Am I seriously the only one around here that still loves BOTW and considers it my favorite game of the 2010s?
Sure you don't start out with much stamina, but that's what the upgrades and specific cooked items are for. The rain wasn't much of a problem in my playthrough, so maybe it just varies, but even so, there was always another way for me to proceed. There was far more for me to find besides just more weapons and Korok seeds, and I never really had a problem with the breakable weapons as I was using more creative ways to take out the enemies. Even the whole towers, which I usually malign in Ubisoft games, I found myself enjoying because each was a puzzle in its own right, and they didn't suddenly mark icons on the map. That was for me to discover. Not sure where the complaints about the controls are coming from, and the paraglider, shield surfing, and horses made exploring a breeze.
Do I wish that there was more enemy variety and that the shrines could've used a bit more variety? Of course. But despite that, I still found myself loving the game, and this is coming from someone who has played countless other open-world games such as Skyrim, Witcher 3, RDR2, Elden Ring, and the Far Cry games.
I
like BOTW but I don't
love it, if that makes sense.
BOTW is like the internet. For awhile its fun to mess around in, but the more time you spend in it, the more this feeling of having seen everything starts to creep in. It starts to feel less like an adventure and more like a routine. Mark this spot on the map and go see if there's a shrine there, etc. It's also, I feel, kinda easy to get OCD when you feel like you were roped into some bullshit on the way to do something else.
I also had some problems with the controls--so many times I found myself wondering why Link was in a crouchwalk when I swear I didn't press the joystick in, and times where it felt like he just wasn't responding to me. This happened on multiple different controllers BTW. It was especially annoying during Lynel fights where I was constantly screaming "I jumped! I
know I fucking jumped!"
Ultimately its a case where the game feels like a novelty, sorta like Minecraft--once you get over the initial ooooh factor of the novelty, you start realizing the game doesn't have much to offer besides that. There just isn't much to see and do.
I have to agree with the common complaints about the dungeons as well, all being the same generic aesthetic. I also hated the lack of monster variety and how you run into a lot of the same things in every region, which just helps all regions feel the same. The only difference between ice and grassland is one forces you to wear coats.
And I feel like the story had some missed opportunities. Lots of reviewers say they wish Link hadn't been so emotionless and stoic in the flashbacks and yeah, I totally agree--it just comes off as unnatural that he deals with Zelda's emotions and yet has nothing to say.
Personally, if I were writing BOTW's plot, I would've done something a little different:
I'd make it so you play as Ganon, but still wake up in that chamber with memory loss... but Calamity Ganon is still at the castle. Essentially there'd be a sort of thing where all of Ganon's rage got externalized and now what is left is a person who can choose his own destiny. Some people like Impa would know who you are and this would give them a good reason to want to be a bit secretive with you, out of fear that you might choose the dark path. But I'm not a writer for Nintendo and we all know Nintendo would only ever go for the safe and easy stories.
That all being said, the classic-style Zeldas aren't that great either, and whenever I try to replay Ocarina of Time these days I wonder how the fuck people can praise it so highly. For me the only really good Zeldas are the first three--the rest range from "okay" to "fucking miserable."
