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[Ricky_R]

Hot damn!

 

[MechaX]

Yoko Taro the man knew

At least Yoko Taro had his best first week in Japan well... ever, so it's not a total loss.

But yeah, he fucking knew.

I hate to bring up Horizon again, but I picked it up last night (still wrapped), thinking this game would get good scores but still be close. These kinds of impressions.... I was not expecting. I am honestly a little tempted to take Horizon back and switch it for Zelda tomorrow.

 

[Aesthet1c]

Can't seem to find reviews that delve into the differences between the Switch and Wii U versions. Anyone know of any?

I know the main differences but I just wanted to see if there were more details now that the embargo lifted.

 

[Firemind]

Not even a 100 meta.

Pass.

 

[Ivory Samoan]

Watching these reviews, it's like I'm at my house and unboxing my brand new N64 with Ocarina of time's gold cartridge..... wish I had the $ for a Switch right now, damn NZ pricing ($800 with Zelda, gutting!).

 

[KojiKnight]

I think back to that thread a few days back where they asked if reviews were always objective. I think these review scores provide a ready answer.

There's nothing I've seen listed in any of these reviews which blows your mind. No boundary pushing depth or complexity, no underheard of mechanics. The story telling remains rote, the technical perfomance is acceptable and there's the usual mixture of combat, traversal and puzzles.

There's no redefining of the open world scenario and nothing in the combat which is radically different from what we've seen before. Why the perfect 10s? What kind of otherworldly achievement would merit that? Simply being a Zelda game in a critical forum who's leading voices grew up with Ocarina of Time.

That's my takeaway.

Thanks for your review of reviews for a game you haven't played. Very insightful.

 

[fantomena]

Nice! Good times for gaming.

 

[Celine]

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is ranked in the top 0.0% of games scored on OpenCritic
Based on 38 scored reviews, 43 reviews total.

lol top 0.0%
BotW confirmed to not exists.

 

[Markitron]

Wow, I was a bit unsure on my Switch pre-order but those fears are alleviated now. So glad I have a day off tomorrow, the next 18 hours are gonna drag.

 

[Busaiku]

I thought Gamexplain's highest rating was "Loved It".

 

[cordy]

Man...

It's going to be very hard not being able to get this and a Switch until like June. These scores have blown my mind.

 

[Chaos17]

Why is no reviewer besides Allies talking about how bad the frame rate is and are all the reviews so far based off of Switch version?

I would like to know.

Are you sure you read ? Because lot of talked about it in their previews, doubt they will talk about it in their reviews.

 

[Little Mons†er]

Where are the Nintendoomers?

NintendSLAYED

 

[Zips]

Well now. I do believe I should play this game.

 

[sfried]

Look, I'm just mad that Nintendo is copying modern games instead of sticking to their roots.

They are sticking to their roots! (Zelda 1 was the template they looked at for Breath of the Wild) They just brought along some modern influences, that's all.

 

[Realeza]

lol top 0.0%
BotW confirmed to not exists.

It's a fucking unicorn.

 

[Eldainorn]

This is it folks. This is everything that we have been waiting for.

Congratulations to everyone that worked on this game!

 

[ckaneo]

Great job on the OP.


by the way this (very light spoiler) writeup by Jason Schreier on how to skip an early game? puzzle in a shrine left me without words.

Spoiler

Early in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I discovered a puzzle shrine containing a small maze. Inside that maze was a little ball. The goal, I realized, was to maneuver the ball out of the maze and slide it into a nearby funnel. To do this, I’d have to rotate my Nintendo Switch controller, using motion controls to turn the maze around and let gravity move the ball through each corridor. One wrong move and the ball would fall out, forcing me to start again.

After struggling a few times to solve the puzzle thanks to Newton’s dumb laws, I noticed that every time the ball fell, a new one would drop from a canister several feet above the maze. Then I had a wild thought. Just before a new ball dropped, I turned my controller upside down, flipping the maze 180 degrees. There was nothing on the other side, so I now had a nice flat surface on which to roll the ball. I slowly tilted the maze’s newly exposed backside and dropped the ball right into the funnel, skipping the maze entirely. Boom. Puzzle solved.

Seeing as this isnt the first time ive heard this, it appears as though this is actually the correct way to do it

 

[jmaine_ph]

No, the other user quoted. Skypunch.

