Is Breath of the Wild Really The Greatest?

Such a beautiful game, I’ve not had another game make me feel the same

Great video from an obvious long time fan like myself!
I am playing BOTW for the 1st time on switch 2 and I soon realised that unfortunately this doeant hold up to Ocarina of Time and I couldnt quite put my finger on it. But you explained it perfectly from 11:19. The liniarity of that game built puzzels that no other game has ever contested.
And after 30 years I'm EXTREMELY excited to revisit OOT in stunning Switch 2 visuals.

This isnt to say BOTW isnt good. Its just not God tier like Ocarina of Time is. Props to the devs for trying something different and making it a great experience though.

I tried it some time back, and somehow....I didn't like it, I found it to be wayy too slow

I wouldn’t say botw is the perfect game, but it’s damn near close

I beat it today and it might be my favourite game ever and I had played totk earlier this year.
But I left it some months so I could forget most of the world before playing this.
The only thing I didn’t like was how hard some of the memories are to find,I get that there is a npc to help but I only found that out when I was looking up the location of a memory ,like why can’t all of them have a background,that was fun because you could try and find the right orientation .But with the forest one there is no detail to spot that reveals the location .
But otherwise I genuinely think it is almost perfect.
I also enjoyed it more than totk because i used tons of guides in totk.
But I limited myself in botw to only look up something if I really had no clue like a couple memory locations or a few puzzles.

Masterpiece ❤

I put about 30 hours into this game never ended up beating the divine beasts. I got about 40 shrines done and all the towers unlocked truly enjoyed it. I did have plenty of grapes about it though.

It's 9 years for me after I got the switch 2 last month. I have played hundreds of games throughout 2017 to 2026. I have been wanting to play this game for years ever since that legendary launch trailer. 20hours in and I can't stop feeling guilty for not having to experience this game early on.

After beating it, I never want to touch it again. Bloated and overrated.

Uhmm Impa definitely asks you to go to Hateno Village... Then she gives you the location of the 4 beasts.

So incredibly hard to believe that it’s been nearly a decade since this game released. It aged like fine wine. And I might get some hate for this, but I honestly think it’s actually a better game than it’s successor, Tears of The Kingdom

You did not play BotW so long as a Zelda fan ??

I have a JMGO ULtimate beamer and a 3x2 meters projection screen. Playing this game in the evening wih this set up is truly like going into another world.

Nintendo has been living off the back of this game for 3 versions of the console and nearly 10 years. People are still buying the new $450 console, for this game… let’s be honest. It isn’t Donkey Kong. It’s BOTW. What’s shocking to me is Nintendo’s lack of new content. Anything that can remotely stack up. But there’s really nothing that stands out. People are still happy to prance around in BOTW a decade later.

When I got this game when it came out, I dreamt in this world for 6 months.

I'm only just now doing a real BotW playthrough myself. I understand why BotW is so highly rated, and totally understand (and largely agree with) why the franchise desperately needed a shake-up... but I really do mostly prefer the older format.

I know I'm really showing my age here, but I think BotW is a fantastic game... just not a great Zelda game.

I think the main reason I immediately put it down in frustration so many times in the past was due solely to the weapon durability system. I could accept (with some grumbling) about the lack of a core storyline, regular dungeons, awesome items, and all the good things that go with a more linear gaming experience, but I absolutely DESPISE the durability system.

I've been a Zelda player since the original on the NES, and it has always been one of those games that is fairly easy to just pick up and engage in fun swordplay; I mean, that was it's primary design intent for literal decades. But in BotW, you often actively choose to run away from fights just because you want to save some oh-so-precious durability points. It negates the entire reason for having those weapons in the first place.

Again, I fully understand the need for change, and the sales numbers prove that it obviously worked out in Nintendo's favor, but I sincerely hope the next era of Zelda manages to merge the two styles a little better...

...and for God's sake, get rid of weapon durability!

When this game released i was 25 years old, i had just moved back in with my mum and dad, after a break up, I was sad and had taken a month off work. I bought the switch and a copy of breath of the wild, later that night i inserted the cartridge, i then proceeded to take part in the delights of marijuana, i pressed play, and i was transported to a wonderful land that had a great hand in helping me heal from my weathered travels. I hold this game so near to my heart. Everytime i here the sounds of this game it fills me with this kind of empty feeling that i cant explain. A time i look back on so fondly. Wish i could bottle those late night sessions of zelda and consume them from time to time.

