This Blog is about Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW) and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK), two games for the Nintendo Switch. Both games are fantastic and among my favorites. This blog explores why I love these games, with the intention to keep this blog as spoiler free as possible.

I recently picked up TotK. My son and I play TotK in time-shares, avoiding spoilers as much as possible. He and I also replayed BotW leading up to TotK’s release. Because he had been finishing up school at the time of purchase, I have had a bit of a head start. We continue to play after several weeks and are roughly even progress-wise.

Exploration

Exploring the worlds is one of the main reasons I love these games. Both games immerse the player in a world rich in beauty and lore. Yes, monsters lurk around every corner itching for a fight, but the varying scenery is full of pleasant surprises. In fact, when players discover something curious in the distance or on the map, it usually is a significant detail of the game worth exploring. These curiosity magnets are really what pulls players through the game. Often, I will notice something odd, travel in that direction to explore, and get pulled into something that initiates a quest. The whole game is a series of curiosities and micro-quests! Not every mystery encountered has an explanation, which is okay. Many of the unsolved mysteries can be assumed to be part of the world’s long lost lore. The map in the game even allows players to mark the map with different stamps for things to deal with at another time. As my son and I play, we tread lightly, asking each other vague questions to understand what the other has already encountered. And, <i>there is so much to encounter!</i>

The game’s uses a subdivision of tasks and quests, ranging in varying degrees of difficulty, to track the story. Some quests will take a while to complete, while others may be completed as players explore the world. This allows players to keep track of what they can and should do in the game. If a quest is too difficult, players can return to it when they are more ready (or not at all). Even if a player chooses not to face the final boss, the game is filled with plenty to do. Since the games contain a form of teleportation, players who do not want to travel the long, across-land route between points, can often teleport from place to place (assuming they complete various challenges).Which leads me to my other favorite aspect of the game…the puzzles.

Puzzle Solving

Both games contain many puzzles and riddles. Some simple, some complex. Many of the trickier puzzles do not require a single solution. Players can experiment until they find a solutions that works. Accomplishing puzzles often reward the player. A few puzzles have really stumped me, only to realize I had a skill or item I forgot about, or didn’t know I could use in a unique way. Just like all the other quests, players can mark the trickier puzzles to attempt at a later time.

As a writer, I am fascinated by how the story is delivered by these games. Previous Zelda games advanced the plot in a linear way. Barriers prevented players from exploring areas until they acquire a specific tool or ability. How do you tell a story in an open world where major plot points can be encountered randomly? Some story elements involve how the Big Evil impacts a side character’s life, or after a quest is completed, how thankful they are to the hero relieving such burdens. Other, more key points reward players with what is essentially a flashback sequence. After obtaining enough of these flashbacks (which can be replayed after unlocking), players have a clear enough picture of the backstory and what they may be up against for the final showdown.

Where to Go From Here?

With two fantastic games to explore and enjoy, I wonder where Nintendo will go from here. Already, they took BotW and raised the bar with TotK by adding the game elements of crafting and group battles. For this latter addition, would the Zelda franchise move into some form of multiplayer version? How would that even work? Would Link, the character players control in all versions of the game, become an NPC and players become his sidekicks? Would players be allowed to play on the side of the monsters?

Whatever Nintendo plans for their next Zelda game, I would love for their other games to provide similar open-world versions. After the Super Mario Movie (which was much better than I anticipated), and with their other Super Mario World games, I can imagine playing Mario exploring a much larger open world environment, especially for a Super Mario RPG. What about reviving Kid Icarus in an immersive mythological world? My top pick for such an game upgrade would be an immersive alien world of Metroid.

Further Exploration

For further understanding of immersive video game world building, I encourage you to watch the following videos:
This <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30jGWna4-Ns” target=”_blank”>video</a>, talks about how BotW was designed and evolved.
And this <a href=”https://youtu.be/0-PMmMjoCkQ” target=”_blank”>video</a>, which is more about Skyrim (a completely different open world game), is designed to motivate players to travel from place to place, and everywhere they go, the game organically feels like they were meant to be there. Similar methods are used in both Zelda games.