Gotcha.

 

[Galang]

Mess. These reviews are crazy

 

[Skittzo0413]

Actually that's a good comparison.

But it is why they docked it from being a perfect score though.

It's why they have it 4.5/5.

I more mean it didn't impact other reviewers' experiences all that much. They treated it as a minor complaint which they could easily ignore.

That said, hopefully Nintendo does come out with a stability patch.

 

[Papacheeks]

Are you sure you read ? Because lot of talked about it in their previews, doubt they will talk about it in their reviews.

EASY ALLIES did and it's the reason they score got docked.

 

[Spinifex]

I thought Gamexplain's highest rating was "Loved It".

Not salty, I just don't really get how the most ridiculous hyperbolic praise about BotW is from the same outlet that effectively gave it an 8/10.

Edit: quote was misattributed as GameXplain.

 

[Spinosaurus]

I'm prepared to eat crow over open world Zelda. Excited to find out tonight!

 

[Orbis]

Tough 24 hours (give or take) ahead, waiting for this and the Switch to arrive.

 

[Maximo]

Haven't finished a Zelda since Majora's Mask...looks like if the switch ends up being good ill pick Zelda up a few years down the line, or borrow a friends.

 

[le.phat]

Wow!

An IP that's close to 30 years old, and STILL it's untouchable to 99% of it's peers.

 

[Gaz_RB]

And I had almost convinced myself not to stand in line for a Switch tonight.

 

[Mike Double U]

That awkward moment when you realize you probably shouldn't read the reviews if you gonna buy it anyways

What else are we going to do for the rest of the day?!

 

[Caelus]

Listening to the game's soundtrack while reading this very positive and happy thread is giving me feels.

I wasn't old enough to experience the zeitgeist of Ocarina of Time's release, I'm really glad I'm around to appreciate this fervor around what might be the best Zelda game, one of the best games of this year, and possibly one of the best games of this generation.

 

[xeroborn55]

Wow, amazing scores. Still, one game, even that good, is not enough for me to buy Switch.

that's exactly what I was just thinking.

I sincerely hope everyone enjoys the game that gets to play it. But for me, its not enough.

 

[Little Old Man]

It looks like Nintendo have had another one of those gaming moments with BOTW. Congratulations to the developers, as it really seems to have left a lasting impression all round.

If it was any other developer/publisher I'd be fearing a GTA IV level of hyperbole, but given the prestiege of past Zelda titles I would wager my confidence that the long term view of the game will line up with these reviews, ala LTTP, OOT.

The Citizen Khan of video games.

 

[RocknRola]

Class act Always lovely to see companies lead by example. Good on Sony.

---

Super tempted to get a Switch. Temptation that simply won't come to fruition due to a severe lack of funds hehe

 

[B00TE]

Hardly slept, made the mistake of checking this thread aaaaand yup not going back to sleep lol. Gonna be a long day. Feel like a kid again waiting for this.

 

[LotusHD]

What else are we going to do for the rest of the day?!

You right, I already started reading them lol

And my goodness, this game truly has kept a lot hidden from us...

 

[Spirited]

Absolutely this. What a predictable industry.

Can't wait to see more of Xenoblade 2's world. Of course, even though it's going to be a much more interesting world, it won't get reviewed as well because it's not Zelda.

You seem kind of unhinged.

 

[jdstorm]

Why is no reviewer besides Allies talking about how bad the frame rate is and are all the reviews so far based off of Switch version?

I would like to know.

People watch most films in 24FPS and barely notice it. Not Sure what BotWs framerate is like obviously but for most a stable 24 FPS and intermittent drops wont be a dealbreaker

 

[Chaos17]

Look, I'm just mad that Nintendo is copying modern games instead of sticking to their roots.

I think you need to read the impression of someone who actually played since Zelda 1. Even if it's a bit out dated, what he said still stand more than ever.

Aunoma said this is a game based on the original Legend of Zelda, my dream game. A Zelda game that just drops you into a world and lets you go.

This represents everything video games could be to me. Yeah that game was 8-bit sprites but this is what I saw. This promise that one day we can play through a world like that. Aunoma specifically made the start of this game after that image. You go to the edge of a cliff that looks just like that and they added the twin peak mountains in the distance. They made that image a dream come true.