I like it alot. But the greatest? Nah. The thing I like most about it is that it doesn't waste my time with unskippable cutscenes and dialog the crawls across the screen at a snail's pace. The only other games I can say do that is the first three games. Ocarina of Time and onward the games love to waste your time with tiny annoying things that add up to lots and lots of waiting. I hate waiting.
Worst thing this game does is it gets rid of dungeons. Dungeons are THE highlight of any Zelda game. This game tosses that aside for hundreds of shrines. Shrines that are commonly just one room. I would gladly trade all of the shrines for several unique classic dungeons. It's a real shame.
If I view it in a vacuum and don't think about what came before, it's phenomenal. But once I start comparing it to other games in the series, glaring flaws arise.
It works pretty good as a turn your brain off, cozy game though.

i must be playing it wrong. feeling there's nothing to do. villages are tiny and inhabitants are mostly uninteresting, repeats the same dialogue and they seemingly unimpacted with any of our actions or decisions. all weapons break after 10+ hits anyway so no point looking for any "legendary" weapons. my objective seems to be all about shrines and shrines and more shrines. combat is repetitive with the same 5 main types of monsters being recycled. i actually bought a switch2 to play this game, and planned ToTK afterwards, but more than 10 hours in BoTW, and its not getting interesting. often feeling ridiculous like, sure lets ask the legendary warrior of Hyrule, The chosen one, who awoke after hundreds of years from slumber, to fetch mundane things like fire, shovel, or take a photo.

I just met this game now on the last days of june 2026. But man, this game is so well made, so addictive. So charming. So… everything I was looking for on the games that came after it! It's a great great masterpiece every gamer should try, at least a couple minutes or hours.

I'm still playing oh the Switch, but to think it was released also for the Wii U on a 1:1 scale, it's incredible.

Last year I bought a second hand Switch and played this game from beginning to end and beyond... I am still finishing all side quests but I am struggling to find a game that matches the engagement that I get from this one. I tried Hogwarts Legacy but it was a bit of a disappointment.. Any suggestions?

YES

Is it a great game? Yes without a doubt. Is it the greatest Zelda game? Hell no. Ocarina of Time clears any day of the week and year.

That was a well-done review. I agree with you on most parts. I appreciate the spoil-free commentary.

If you want the divine beasts to impact you harder I recommend defeating Ganon after only a single divine beast lol. I initially finished with only Vah Ruta finished but I was 200hours in and lost patience in reference to advancing to the castle and therefore I dove into the water with my full stamina bars and went straight to the top and did it. Because only a single devine beast was completed it affected the cinamatics and effects as well as dialogue. I just finished Vah Medoh. Can't wait to re-do in front of my daughter so she can see me re-do right without a full replay.

If they would have added more Divine Beasts with more enemies and combat challenge inside them with a few less side quests that only fetch you 100 rupees and a drawback on the korok seed asks incrementally going up so much then I would have thought it was a literal 10/10. It's certainly no Twilight Princess, but BotW is probably the best game I've played overall because they were able to add so many cool things that's fun but a lot of is totally unnecessary especially if the puzzle has been repeated for a few times.

I like the idea of deep exploration but if I like to melee combat then I shouldn't have to force myself to such a degree to traverse for all these puzzles that that ended up taking the most amount of time doing just to be able order to expand my capabilities, especially with the weapons. When you need like 45 or 50+ just to get the max, then I find that's pretty vicious by the developers. I don't want to spoil the solution for anyone but if you want to save a bit of time, then get your rupees up and don't be afraid to buy everything when you can mine for the funds. You can then use your funds to acquire assets to alleviate some capacity issues. But if you are a completionist and you don't mind the grind of this epic adventure then you will absolutely love this game.

I don't like the art style - I want it less fantasy and no cell shaded style art - I wanted Twilight Princess with even more realism with the exploration from the breath of the wild...yes the characters can be very unique and what not but I don't want any cheese or corny dialogue in the game. The humour-level is perfect..that can stay the game. I like the towers and the navigation and ploting the map. Paragliding was super cool. One certain horse was cool as he stood out from all the others lol. When they make new adventures, they need to consider that many people don't have time for such a massive game. This isn't a game; this is a commitment. If you are ready for the epic adventure and you get fully into the experience and you take it in with an open-mind you will discover who you are as a person in many ways. It's that good.

How it feels to play on your last save after many years:

My girlfriend is playing it for the first time and she loves it! She was so happy when she got her paraglider. She’s not a gamer, but I am so it’s nice to see her enjoy one of my all time favorites.

I FUCKING HATE THAT GYRO PUZZLE SHRINE!!!!!!!

Great review!!

