James Burns

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Feb 25, 2017 · 7 min read

With less than a week to go until the global launch of the Nintendo Switch, various major press outlets have begun receiving both the console hardware itself as well as several launch games including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of this game for Nintendo. I believe it is possibly the most important game Nintendo has made since Super Mario 64. Although the Wii was a massive cultural phenomenon, the Wii U clearly a misfire that didn’t have nearly the same impact on the industry (or Nintendo’s own fortunes). With the Switch, Nintendo is doubling-down on innovation by creating an entirely new product category: a hybrid machine that straddles the fence between home and portable consoles. And although the Switch is launching with games like 1–2 Switch (arguably the modern WiiSports or WiiParty equivalent designed to show off the machine’s unique capabilities), I think there is no question that Breath of the Wild is the killer app for the Switch launch; it is the largest, most ambitious game Nintendo has ever produced. It also signals fresh and new thinking by Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD), the successor to Nintendo’s now-merged Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD) divisions.

As with most publishers who send games to media outlets for review, Nintendo has placed an embargo on Breath of the Wild — this simply means that journalists can’t write about specific aspects of the game until it officially goes on sale next week.

That said, some outlets have posted initial impressions and “pre-reviews”, discussing what they can without breaking the terms of the embargo. Let’s have a look at some of the themes that are already emerging around a week before the official reviews go up.

IGN

Various outlets have used different techniques to cover the game in recent days. IGN posted a conversation between editors Jose Otero and Brendan Graeber. A couple of Jose’s comments really stood out to me:

“I just keep marveling at how the rules of this sandbox make sense. Here are some examples:

- If it rains, you can’t climb up cliffs and start to slide off.

- Every once in awhile enemies will roll rocks down cliff to try and hit me if they see me coming.

- Shrine puzzle are fun to solve and they serve as convenient fast-travel locations.

- You really need to pace yourself in this game and stop to prep meals for helpful buffs.

- I knew you could get struck by lighting if you’re wearing metal during a thunderstorm, but nothing prepared me for the first time I saw an enemy get hit by a bolt for carrying a broadsword. I backflipped just as the it came down. It was exhilarating.

- And through all of what I’ve done, I have never run into anything resembling Fi or Navi. You’re never pulled onto the main path.”

Jose Otero

You may remember that one apparent reason for Breath of the Wild’s delay from 2016 to 2017 was reportedly that Nintendo struggled with the physics engine as well as building the game across two platforms (Wii U and Switch). It’s nice to see — at least so far — that the game’s physics engine appears to be working well.

“I think the last thing that stands out to me is that my experience feels unique. At E3, we marveled at how Zelda’s wide open world felt remarkable in a time where there’s a lot of open world games out there. So far the final product absolutely holds up, and it creates a loop of mystery and discovery that feels like a reinvention of a 30 year-old franchise. I can’t wait to hear what other people discover when it comes out next week.”

Jose Otero

It’s this second quote that really piques my interest though; so much comment has been made about how Breath of the Wild feels like it captures the free and open spirit of the very first game, and it’s good to see that this feeling continues over several hours of play.

GameSpot

The early impressions that have me most excited are written by GameSpot’s Peter Brown. His article neatly marries the pragmatic with the idealistic and whimsical. Detailed discussion about the combat system and the survival elements dovetail with observations about the landscape and its inhabitants.

“All of this is to say nothing of the lighthearted events that populate the world, and how they brighten up a dreary trip through rain and fog after a hard fought battle. People are affable and cheeky, and animals prove to be a soothing and beneficial distraction: Nuzzle a dog with your face and become instant friends, tame a wild horse and make it your own, and swipe at a chicken to make it drop an egg that you can put into your next meal.

Breath of the Wild is, five hours in, an enthralling and surprising experience, and the stories being shared among those playing it at GameSpot are all vastly different. Even though we are all playing the same game, we are envious of each other’s unique experiences. Breath of the Wild embodies the freedom and danger that made the first Zelda game so enthralling, and captures the feeling of awe that came when Ocarina of Time hit the scene, in this case by layering unspoken variables into seemingly every facet of the game. Based on our early impressions, it’s safe to say that Breath of the Wild will forever change what people expect from the series.”

Peter Brown

Polygon

I also really enjoyed reading initial impressions from Polygon’s Arthur Gies. While offering the obvious caveats associated with writing about the game after only a few hours’ play, there’s a lot to dig into here and I was really interested to read more about the game’s opening hours on the Great Plateau, as well as getting some indication about what it’s like to move beyond that space and explore further afield — particularly when you are still relatively “low level”. It sounds like being prepared for regular deaths is probably wise advice.

“Lets get Breath of the Wild’s demand that you take it seriously out of the way first, in case you haven’t been following the interviews and narrative surrounding it in the last year or so. Breath of the Wild is, without question or debate, the hardest Zelda game of the last twenty years. In fact, as an “old” who literally grew up playing the original Zelda games on NES and SNES when they came out, I’d argue it’s the hardest Zelda game period. The first twenty minutes or so are pretty low key — you can kill the scrub bokoblins and other minor enemies you meet without much trouble using nothing more than a tree branch picked up off the ground. But once you leave the initial learning spaces and venture into more typical zones, you’re probably going to die.

And, like, you’re probably going to die a lot, honestly. Often without much warning. Or at least I did, and still do, if I’m not careful.

This is in large part because Breath of the Wild gates off areas of the world behind specific kinds of equipment less than any third-person Zelda game. The geographic options in front of me felt almost overwhelming right from the start, and that was just in the opening plateau that serves as the game’s tutorial space. Once you obtain a specific item that allows you to leave that plateau, Hyrule is your oyster. It just happens to be an oyster full of really angry monsters and ancient death machines that will murder you if they see you.

Often, the only indication Breath of the Wild might give that you are under-equipped for the space you’re in is an enemy taking you from, say, six hearts to a quarter of one in a single axe swipe or spear lunge (assuming, you know, they don’t just kill you outright). Or, like I said, they’ll just kill you with no real fanfare or warning, and the game will reload you fairly close to where you were, hopefully having learned an important lesson about Hyrule’s ecosystem and its desire for you not to exist in it.”

Arthur Gies

It’s true that all of these articles are based on only a few hours with the final retail version, but the early signs are looking good. We’re already hearing about the possibility of this being the best Zelda so far and a major turning point for the franchise.

As I said at the outset, I think that Breath of the Wild is possibly the most important game for Nintendo since Super Mario 64. If this game can really live up to growing expectations, then it could be a massive shot in the arm for Nintendo — and it could help to ensure that the Switch’s launch is as successful as possible. A big launch for Switch is just what Nintendo needs, and you can be sure that developers and publishers around the world will be watching closely.