The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a fitting transition game for Nintendo.
It’s been designated the last official title for the departing Wii U, and the first triple-A blockbuster for the Nintendo Switch.
I was treated to Breath of the Wild on the Switch and, it’s fair to say, suitably blown away.
This is an entirely different type of Zelda game to the ones that have come before. The star of the show isn’t Link or even the princess herself - it’s the expansive land of Hyrule.
Breath of the Wild is a truly open-world game. Once you’ve mastered the first couple of hours, the land of Hyrule opens up and you can guide Link anywhere you want. Theoretically, there's nothing to stop you marching up to Ganon right then and there for what would be the shortest confrontation in video game history.
It’s up to you whether you follow the story or trundle off on side-quests to explore on your own. Every cliff is climbable, providing your stamina holds out, and there are a variety of goodies just lying around.
Breath of the Wild does away with upgrading weaponry and shields. Instead, each one will break after a certain amount of hits. That means you have to scavenge gear and be tactical about how and when you use certain items.
Rather than spend your days in a smattering of dungeons (a staple of the franchise) you’ll instead find shrines dotted around the world. These serve up a variety of different puzzles and allow you to increase your health containers or stamina and also act as fast-travel points.
The elements of Hyrule also play a part. Start trekking up a mountain and you’ll see Link start to shiver. Eventually, he starts to lose heart containers. There are a few different ways to withstand the cold - either buy some warm clothing, cook up an elixir that’ll protect you, or grab a torch and start lighting fires as you go.
The point is, Breath of the Wild gives you a lot of choice about how you play the game. It’s far more about interacting with Hyrule itself than it is about solving puzzles, bashing baddies or following a story.
The graphics are rich and detailed and translate perfectly from the big screen to the Nintendo Switch’s 6.2-inch HD display.
If there’s a downside to Breath of the Wild, it comes from the constant need to swap in and out of menu systems and inventories.
Occasionally, you may need to drop an item to pick up a new one, which means calling up the inventory screen and making the selection. Similarly, during actually gameplay there are innumerable different controls for a huge variety of actions. Even after hours playing the game, I still found myself accidentally throwing a sword into the distance instead of drawing my bow. Cue frustration and, often, death.
Breath of the Wild’s open-world nature contributes to its difficulty - this is not an easy game. You’ll die frequently attempting to take on a gang of enemies before realising that you’re just not powerful enough yet to beat them.
But it adds up to a rich gaming experience that offers seasoned Zelda players a breath of fresh air and newcomers an engaging adventure to get to grips with. If you’re a role-playing fan then you should be playing this game right now.
