The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review

Climbing seems like a simple mechanic until you realize how much it changes the structure of an open world. Mountains stop being invisible walls. A huge building is not just decoration. A path drawn on the map can be ignored because there is a slope right next to it.

The main limitation is Link's stamina, and that choice is very smart. Instead of artificially deciding which walls can be climbed, the game asks whether you have enough energy to reach the top. That makes every stamina upgrade important not only in combat, but for exploration itself.

Hyrule is not just a big backdrop. Temperature, rain, electricity, fire and other elements have real consequences. Entering an extremely cold region without proper clothing or food that can protect Link quickly becomes a problem. Hot areas require another kind of preparation. During storms, metal equipment can turn the hero into the worst possible place for lightning to strike.

These rules help sell the feeling that the world exists independently of the player. They also create some annoying situations. Climbing in the rain can be extremely frustrating, especially when you are almost at your destination and Link starts sliding down the wall. I will not pretend I found it fun every time.

The big traditional dungeons were reduced in number and largely replaced by dozens of Shrines spread across the map. They work as small independent challenges. Some test combat. Others are puzzles involving physics, bombs, magnetism, ice or object manipulation. There are also Shrines whose real difficulty is figuring out how to get into them.

Completing one of these places gives resources used to increase health or stamina and also unlocks a fast travel point. Because of that, even finding a Shrine when you do not plan to complete it right away is already useful.

The four Divine Beasts take on the role of the big main dungeons. There is a very good idea behind them. Each structure can be manipulated in some way, changing parts of the environment itself and altering the available paths. It is an interesting way to turn the entire dungeon into part of the puzzle.

The problem is that visually they share a very similar identity. That reduces a bit of the anticipation the old Zeldas created when you finally reached a new big dungeon and had no idea what you would find inside. They are also relatively compact.

Another big change is in progression. Traditionally, Zelda uses new equipment to open paths that were impossible before. Breath of the Wild breaks that logic by handing you early the main runes you will use throughout the whole adventure.

Bombs, magnetism, Stasis and Cryonis stay relevant because the game does not depend on simply having the right tool. The challenge is figuring out how to use it. That also leaves room for solutions that seem wrong and still work. It was one of the things I liked the most.

It is impossible to talk about Breath of the Wild without mentioning durability. Swords, spears, bows and shields have a limited lifespan and can break during combat. At first, that bothered me. Finding a seemingly excellent weapon and losing it shortly after creates that urge to save everything for a battle that may never happen. After a few hours, my relationship with the system changed.

Weapons show up constantly, so saving every special piece stops making sense. The game wants you to swap, improvise and use whatever you have at that moment. I still do not think the system is perfect. Some weapons break too quickly and inventory management can become tiring.

Food replaces a good part of the traditional recovery system. Link gathers fruit, mushrooms, meat, herbs and countless other ingredients spread across the world. Mixing them in a cooking pot produces meals that restore health or give temporary effects. There is room for experimentation.

You discover combinations little by little, learn which ingredients have certain effects and start preparing dishes before visiting more dangerous regions. Elixirs work in a similar way, using monster parts and small critters.

A large part of Hyrule conveys loneliness. That is why reaching a village after exploring for a long time produces a very pleasant feeling. Suddenly there are people talking, shops, houses, children, small stories and side quests.

The NPCs still carry that strange and charismatic humor typical of Nintendo. Some have routines, others offer small jobs and many simply exist to make that place convincing. The stables play a similar role along the roads.

The main narrative is relatively simple. Calamity Ganon has taken Hyrule. Zelda is still holding out. Link wakes up after a hundred years and needs to regain his strength. But much of the emotional weight is hidden in the past. Finding memories scattered across the world lets you rebuild the relationship between Link, Zelda and the Champions before the disaster. I really like this idea because the story follows the very structure of exploration.

You do not necessarily get all the information in chronological order. You discover pieces and gradually understand who those people were. On the other hand, this structure also means players focused only on the main objectives can finish the adventure without seeing some of the best scenes. It is an inevitable consequence of putting narrative and freedom in the same space.

One of the most interesting things is that Ganon does not appear only at the end, after every box on a list has been checked. Hyrule Castle stands in front of the player from early on. The threat is right there. Technically, it is possible to ignore a gigantic amount of the game and head for the confrontation much earlier than expected. I did not want to do that. And that is where Breath of the Wild finds one of its best ideas. Preparing Link is not just about raising numbers.

Every Shrine, weapon, meal, memory and explored region makes the decision to finally walk toward the castle feel personal. You choose when you are ready.

Breath of the Wild does not try to compete on realism. That was a perfect decision for the Nintendo Switch. The art direction uses soft colors, stylized characters and landscapes that often look like paintings in motion. The result stays beautiful even when you can see technical limitations. And they exist.

In TV mode, certain edges and textures make the resolution more evident. There are also performance drops in specific regions or when a lot happens at the same time. The Korok Forest is probably one of the most famous examples.

The music is much more understated than in several earlier Zeldas. At first that may feel strange. Exploring Hyrule for minutes with only wind, animals and small piano chords creates an atmosphere quite different from the big melodies we usually associate with the series. Over time, I realized how well that decision fits the world. Breath of the Wild is often a lonely adventure. The soundtrack knows how to disappear.

And precisely because of that, when a piece of music really takes center stage, it gains much more impact.

There is an image of Breath of the Wild that is probably burned into a lot of people's memory. Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection, runs toward the edge of a cliff and all of Hyrule appears in front of him. On the original Nintendo Switch, that scene was already impressive. On Switch 2, it finally happens with the clarity and smoothness that seem to match the ambition of that world. That is the best way I found to explain this edition. Do not expect a new campaign.

Do not expect new temples, a graphical rebuild or deep changes to the mechanics. Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is still the same game released in 2017. Except now the hardware no longer gets in the way.

There is an inevitable consequence. When the image gets much cleaner, certain textures can no longer hide their age. Rocks, vegetation and some environmental details can look quite simple up close. That did not happen with the same intensity in 2017 because the lower resolution ended up masking part of those limitations. I do not see this as a serious problem. The art direction is still strong enough to carry the whole package. But it is an important reminder that this is not a remake. Switch 2 is showing the same assets better. Including the ones that are already almost a decade old.

Shorter loading times make Hyrule even more pleasant

Fast travel and entering certain areas now happen with a much shorter wait. None of those screens was originally long enough to ruin the pacing, but Breath of the Wild is a game of dozens of hours. Saving a few seconds over and over ends up making a difference. The most important thing is the overall feeling. Everything seems to respond faster.