Current Events > Breath of the Wild is so good because you can play it so absent-mindedly.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've already beaten the final boss and all that. Now I'm looking for something I won't mention in case someone is tempted to give me help. I've been searching high and low. But the gameplay loop is basically:

1. Climb to high spot
2. Look for a cool place to glide to
3. Glide to that spot and there is likely something cool you can do for some reward.

I only wish the rewards felt more useful most of the time. But that gameplay loop works because a lot of the time I let my mind zone out and wander while I just climb to the top of a hill to see what I will do next. Kind of the opposite of DOOM Eternal -- there are few adrenaline rushes in Breath of the Wild. But I like it that way, because I have time to listen to myself think while I play, or even have a conversation with someone in the room.

Yeah, BotW's a good game to get lost in. Hopefully BotW2 improves on the reward aspect.

It's basically distractions: the game and I love it. I'm all set to do something, then something in game occurs and I'm distracted by it and get sidetracked, and suddenly I'm so far away from my original destination because I was following something else, an enemy or treasure or shrine or whatever, and it's like Alice in Wonderland where I'm just going to the next thing and marveling at all the wonders around me.

It's the culmination of what people joke about with stuff like ocarina of time, where instead of rescuing the kingdom you're distracted by sidequests. Botw is like... sidequest the game in the best way

My favorite game to date to wander around in.

BakonBitz posted...

Yeah, BotW's a good game to get lost in. Hopefully BotW2 improves on the reward aspect.

I also usually find the tasks for korok seeds to be pretty dumb and boring. I hope thay have better tasks for that sort of thing in the sequel.

But the things I said in the OP are why it's an incredible game for casual players. But the game also has enough depth to reel in veteran gamers such as myself.

All true, Saspa.

K181 posted...

My favorite game to date to wander around in.

A large part of that is because of how good it feels to control Link and his mobility. I have wished for a paraglider or climbing SO many times while playing Elden Ring.

There's really something to be said for games that manage to just go back to basics.

So many open world games were bombarding the game with complex systems and loads of busy work content. Do this for XP. Here's some rare loot. Go to this guy to upgrade your weapons and armor. Here's a map filled with icons for you to complete. Oh no you can't go there yet. You need to get the key from this quest. We have a really compelling narrative for you to play through.

BOTW comes along and basically tells you to find stuff that looks interesting and see what is there. When you're done go to that castle in the middle and finish the game. Such a simple concept that is so refreshing compared to what was happening in the genre.

Punished_Blinx posted...

There's really something to be said for games that manage to just go back to basics.

So many open world games were bombarding the game with complex systems and loads of busy work content. Do this for XP. Here's some rare loot. Go to this guy to upgrade your weapons and armor. Here's a map filled with icons for you to complete. Oh no you can't go there yet. You need to get the key from this quest. We have a really compelling narrative for you to play through.

BOTW comes along and basically tells you to find stuff that looks interesting and see what is there. When you're done go to that castle in the middle and finish the game. Such a simple concept that is so refreshing compared to what was happening in the genre.

"You have one objective. Go explore the world until you're strong enough to do it."

A perfect set-up for an open world game. Makes you wonder how someone else didn't already think of it.

Yep. I liked collecting all the costumes and other stuff. Ended up putting 150 hours into it. I never beat the game either hehe.

That's honestly why it didn't grab me tbh. I don't like games that you can play absent-mindedly. I prefer linear affairs.

It blows my mind that people unironically enjoy the weapon durability in this game

refmon posted...

It blows my mind that people unironically enjoy the weapon durability in this game

Its not too bad. Master sword fully upgraded pretty good weapon.

You can also farm the highest damage melee weapon at one of the shrines that can be repeated iirc (pre dlc idk if a stronger weapon ever came out).

refmon posted...

It blows my mind that people unironically enjoy the weapon durability in this game

It blows my mind that people enjoy wandering around such a lifeless land with barely anything to actually discover. I am sorry but if there aren't proper rewards there needs to be at least some kind of good dialogue and storylines with the characters.

AP3Brain posted...

It blows my mind that people enjoy wandering around such a lifeless land with barely anything to actually discover. I am sorry but if there aren't proper rewards there needs to be at least some kind of good dialogue and storylines with the characters.

Huh. The rewards are good. Idk what rewards ppl expect tho

AP3Brain posted...

I am sorry but if there aren't proper rewards there needs to be at least some kind of good dialogue and storylines with the characters.

Tbh a good gameplay loop is all that's needed to make a good game. You don't need intricate dialogues and storylines at all. It's why Minecraft is so popular.

Found the thing I was looking for. (SPOILERS for location of a fairy fountain)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/3/AAfBKoAADY4X.jpg

I hated how many shrines there were. Got burnt out trying to do them all.

Weapon durability was stupid, and you cannot tell me that the boss of the camel dungeon was fun.

Metal_Bug posted...

Found the thing I was looking for. (SPOILERS for location of a fairy fountain)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/3/AAfBKoAADY4X.jpg

That was actually one of the most satisfying moments of open-world discovery I've had in a video game in a long time. I knew I was heading into the sandstorm looking for the last leviathan skeleton based on the shape on the world map, but I definitely didn't expect to find both a shrine and the last fairy fountain in addition to that.

Metal_Bug posted...

something i won't mention in case someone is tempted to give me help.