Why are the things I posted so special, because the way Zelda handles things compared to other games, it is exactly what I want from games. Giant open worlds have been done before, we play them all the time. Games with physics and emergent gameplay are all over, none of this is new. There are game worlds far more detailed than the empty plains of this game. Games with better combat. But no game does it all, no game puts all those elements together. No game focuses on the puzzles, the level design, the moment to moment gameplay where its number one concern is WHAT IS THE PLAYER DOING.

Playing Witcher 3 you are going to get a grand story, maybe that is what you want. You open your map and see hundreds of icons, things to do. It tells you exactly where it is. You stroll along fighting random grunts the same way over and over. Reach the point where you see your goal, if you don't you will hit a button and a giant glowing line will hand hold you to the spot and you just grab what you want. You go into a random cave and its just that a random cave, there wont be anything special, there will be a monster and a treasure that's it. It will be a series of random hall ways and paths with no real design to it. The player is being pushed and guided every step of the way, no real freedom, no real care as to what the player is doing, its purpose is to get you from one story point to another.

Zelda is mostly the opposite of that. No markers at all in the world, you see something you figure out how to reach it. Sometimes you have to solve a series of puzzles to get it, Sometimes you wont even have the item needed to reach it so you mark it and save it for later. YOU do this., you are the one actively searching, not some glowing line, not a stupid marker, YOU. See a shrine, the equivalent of a cave in most open world games of this kind, well here they give you brand new world altering abilities. The ability to manipulate time, water, metal. These shrines are built with specific puzzles to solve, to use your skills in various ways to get the prize. Each one different from the last each hand crafted for a unique gameplay experience. The world is filled with emergent gameplay possibilities, with all kinds of enemies and different ways to combat them. It isn't a rigid set of melee attacks and spells, you can roll a boulder from above, set traps with bombs and fire, you can use items in various ways like using water to create pillars of protection or maybe raise you up into the air so you can come down with a sword strike. This is player freedom, the freedom to make the gameplay your story.

Yeah sure it wont have a big story, who cares, I want to have interesting gameplay, that is why I play. I know Zelda is going to have loads of great mini games, it will have all kinds of varied gameplay moments, it will have massive elaborate dungeons, huge epic boss battles, incredible puzzles. It will have all the elements I want in a game mixed in the exact way I want it mixed. This looks like my dream game.

A few things do worry me, the emptiness of parts of the world. It maybe just for e3 but where are all the NPCs that have small quests, the majoras mask like influence you have on the world. Where are all the fun things you can easily find to do in every corner of the old worlds. Where are the heart pieces? Will the difficulty continue to be a huge problem? Will there be enough major dungeons? Will it be paced well? We shall see but in Nintendo I trust. For now this is easily my most anticipated game.

 

[Servbot24]

Wow!

An IP that's close to 30 years old, and STILL it's untouchable to 99% of it's peers.

Truly a Legend

 

[Nirolak]

*Only* 98? You're going to have to try harder Nintendo. This isn't amateur hour.

 

[Maximo]

Why is no reviewer besides Allies talking about how bad the frame rate is and are all the reviews so far based off of Switch version?

I would like to know.

Similar to when the Witcher 3 first came out and I experienced game freezes every now and then, the strengths outweigh the negatives.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Well!

I know it was looking good from early reviews, but holy fuck is this scoring well! Can't wait until I'm done with work to really dive into these reviews!

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Yup, going to pick up my Wii U version preorder tomorrow. Excitement levels rising.

It'll be funny if someone with Photoshop skills does a Zelda version of this:

 

[Frozenprince]

I wake up and it's at a god damn 98?!?

I need it

 

[Log4Girlz]

How big is the playable map?

 

[EhoaVash]

You know if this was a switch exclusive I would be there day 1 but it's not. Happy I can get this on Wii u

 

[Fahzgoolin]

Reading these reviews makes me feel like this is historical. OoT was all I thought about as a child. It was the pinnacle of fun for me.

Hearing such high praise is making me feel weirdly emotional.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

People watch most films in 24FPS and barely notice it. Not Sure what BotWs framerate is like obviously but for most a stable 24 FPS and intermittent drops wont be a dealbreaker

No. Watch EZA's review. They show how bad it gets. It's noticeable and during combat sections.

 

[Carlius]

hahahahahaha

boy he told you

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Dan's enthusiasm in the quick look makes me happy for him