The truth hurts, but someone has to come out and say it.
It's already been three years since the release of the biggest and most successful title in the Zelda series yet: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As a title for both Wii U and Nintendo Switch it invited gamers with an open world like it never was done before. And now, three years later, it already has the power to ignite nostalgic feelings in those who've dwelled in its world for hundreds of hours. Something that is certainly rare for a game of this age.
And the success speaks for itself. With over 18 million units sold, it has surpassed the previous milestones of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess... even when combined (not counting their remasters). Of course Breath of the Wild was a launch title of the Nintendo Switch and this certainly has contributed to its sales, but keep in mind that Twilight Princess was in the exact same position, being released for both the GameCube and the very successful Wii. And Breath of the Wild has still completely outranked the title and keeps selling and selling as one of the Switch's absolute must-have titles.
But why is this? What makes Breath of the Wild so attractive to many Zelda fans and a broad audience alike?
Let's start by saying that the game is far from perfect. There is a lot that Breath of the Wild could do better, like its inventory management or the motion-controlled puzzles. There is a lot that Breath of the Wild could learn from its predecessors, especially when it comes to dungeon design or rewarding side quests, and the game also repeated some mistakes of the past. Like Skyward Sword, it suffers from the same lack in enemy variety, with variants of the same few enemies everywhere. And like The Wind Waker, it has many repeated elements all over world, like towers or certain bosses. So, Breath of the Wild is not above previous Zelda games in every aspect.
And if you've followed this blog's run of the game, there was a lot to criticize and nitpick everywhere. But none of it could change what an outstanding achievement the game was for the series and open world games as a whole. None of it could change how much fun it was to play.
It all comes down to three important aspects, the Triforce of the Wild: exploration, freedom and growth. These are the three main ingredients to this game which makes it such a compelling experience... at least for most people.
Exploration
Zelda games always have been about exploration, but arguably this has taken a backseat in some of the later installments, like Spirit Tracks or Skyward Sword, in favor of gimmicks and telling an event-based story. But Breath of the Wild is all about exploration and it does incite this in a very natural way.
It does have some of the typical open world tropes, like towers and enemy camps, but the game doesn't flood you with markers on a map and instead relies on your own curiosity. What's over there? What's behind that mountain? Why is a rock lying here?
It provides interesting landmarks to follow, like the towers or large mountains, where from there you might discover something new, like a shrine. And on your way between these things you might discover a small secret, like a Korok or a treasure chest.
This creates a nearly endless exploration loop, where there's always something for you to discover. Whether all of these discoveries are interesting enough is a different question, but the activity of exploring itself is so much fun that finding Korok Seeds and new Shrines always feels like it's rewarding enough.
They also never distract too much from your overall journey. There's always time for another Korok puzzle or another shrine on your way through the large world. And this way the game never feels exhausting or boring.
Exploring is also so much fun thanks to the massive...
Freedom
Before A Link Between Worlds Zelda games have gotten more and more linear, where you were led from point A to point B all the time. This not only makes exploration far less compelling and exciting, it makes for a less interesting game, because games are ultimately all about the player's choices.
Breath of the Wild doesn't limit you in any way, except for doing the Great Plateau in the beginning. But afterwards you can go and do what you want, even straight to the final boss. Of course one might argue that being able to go everywhere right from the start is too much freedom, however, this isn't just about the freedom that you have in how you proceed. It's about the freedom you have in everything. How you explore. How you travel. How you fight. How you solve a puzzle.
It already starts with the ability to climb almost everywhere. That's a never before seen freedom in Zelda games and most video games (except games like Minecraft), where walls are usually limits and borders. But not in this games. Combined with the exploration cycle, a building like the Temple of Time or a huge rock wall become something that you want to climb, because you're curious what you might find on top.
And if you're on top of some vantage point, you might spot something new and then you can simply glide there with the awesome Paraglider item. It's technically not a new idea for Zelda, because the Deku Leaf in The Wind Waker offered the same mobility, but there you were constrained to the little islands. Here the world is yours to explore and the combo of climbing and gliding everywhere makes this such an addicting experience.
On top of that the game rarely tries to limit you in whatever other challenges it provides. If you're fighting a group of enemies, you have a ton of different weapons to find and use, but you can also use the environment to your advantage. Roll a boulder at them, blow up some powder kegs, redirect a lightning strike or anger some bees. Or you can try to be stealthy and avoid combat as much as possible.
And the same level of creativity is shown in puzzles solving. Traditionally puzzles in a Zelda game have a single solution for you to find, but in Breath of the Wild you can just go crazy and try all sorts of things to solve all the Shrines and environmental puzzles. The tools were given you right from beginning or can be found around you, so you just have to use them in a way that works and within the sophisticated physics engine of the game. And this makes puzzle solving so much more interesting and even adds some replay-value to it, because you might want to try a different solution next time.
But the most important thing about the freedom in Breath of the Wild is that it creates stories. Every player's journey is different from each other and everyone has a different story to tell about his or hers adventures in Hyrule. And this makes people talk about the game, which ultimately adds to the success.
Growth
With no walls to hold you down and no major items to act as keys, there is literally nothing stopping you from going to the final boss right from the start and finishing the game. Except maybe dozens of Guardians, some Lynels and of course the final boss himself.
While Breath of the Wild doesn't limit progress in the usual ways, it puts a much stronger emphasis on becoming stronger. Collecting hearts finally matters again in this game and the skills you get from the Champions help a great deal as well.
But equally important is mastering the game's combat mechanics, like the parrying. If you start playing Breath of the Wild, you will probably struggle with facing some tougher Bokoblins already, while in the late game you will confidently take on even the mightiest Lynels.
You really earn your place as the hero, where every single Spirit Orb and every bit of combat experience counts. And this keeps you going.
...
Of course this isn't all there is to the success of Breath of the Wild, where the visuals certainly play an important role as well. The graphics are an eyecatcher (for the most part) and offer the timeless appeal of games like The Wind Waker, combined with really beautiful scenery and landscapes. It's hard to look one's fill of this games and it invites you even more to explore it all.
Additionally, the theme of the Sheikah technology and the idea of the Champions added a breath of fresh air to the series and also helped for creating basically its own brand in the Zelda series. It made Zelda look cool again.
But overall it's the Triforce of exploration, freedom and growth what makes this game so fun and so successful. So, let's hope that the sequel to Breath of the Wild is able to continue this success and does not listen too much to the voices of those, who aren't happy with the current direction.
