Unpopular Opinion - I did not like Zelda: Breath of the Wild

After having my Nintendo Switch for almost two months by this point (a Switch Lite for one week until it randomly broke on me, and a normal Switch since then), I was tempted on whether or not to check out Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Too many critics and gamers consider it to be one of, if not, the best game of all time. It was recommended to me to check out in the Zillennial Discord I'm in shortly after I got my Switch.

Well, today, I gave in, and bought a copy of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at Walmart, expecting nothing less than what all these gamers and critics were saying... and also today, I traded that same copy in at GameStop in exchange for a copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Needless to say, I did not like Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. I played it for about 4 hours, and I tried to like it, I really did, I wanted to enjoy this game, but after a while, I just couldn't lie to myself any longer, and gave up, and went straight to GameStop to trade it in.

First of all, you could say that my expectations were too high, but when a game is constantly getting lavished upon with praise as much as this game is, when people are constantly making it out to be this life changing experience, this perfect masterpiece, and the best game ever, I have no choice but to set my expectations that high.

Breath of the Wild is not the only game in this series I've had this problem with, oh no. The Zelda series in general is notorious for getting lavished upon with way more praise than I feel the games are worth. I've been let down by this series before after trying Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past before, as like Breath of the Wild, those games were, and to a lesser extent still are, also too often considered one of the best games of all time by gamers and critics, and I set my expectations high for those games as well, before trying them out, getting bored with them, and having to turn them off.

That one dude in the Zillennial Discord who recommended Breath of the Wild to me, I told him that I didn't like Zelda games, based on my experience with Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past, of which his response was that Breath of the Wild was different, more open world, etc. He actually wasn't wrong in that specific regard, but needless to say, after being let down three times by this franchise, I am done with Zelda for good, and this brings me to my next point;

Second of all, I just don't like Zelda as a franchise. If Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Animal Crossing are the Big Four of Nintendo's IPs, then Zelda for me ranks a very distant fourth. I can enjoy any of the other three IPs just fine, but Zelda, no.

One major issue for me is that Link is a boring protagonist. His design is that of a generic medieval fairy tale elf, and his personality is as one-dimensional as that of Mario, but without the comical nature and exuberance of Mario.

None of the other characters make up for it either. The characters in this game are nothing more than boring generic takes on medieval fairy tale culture, and so it the story as well. I also just don't like the medieval setting in general, unless it's in a dark "gothic" fashion like in the Castlevania series.

Gameplay wise, I just find the Zelda games to just be way too slow paced most of the time, and that brings me to my next point.

Third of all, I did not like the open world. This topic deals with Breath of the Wild exclusively.

Going back to what that one dude in the Zillennial Discord said about Zelda: Breath of the Wild being different than the others, he was right... But in my opinion, is was honestly different for the worse. As much as I didn't enjoy them, I would much rather play Ocarina of Time or Link to the Past over Breath of the Wild any day, because at least those games are much more confined gameplay that was easier to grasp and get through.

As for Breath of the Wild and its complete open world, it was a fun novelty to explore around at the start, but it quickly just becames a chore to traverse around, especially when you don't exactly know where things are and are traversing the whole map and revisiting the same places over and over again just to try to find what you're looking for, especially with the running action being limited by a stamina meter, and with warp temples not being where you want them to be and needing to load beforehand. Plus hunting in this game is a huge pain in the ass due to pigs not respawning in the same place, being limited on arrows, and the pigs sprinting after you shoot them and having trouble trying to shoot them afterwards due to running being limited by the stupid ass stamina meter, yet you're required to hunt at least one pig to make a meal for the old man to get a clothing piece that allows access to the snow section. Climbing is also a pain in the ass as well due to the stamina meter being dropped significantly every time you jump, and too many times I fell off just before reaching the cliff, died, and had to sit through a tedious loading sequence, and climbing down due to the warp temple being on top of the mountain was even worse, because dying required me to sit through two tedious loading screens, one after I died, and another to warp to the temple. I got the paraglider, and went down to the Hyrule area, got the sword as well, but after finding out I was just doing the same shit again, I just said no, turned it off, put it back in its case, and went straight to GameStop to turn it in, I was done. 

Non-Linearity is not an inherently positive aspect about a game, and it can be a detriment if it's too Non-Linear. I enjoy Non-Linearity in genres such as Metroidvanias, 3D Platformers, and 3D RPGs because the worlds still feel confined all things considering, and it's easier to stay on track and not get lost. But too much Non-Linearity just leads to a tedious gaming experience of running around aimlessly and getting lost (even with a map) trying to figure out what to do.

So there you have it. Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

I bought it, tried it, tried really hard to like it, but just found the experience way too tedious, the characters and setting way too boring, and I just couldn't get myself to like it. I owned that copy of the game for a mere 4-5 hours, and I no longer own it anymore, and am done with the Zelda series for good.

I don't mean to try to insult anyone who enjoys the game, or to try to change your opinion, by all means if you like the game, then like it. But I didn't, and just wanted to share this as a method of self-expression to share my own perspective of the game that is considered a masterpiece, and why I disagree with that sentiment.