Why Zelda: Breath of the Wild Stands Out as the Ultimate Open-World Game

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You know, back in 2017, this thing called “Breath of the Wild” launched. Nintendo really threw one out of left field with this one. It wasn’t just another installment; it pretty much tossed the rulebook out the window for open-world games. People went bananas over it, rightfully so. I mean, the game lets you just wander wherever, with nary a care in the world. Hadn’t seen anything like it—except maybe in some wild fever dream.

So, this game throws you into a vast landscape. Like, you look at some mountain in the distance and think, “Can I actually get there?” And sure enough, you can. Link—our trusty protagonist—just hops out of the Great Plateau, and it’s off to the races. Kakariko Village? Death Mountain? Sure, why not. Of course, you’ll probably faceplant into some danger zone if you’re not careful. But that’s part of the fun, right?

Oh, and get this—if you’re feeling particularly chaotic, you can beeline straight to Hyrule Castle and take on Ganon before you can even say “master sword.” Choice is yours.

What really got me was the open-endedness… if that’s even a word. Like, you get these Rune abilities that let you solve puzzles or take down enemies in umpteen different ways. You feel clever, like some renegade genius. Build stuff or blast stuff—totally up to you.

The world here is designed to pull you in. It’s like, Nintendo went out of their way to make sure you’re constantly engaged—not in that overwhelming way where it feels like you’re drowning in side quests. They had this thing called gravity, connecting areas so it never feels like you’re getting lost in a mess of pixels and polygons. Heck, they talked about it at CEDEC 2017—game design wizards, I tell ya.

Maps can be a real mess in these kinds of games. All those confusing icons can make you want to bash your head into your controller. Not here, though. Simple, clean, effective. Boom—mark your spot, fast travel, and Bob’s your uncle.

Combat? Oh boy. You’ve got swords, boomerangs, the whole shebang. Even Flurry Rush gets your adrenaline pumping. And don’t get me started on the bow and arrow mechanics—perfect for those finesse shots. Some games just make fighting seem like a chore, but not this one. Pure enjoyment, every swing of the sword.

Let’s chat about bosses now. Oh man, those guys in some games just sponge up damage like my dog with peanut butter. Not here. Even the big baddies, like the four Ganons, bring their own flavors of challenge. And those wild Lynels? They’re hard—not Dark Souls hard, but close enough.

And after all the dust settles from fighting evil and solving puzzles, sometimes you just want to kick back. Hyrule offers that too. It might sound odd, but some of those empty spaces are just… nice. Chill. Let you breathe. Swing around, take in the scenery, just enjoy being in the moment.

People were low-key worried the Zelda series would fizzle, you know? But nah, this game hurled the franchise into the spotlight again. Proved it had staying power, like some timeless classic that just won’t quit. And now, all these game devs are looking at it and thinking, “Let’s do that!”

Crazy how it worked out, but here we are. Breath of the Wild, folks—what a ride.