This was an amazing game that I wish didn’t set the course for the Zelda franchise. I miss the old zelda where areas were locked by powers and special tools. BotW instead gave you all the tools and skills in the beginning and then you just explored. A good game but bot a Zelda game imo

There is a lot to like about BOTW, but it's very low on my favorite Zelda games. I wish you had to earn more of what they give you in this game, like the glider, I think it would have been cool if you flew down off the plateau into the world and got shot down and the glider destroyed. The idea being you get a taste of what it's like but then you're forced to explore the world on foot for a while until you earn a new one through a quest or a major dungeon. Great game in many ways but also really low difficulty and shallow on content. I'm not hating on it, I have my gripes, but I'm also currently playing it again, there are aspects to it I really enjoy. I think I like it more than Tears of the Kingdom, I have zero interest in crafting and making things so that aspect was lost on me and once again they gave you all the power ups right from the get go, so nothing to really earn. But I loved what they did as far as being able to modify weapons by attaching different things to them, that I would love to see them keep and expand on. I am done in both games with cooking, I really don't want to cook food for health, just pop me out some hearts when I beat a guy like they did back in the day. But I get that crafting stuff is a popular mechanic in games so I imagine it's here to stay.

it's almost the perfect Zelda game... it misses just two thing imo: typical Zelda dunjons (like in OoT) and a bigger town with lots of house/shops to explore.

Honestly I've never been much of a Zelda fan, I've tried multiple times over the past 4 decades, it wasn't till Zelda 64 that i actually got hooked on the game, i decided to stick with it to the end, & I did, or at least to the ever so famous Water Temple. It wasn't until 10 years or so later when the 3ds version came out that i actually beat the game 100%, I've been skipping most Zelda since then, so with the recent announcement of Zelda 64 remake I decided to try out one of the newer more popular Zelda games to hold me over the wait..

bro BOTW has been PEAK since realesce. I have been playing it since 2018 i have beat it multiple times, and i cry everytime i see the final scene from nostalgia. BOTW has been the best 60$ dollars ever spent

Bro I have never played any zelda game 😢😂😅

No disrespect to all that loved BOTW. But this is the first Zelda title I truly did not enjoy. Not one minute of it. The open world is watered down and bland. The shrines are like a tutorial level that never ends. The breakable weapons system removes all sense of progression in the game. Turning all Link’s gadgets into apps on his iPad made me so depressed. The divine beasts are stupid also. They don’t fit the series at all. Everything that was once mystical and spiritual was replaced with gears and motors and smog. Awful storytelling in my opinion

Idk it look shit
I keep playing at twilight princess,wind maker, ocarina of time

I really enjoyed the game but i feel like its not a zelda game to me. I would enjoy it (botw) more if it were a nondescript fantasy game. I really enjoy the more linear format of the older titles, as well as the weapons that dont break (Link always finds/is given legendary equipment). To me its just better story telling and makes it seem like your a hero of legend more so then the sandbox style game play. But im a minority in this thought and still love watching people play and enjoy this game years later

Los siento wilson

Nope it has to be Majora's mask for me it's just so amazing I play it over and over it's so good and the sad thing is most of my generation won't even know what Majora's mask is🫩

No its the worst zelda by far most shrines have 1 way to beat same with bosses hell i beat the game fast and it felt long nothing interesting about it regarding buying it for 50

Best game I ever played

yes of course plus because it usually flies under the radar of video game chat it feels special to each player

Once you discover wind bomb it’s insane. 😂

I love the classic Zelda games and I love this. This game is pure therapy.

I haven't played this game, but just observing, I will say, the detailed uniforms and absolutely massive bigger than Link swords/weapons, help really make feel like a video game, if that makes sense lol.

This might be controversial, I loved ocarina of time as a kid and to be honest kind of hated botw. Just couldn't get into it loved the open world but the thing that annoyed me the most was the breaking weapons and the temples being just gimmicky little puzzles. I'll try and replay it again but I'm very sceptical I've tried 3 times and get bored of it extremely quickly.

Botw and totk are both really good, but imho definitely not the greatest in the franchise. I really enjoyed the more structured approach and dungeons in older titles. Was not fond of the weapon degradation system either. I appreciate they tried a new direction with the franchise but I hope they circle back to better dungeon design, unbreakable weapons, and a more structured approach in the new unannounced mainline zelda.

It is solid, but not even my favorite Zelda game

There’s something about both BotW and TotK’s world and gameplay that no other game has given me. It feels like what my imagination as a kid filled in when I played simpler games, but in an actual game. I’s the perfect video game, pure magic.