Zelda formula being made in Breath Of The Wild, cooking was perhaps the one that worried us the most. It’s an abrupt upgrade, changing a principle of play that we have grown accustomed to over 30 years. But just like the alterations made to combat, it only helps immerse you deeper into the adventure. The system is far simpler and faster than it looks or sounds – think of it as a streamlined version of Monster Hunter’s preparation system. You need to prepare all of the items that you think you’ll need to tackle a situation and just go for it. If it turns out you’ve forgotten something, well, you’ll have to find a solution on the fly or die trying. Breath Of The Wild starts you off with literally nothing – in shorts no less – and then leaves you to survive; the grassroots survival theme permeates through every new system and mechanic in the game.
Speaking of themes, Zelda games have traditionally been named after a central object or character – Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Ocarina Of Time, we’re sure you get the gist of it. But Breath Of The Wild has, unsurprisingly so, been named to pull focus onto the world itself – which means it can be all too easy to overlook the biggest all new addition: the Sheikah Slate. Multiple items and abilities are tied to this new mysterious tablet gadget that also happens to replace a number of Zelda classics.
It has basic applications, such as replacing the telescope with the Slate’s scope, allowing you to tag enemies and mark points of interest on the map. But the Sheikah Slate can also be imbued with Runes (we know of six so far), and this is where it gets interesting. Gone is the bomb bag, as the Slate can summon two types of explosives (a Round and Square Bomb) into the world on a whim after you’ve acquired the appropriate Rune, each of which operates with a short cool down and is triggered remotely. There’s a Rune for Magnesis, which allows you to pick up and manipulate metallic objects – better still, when you move objects with Magnesis they abide by the laws of physics, it’s a very entertaining way to play with the environment and kill enemies in inventive ways.
There’s another called Stasis, letting Link lock certain objects in time for a short period, perfect for overcoming certain puzzles, though it can even be used as a way to gain momentum; freeze an object, wail on it with a weapon and watch as the object breaks free of its stasis and unleashes a huge wave of built-up kinetic energy. There’s one that lets you summon Amiibos into the world, such as Twilight Princess’ Wolf Link (the timeline is in tatters) and, finally, there’s a Rune called Cryonis that replaces the Ice Arrows of old, letting Link create pillars of Ice from water to help create platforms and lift up certain objects. These Runes are clearly going to have a huge impact on Breath Of The Wild though we still don’t know how many of them are waiting to be found – they are treasures to be earned from those Shrines we mentioned earlier.
Ultimately, Breath Of The Wild feels like a huge transformation for The Legend Of Zelda. Much of what we played and saw during our time with the game was hugely innovative for the series, even if many of the concepts are incredibly common in other action-RPGs. The influence of Skyrim, The Witcher III, Monster Hunter and, yes, even Dark Souls to an extent, is clearly felt, in both its open world and with Link himself being more adept and customisable. Then again, the influence the original The Legend Of Zelda had on the aforementioned games is pretty clear. This is a Nintendo we haven’t seen for a long time, drawing inspiration from standardised practises in the industry and streamlining them to create its own masterpiece.
Sure, Breath Of The Wild looks beautiful, but it’s the way in which the game ties so many ideas together that it truly shines. From its emergent world design to its intuitive exploration systems, Zelda feels fresh and innovative in a way that it hasn’t for years. The combat and AI is built to be reactive, always forcing you to be aware of your surroundings and opportunities, and suddenly Zelda feels peerless. Breath Of The Wild has the potential to be the Zelda game many have been waiting 30 years for, where you are free to go in any direction and to any dungeon from the outset, just to see what happens. Where you are free to forge your own adventure and improve your play experience by learning from your mistakes and experimentations. Imagine how The Legend Of Zelda must have looked and played on the NES back in 1986 – impossibly reactive, fresh and innovative. Breath Of The Wild is all of these things. It’s is a new dawn for Link, his most important awakening yet; the Hero Of Time is back in action, just as Nintendo needed him most.
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