E3 2016: ‘The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’ Is Even Better Than It Looks

Nintendo took a huge gamble by making their entire E3 2016 lineup consist of one game, even if that game is as big as the next game in the Legend of Zelda series. Yet, if there was any doubt as to whether or not that risk would pay off, all of it vanished as soon as the trailer for the officially named Breath of the Wild graced thousands of screens around the world. I mean, Link hunting? Link cooking? Link setting fires to an open field, that was only a fraction of what seemed like miles of forest to explore? From how different the game looked while somehow looking so familiar at the same time, it truly looked like something that needed to be played to have a full grasp on what this was. Luckily, we got to find out for ourselves after we braved the insane lines on the E3 show floor to discover that Link’s next adventure maintains its spirit in the midst of such fundamental change.

Playing through the first half hour of what will be the final game, I was most relieved by the fact that the game just starts! Ditching the long, excitement killing opening village sections that have become progressively more of a drag as the games went on, Breath of the Wild throws you right into the action after a short cutscene, where Link is seemingly awoken from a long slumber to save Hyrule once again. Once you find a few boxes that contain the tattered rags that serve as your starting outfit, stepping out of the cave and approaching a cliff that shows off the incredible view of our new Hyrule is the perfect way to give you an idea of how much you’ll get to explore right off the bat.

From that point forward, the world is yours to do what you want to do in. This insane amount of freedom somehow manages to keep from being overwhelming thanks to the constant rewards you find throughout your explorations. The map, both on the mini map or on the full map found on Link’s multipurpose stone tablet, the Sheikah Slate, make it abundantly clear where you’re supposed to go to advance the story, whereas any discoveries you make that can’t be resolved at that point in time can be labeled with over half a dozen stamps to serve as reminders. This is good news for those who just want to run around, since there will be so much to find throughout the enormous map. In the first 10 minutes of my time with the game, I managed to meet a mysterious old man who pointed me in the direction of my first temple, found a hidden water sprite while diving into the water, (and was rewarded with a rare item as a result,) hunted wild boar for cooking materials, found a rusted sword at the top of a stone tower, and gathered plenty of wood for future cooking.

Eventually, it was time to buckle down and continue with the quest at hand. Once I followed the directions provided, I found an area that had a slot for the Sheikah Slate to be plugged into. Once placed, a giant tower rose from the ground, carrying Link up with it. Triggering this tower was a major key towards quelling the evil power that has engulfed Hyrule Castle in the distance, serving as one of many that needed to be discovered throughout the adventure to uncover the strength Link needs to have a fighting chance. In my excitement, I dove off of the tower, only to learn that this game is much more unforgiving than previous versions. If you were used to being able to just roll through a large fall, you’ll be in for a big surprise when your hearts empty out. Too bad the old man from before was holding on to that snazzy glider from the original trailer. He offered to exchange it for an item found in a dangerous cave, but my time came to a close before I could find it. Knowing that this demo was only a fraction of what the full map will look like is hard to imagine, especially since it seems like it would take hours just to explore what we were given.

Yes, it’s true that Breath of the Wild is wildly different from its predecessors, which is obvious from the moment the game starts. Wielding a variety of weapons such as clubs and axes instead of swords and shields, all of which can break if overused, having custom outfits that need to be changed depending on the climate, having cooking and eating being the only way to recover health, items like bombs now acting as runes, which can be used an unlimited amount of times, and enemy camps scattered throughout the field with varying enemy difficulty are just some of the most obvious examples of the new direction the game is going in. But its biggest strength is how none of the Zelda style is lost, even with such fundamental changes. All of the features I’ve mentioned feels like you would expect a Zelda game to feel, to the point where all of this feels instantly familiar despite being so different. This is helped by familiar elements making the jump to the next game, like the fully orchestrated versions of its classic music, abundant amounts puzzles and treasure chests, and the return of Skyward Sword‘s stamina meter, which is now used for manual jumping and climbing as well as sprinting.

So for every horse jacking, slow motion arrow shot or meal cooked, this is still the same Zelda we’ve fallen in love with all these years. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite some consistent slowdown when the camera is centered on the full environment, (which is often,) Breath of the Wild has quickly jumped to the top of my most anticipated game list, especially when it will also be on the presumably more powerful NX. What are your thoughts on what you’ve seen so far? Share them in the comments, as well as the rest of your E3 highlights as we press on with our coverage from the show floor.