opinion: The game world of Breath of the Wild is unrivalled – and that’s why I hated it at first. But then it spoiled me for other Open Worlds.
I hated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! So, now it’s out. Thanks for reading this col…oh, wait. It says so, so my story isn’t over quite so quickly. Because today I love this game to death and because of it I can no longer enjoy other open worlds as much as I would like to.
Boundless hype, but why actually?
It’s 2016, and after years of waiting, Nintendo finally lifts the veil at E3 and unveils the latest entry in The Legend of Zelda series to eager fans. I stare spellbound at the monitor, following the Nintendo Treehouse livestream for several hours, and I am certain: this game will be a revelation!
My expectations grew astronomically in the months leading up to the launch. Every day after getting up and before going to bed, I watched the story trailer, whose perfect interplay of cinematic staging and epic soundtrack still gives me goosebumps thick enough to pell:
I even programmed myself a little desktop widget that, with a few gimmicks like changing backgrounds and sound effects (such as a Hey, Listen! when a full hour had passed), showed me a countdown to the release on 3 March 2017.
The reason for this madness? I love the Zelda series! No other franchise – indeed, not even my much-loved The Lord of the Rings Online – is so dear to my heart, has given me so many unforgettable memories and made me cry so many times. Oh, Midna, please come back!
Zelda is more than just a collection of damn good games to me, it’s a way of life – you should see my flat! Breath of the Wild was therefore a dream come true for me, but suddenly turned into a nightmare…
Limitless freedom, but where is the story?
This is not my Zelda anymore!, I yelled at my TV after spending the first hour with Breath of the Wild in the darkened room. Nintendo had always emphasised that they deliberately wanted to break with the conventions of the Zelda series and break new ground. I knew that, but I never expected such a far-reaching departure from the cherished gameplay formula.
It almost seemed to me at the time as if Nintendo was ashamed of the earlier games and wanted to reboot at any cost. Where were the dungeons? What about a semi-linear main story? Collecting heart pieces? Getting hold of various items? No way! I knew about the lack of these things beforehand, but being confronted with them was something else entirely.
Above all, the plot made my heart weep, or rather, the way it was told. It turned out that between the goosebump scenes from the trailer (see above) there were several hours of do-it-yourself adventure in the huge open world, which again nipped any momentum in the narrative in the bud.
And so something happened that I never expected: Breath of the Wild bored me. I felt lost in the gigantic open world and lacked the incentive to explore it on my own. The game was by no means bad, but the problem was homemade. My previous expectations got in the way.
It took me almost three months to play through the game for the first time. Three months in which I had to force myself to continue several times because I wanted to give Ganon at least one kick in the teeth. After that, I didn’t touch Breath of the Wild again for a long time and sought solace in my beloved earlier parts of the series.
Limitless fun, but where has the time gone?
We jump forward in time: It’s 2019, E3 again. Nintendo shows a first mini-teaser for Breath of the Wild 2. I can’t tell what it is, but I feel a strong impulse to give its predecessor another chance.
This time the omens are completely different. I know what to expect and how the game wants to be experienced. No sooner said than done, I blow the dust off the software card, put it in the Switch and delete my previous save game to start all over again.
What followed was the revelation I had been waiting for since 2016. I realised that the open world of Breath of the Wild is not a backdrop, but a central element of the gameplay. There are no myriad question marks on the map. No one tells me what to do next. I can create my very own journey.
The well-worn phrase “The way is the goal” fits this game like a glove. No matter where I go, no matter what I do, I can be sure that the time I invest will be magically rewarded with a unique experience. All the systems in the game world are so excellently interlocked that unforgettable moments arise all by themselves.
I just want to climb a mountain, but suddenly it starts to rain. I slip, but can only just cushion the fall with my glider. The first lightning flashes in the sky. Shit! Now night falls and skeletons crawl out of the ground. Absolute chaos ensues, hurry away! At the same moment I am struck by lightning because I forgot to take off my iron shield in the commotion. I sit in front of the screen and laugh out loud.
In five minutes I can experience a complete adventure. The world is so perfectly designed that it’s even worth traipsing around Hyrule for the duration of a bus ride. Something will happen, and it will happen simply by setting myself a goal and running off. You have to get rid of the idea that you are given a direction. Only then does the fascination of Breath of the Wild open up.
Today, the game has moved up to a solid fourth place in my personal Zelda ranking (it still doesn’t beat the classics for me). And it has plunged me stone cold into a new dilemma!
Limitless possibilities, but where is the freedom?
My time with Breath of the Wild has had a serious impact to this day. I can hardly enjoy an open-world title as much as I would like to anymore. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Dying Light 2 or most recently Horizon: Forbidden West – all united in the fate of tiring me out after just a few hours, despite how much I would love to dive into their visually and thematically interesting game worlds.
Today’s titles are still mostly based on what was once dubbed the Ubisoft formula. That means lots of question marks/symbols on the map, some kind of compass/radar with unmistakable destination markers to guide the way, and a large helping of hand-holding.
Horizon: Forbidden West already slays me shortly after starting the game with all kinds of recommendations on how I can waste my time. Most of the time, this degenerates into efficiency-driven work: Uncover a question mark here, complete a hunting challenge there and finally find a signal lens, a war totem or a flight recorder there.
Yes, you can also deactivate these aids. Games like Horizon or Assassin’s Creed now allow me to hide many HUD elements and thus emphasise the exploration aspect. But that still can’t blind me to the underlying structure of the open world when I play. Just because I can no longer see the question marks doesn’t mean they’ve disappeared. The world still wants to be experienced in a certain way. You know what I mean?
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I also don’t want to deny that Open Worlds with Ubisoft formula can still be a lot of fun. Ultimately, as is often the case, it’s a matter of taste, and the games mentioned above are of course exceptionally good and designed with heart by the developers!
Nevertheless, it is Elden Ring that has finally managed to captivate me again for a long time. Because it takes the same direction with the open world as Breath of the Wild: it’s not about what awaits you in the castle on the horizon, but what you experience on the way there. And that what depends largely on your willingness to engage with the world rather than just traipse from map marker to map marker.
I really hope that future open-world titles will increasingly take a cue from Breath of the Wild and see their game world as a stage for my own decisions. As soon as I get the feeling that I’m constantly being given carrots to keep me on track, I finish the main story of the game as quickly as possible and return to Hyrule.
Speaking of returning: I still have to wait a while for Breath of the Wild 2. The game is not due to be released until 2023 after all. More than enough time to change my Zelda bedding, study the trailers on freeze-frame and make myself a new desktop widget!
