Three and Out – ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the most perfectly polished experience I have ever played. Every single aspect of this experience challenged me to be better, and I learned a lot about the ways that my brain improvises solutions to abstract puzzles. Never has a video game dared me to experiment in such myriad ways towards gratifying conclusions, replete with rewarding spirit orbs, rare objects, fun quests, and the dopamine rush as you establish new save points on the map, completing various locational shrines. Breath of the Wild wildly departed from its dungeon-riddled predecessors, and breathed life into novel mechanics that were absent in an otherwise formulaic and foundational video gaming series, which makes this installment feel idiosyncratic. Yet, I viewed these departures as respectable risks that successfully yielded one of the most dynamic and therefore unique experiences that a video game has ever accomplished.

I feel especially justified in calling Breath of the Wild a “perfect” game because of how frustrated I was with it when I first began playing. The weapon degeneration, for example, where every sword and stick you wield eventually breaks after use, made me hoard and protect as many weapons as possible. The stamina meter presented breath-bating obstacles when I was unsure of how far I could ambitiously climb up a tower. Even in the climatic variations throughout the game, with ice-cold, blizzardous mountains, and red-hot, volcanic terrain, Link is vulnerable to losing health as he spends time naked to the temperature. Over the course of playing the game, however, your ability to endure and adapt to these constraints and limits becomes the sole focus of your efforts. Breath of the Wild gives you the opportunity to set your own limits, to measure your own ceilings with regard to how powerful your character is before you advance the plot.

Breath of the Wild offers immense challenges like the dungeon-esque Divine Beasts, and micro challenges in the form of Korok hunting and Shrine completing. Hyrule is densely packed with lore, charming characters, inventive items, and engaging challenges. When I set the controller down, finally, I felt that feeling you get when you close an incredibly powerful novel. This game felt robust, like there was always more to do, more for me to notice, more to explore and accomplish and improve upon. For a game to promise such potential, even as the credits roll, is an unmistakable sign of success, even though the story completed itself in such a resonant way. Breath of the Wild set a new bar for what I can reasonably expect from video games.