For the last week or so I have been completely consumed with The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, which I am playing on the WiiU. Breath of the Wild has gotten perfect and nearly perfect review scores from just about everywhere and this begs the question whether this is just hipe? The answer is a most definite NO. Breath of the Wild is truly amazing and is in serious contention for my favourite game of all time, a statement I do note make lightly.

I am currently roughly 30-40 hours in, with most of that time not spent on the main story, but rather on exploring and doing side quests. You would think that after that amount of time I might start getting burnt out on the game, but that is not the case at all, I simply cannot get enough.

The world in Breath of the Wild feels more alive than just about any open world games I have ever played. The freedom, it offers is mind blowing and the physics, from how enemies can be destroyed by pushing a bolder off a cliff to crush them or burnt to a crisp by starting a fire up wind from them, is mind blowing.  No problem in Breath of the Wild has a single solution and you can approach any situation however you choose. I really suggest not reading guides or how to’s for this game and rather just experiment and discover things for yourself. This brings back the feeling of the original Legend of Zelda, before the internet, when trial and error and a lot of experimentation was the only option and discovering something made you feel like you where the first person in the world to see it. An example of this is when I, by accident, discovered the easiest way to catch fish and frogs was to use bombs for a bit of dynamite fishing, when the bomb explodes all the fish and frogs float to the top of that water and can easily be picked up. This sense of exploration and discovery is where the true magic of Breath of the wild lies.     

It is worth mentioning that Breath of the Wild is not an easy game, and you will die a lot. Because the world is completely open you can walk into areas where extremely strong enemies reside that you have no chance beating early on in the game. It is however very satisfying revisiting an enemy that killed you in the past and with your new weapons and skills getting some revenge.  

So with all the above mentioned does Breath of the Wild still feel like a Zelda game? To me it most definitely does, from secrets hidden away to puzzles that require you to get out a notebook and pen to make notes, I feel that Breath of the Wild comes the closest to delivering on the vision that was conceived with the original Legend of Zelda back in 1986, more than any other Zelda game before it.

I have not felt this level of game addition in a very long time, I love this game! So if you have not done so yet, get a copy either on the WiiU or Switch. And if you have to pick up a Nintendo Switch just to get this game, Do It, you won’t regret it. So if you would please excuse me I have an urgent appointment in Hyrule.