Breath of the Wild is one the most expansive open-world games ever made and was met with overwhelmingly positive reception. In many ways, BotW is everything open-world games should aspire to be.
BotW allows for nearly endless exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving, with a nebulous main quest that can be tackled in almost any order. Breath of the Wild is certainly not perfect, however, and has its share of flaws. Future open-world games can learn from both the highs and lows to improve on the genre even further.
10 It’s OK To Have No Direction
Most of Breath of the Wild is spent without short-term goals imposed by the game. Link has four major dungeons to clear in the Divine Beasts, but other than that, it is left up to the player to decide where to go – or fi they even want to complete the dungeons. This leads to a real feeling of freedom, which is one of the biggest draws of open-world games. Players are guided by their own desires to rack up improvements or uncover secrets instead of following a rigid questline.
9 Item Durability Should Be Treated With Care
Undoubtedly one of the game’s less popular features is weapon durability. Nearly every weapon in Breath of the Wild has a very limited durability. Even the famous Master Sword has a recharge period.
This forces players to always be on the search for new gear, which can get extremely frustrating. If a game wants to use this approach, then finding, crafting, or maintaining weapons needs to be a fun mechanic in its own right – which is just not the case in Breath of the Wild.
8 Physics Go A Long Way Towards Immersion
The ability to interact with the world’s physics via the Sheikah Slate makes everything feel a little more real in Breath of the Wild. Many an open-world sandbox game feels like a big empty box where the player can walk around without much influence on their world. Being able to move boulders to drop them on enemies, cut down trees, and move giant metal boxes makes the player feel like they actually have an impact on the world around them.
7 It’s Important To Have Lots Of Different Goals
Between dungeons to explore, korok seeds to locate, and Shrines to complete, there is always something different to occupy a player’s time in Breath of the Wild. The gameplay variety will keep anyone from getting board. It’s common for players to dedicate a whole session to upgrading health, then spend the next time hunting for a dragon’s scale, etc. Open world games that don’t have enough variety quickly feel empty.
6 Atmosphere Is Everything
If immersion is a goal for open-world games, then atmosphere is the most important tool in their toolbelt. Breath of the Wild is gorgeous to look at, from sunsets to mountain vistas and rolling grassy plains. This makes just existing in Hyrule a pleasure, which is one of the strong suits of any good open-world game. Simply traveling across a wide field feels fun and exciting in BotW. Any open-world game looking to capture this feeling should pay special attention to Nintendo’s environmental detail and music.
5 Rare Encounters Keep The Game Alive
There are certain encounters in Breath of the Wild that are so rare it’s not uncommon to spend dozens of hours before coming across them. The dragons are a prime example, as they only appear in certain locations and under certain conditions.
This kind of rarity helps Breath of the Wild stay fresh even after hundreds of hours. If a player can see something new even after playing the game for weeks, then it keeps feeling just as expansive.
4 The More Movement Modes, The Better
Breath of the Wild offers lots of ways to traverse its environment. Whether on foot, climbing, snowboarding, boating, parasailing, or on horseback, almost everywhere in Hyrule is accessible by some combination of movement. This lends a feeling of texture to the world, as different paths are needed to get to different areas. Moving through space is the most basic aspect of gameplay, and having multiple options to do something so simple makes BotW that much more varied.
3 Problem Solving Is Great
A lot of obstacles in Breath of the Wild have multiple ways around them and prompt players to think creatively. This is made possible in large part due to the physics and movement systems. Every time a player encounters a group of enemies or a puzzle, the wheels are likely already turning in their head to devise a clever solution. This keeps the player engaged with BotW‘s tools in a way that makes them feel in touch with the world, as if just by exploring they are learning new things that will be helpful later.
2 It’s Nice To Have A Place To Hang Your Hat
Breath of the Wild lets Link purchase a home in Hateno Village through an excess amount of Rupees. While totally optional, having an atmospheric home where players can mount their weapons as trophies or even get a good night’s sleep offers a respite from the dangers of the wilds.
Having a place that feels permanent lets the player orient themselves in a real way. Multiple renovations also give the house a distinct personality and progression system that doubles as the perfect Rupee sink.
1 It’s Hard To Set A Story In The Present
Having a detailed story in an open-world game is very tough. It’s impossible to know where player will go and what they will do, so telling a detailed story can be problematic. Breath of the Wild attempts to solve this issue by having its main narrative take place in the past, with the player discovering it as they play.
This works to an extent, but also leaves the story feeling hollow and distant. Storytelling is a tough hurdle for the open world genre. While Breath of the Wild‘s approach is admirable, it also leaves the main arc undercooked for too long.
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