Can't you just...ignore the help? Or are you doing this in the interest of avoiding potential spoilers, however minor they may be?

You mean the most basic shit in any open world game?

LinkFanatic posted...

Can't you just...ignore the help? Or are you doing this in the interest of avoiding potential spoilers, however minor they may be?

I was trying to avoid any hints at all. I didn't want someone to accidentally say something like "the one in _____ region was hard for me to find" because that little detail would 90% spoil the location. "

Look at my sig

dmaster342 posted...

That's honestly why it didn't grab me tbh. I don't like games that you can play absent-mindedly. I prefer linear affairs.

I absolutely prefer linear games and dislike open world especially ones with faux dialogue choices like what I saw with ac odyssey and the numerous games that came before.

Breath of the Wild is the only game that has done it right to a such a perfect degree. I absolutely loved botw flaws and all, and never before have I enjoyed experiencing a game and being particularly proud at not having googled any walkthrough for anything, it was all my own experience, a unique and ultimately perfect one.

Plus their first attempt at voice acting and cutscenes was surprisingly good. I liked the idea of how the story/cutscenes were told, and if they make a sequel I would be on board for more story and cutscenes and voice acting.

refmon posted...

It blows my mind that people unironically enjoy the weapon durability in this game

This was one of the biggest issues I had with trying to play this game.

If they just fixed that up so that I'm not having to pause the action to switch weapons every few swings and balanced the early game difficulty a little better (most stuff early on basically either does scratch damage or 1-shot levels of damage to you; there was little in-between, aside from the Last Chance Hit Point mechanic kicking in and sometimes saving you from a 1-shot if you had full health), I likely could have gone on to actually play through the rest of the game and had a fine time doing so.

Metal_Bug posted...

"You have one objective. Go explore the world until you're strong enough to do it."

A perfect set-up for an open world game. Makes you wonder how someone else didn't already think of it.

Yooka Laylee and the impossible layer is similar.

I mean, no durability mechanic is worse than in dark cloud/dark cloud 2 and to an extent rogue galaxy

By comparison breath of the wild's weapon durability is inoffensive. I personally thought I would hate it a lot more, and honestly I got used to it. By the end I recommend killing lynels to get their weapons which are the best ones

Even though I think the durability mechanics were annoying, the world was too big (and too empty), and there weren't enough dungeons...

I still played the game to completion over a few dozen hours because it is a fun game to get lost in. To just wander around until you find something. The rewards were pretty lacking and it didn't feel like a true Zelda experience except for a couple of brief sequences...but it was very engrossing when actually playing it, despite the issues I had.

Metal_Bug posted...

"You have one objective. Go explore the world until you're strong enough to do it."

A perfect set-up for an open world game. Makes you wonder how someone else didn't already think of it.

They did. Some of them are even really popular. Nothing however plays quite like botw. Some games play like botw but completely miss on the exploration aspect.

Tyranthraxus posted...

They did. Some of them are even really popular. Nothing however plays quite like botw. Some games play like botw but completely miss on the exploration aspect.

What other games did it first?

SHRlKE posted...

What other games did it first?

Rogue

But breath of the wild sucks and isn't a Zelda game!! Weapon durability!! Reee!!!!

Tyranthraxus posted...

Rogue

How so? Rogue doesnt hit me as being the best example of this sort of thing. Whats your rationale?

SHRlKE posted...

How so? Rogue doesnt hit me as being the best example of this sort of thing. Whats your rationale?

You've got exactly 1 objective in rogue and you can do whatever you want until you're in ready to do it. NetHack is a bit more open ended / more content & features than rogue but same general idea.

The Bard's Tale (first one) is the same way but it's more recent. Not sure about 2 and 3 but they're probably the same.

If you want "Drop you off into an open world and do whatever but it's action" there's games like Morrowind, which, if you know where the ending is, you can beat the game basically right after getting off the boat by using the jump scroll.

Back in turn based world, Fallout 1 is the same way as well. You have to get through a desert with high level enemies but if you save scum through it you can beat the game in a few minutes. You also need to know where to go ahead of time.

Tyranthraxus posted...

You've got exactly 1 objective in rogue and you can do whatever you want until you're in ready to do it. NetHack is a bit more open ended / more content & features than rogue but same general idea.

The Bard's Tale (first one) is the same way but it's more recent. Not sure about 2 and 3 but they're probably the same.

If you want "Drop you off into an open world and do whatever but it's action" there's games like Morrowind, which, if you know where the ending is, you can beat the game basically right after getting off the boat by using the jump scroll.

Back in turn based world, Fallout 1 is the same way as well. You have to get through a desert with high level enemies but if you save scum through it you can beat the game in a few minutes. You also need to know where to go ahead of time.

I always thought rogue was just find the next srt of steps down to the next floor.

SHRlKE posted...

I always thought rogue was just find the next srt of steps down to the next floor.

The thing about rogue is that very few people actually beat it so it seems like it goes on forever but it does in fact have an objective and an ending.

You have to go down to the lowest level, get the amulet of yendor, then go back up and escape. Most people never even get to the amulet of yendor. Even fewer actually start going back up.

There's no limit iirc on how long you can spend on any given floor just that eventually you'll have found everything and there's no reason to stay.

Funnily enough, thats what I dont like about it.

Im not creative enough to make use of all that freedom. I need structure lol