The first two seem to like the game, whereas the third… don’t. I’m part of the third. The Zelda gameplay loop has typically been:
Explore world to find dungeon
Explore dungeon to find the items - new tool, compass, and map
Use new tool to solve puzzles, along with some puzzles using older items
Fight dungeon boss, using the new tool
Use new tool to find secrets in the overworld
Go to 1 until item slots are full
Fight main boss (a form of ganon), which is the most difficult fight in the game
BotW dumbed all of that down and added a lot of grindy mechanics:
korok seeds
shrine orbs
fairy upgrades
cooking
It’s a completely different game and has just enough overlap with the established formula to disappoint. The older Zelda games don’t have any grindy bits unless you really want some piece of equipment early.
So that’s my take. BotW is a decent game, but it’s my least favorite Zelda game. If it wasn’t branded “Zelda” and hyped so much, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with it. My kids love it though, so there’s that.
Oh, and I finished BotW just before TotK launched (kinda late, I know), and instead of buying TotK, I bought Skyward Sword and Link’s Awakening and absolutely loved them. If Switch 2 has more games with the classic formula, I’ll buy it, otherwise I’ll probably pass.
I think there’s three kinds of Zelda fans:
The first two seem to like the game, whereas the third… don’t. I’m part of the third. The Zelda gameplay loop has typically been:
BotW dumbed all of that down and added a lot of grindy mechanics:
It’s a completely different game and has just enough overlap with the established formula to disappoint. The older Zelda games don’t have any grindy bits unless you really want some piece of equipment early.
So that’s my take. BotW is a decent game, but it’s my least favorite Zelda game. If it wasn’t branded “Zelda” and hyped so much, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with it. My kids love it though, so there’s that.
Oh, and I finished BotW just before TotK launched (kinda late, I know), and instead of buying TotK, I bought Skyward Sword and Link’s Awakening and absolutely loved them. If Switch 2 has more games with the classic formula, I’ll buy it, otherwise I’ll probably pass.