Holy crap, I played the new Zelda!
Added 2016-06-29 19:23:13 +0000 UTCYesterday, I had the chance to visit Nintendo's offices and play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which, as a monster Zelda fan, was a BIT exciting. Like, just a tiny bit.
You can find my full preview at Pocket Gamer. But here are some brief thoughts.
The game is crazy open, and really gives you the freedom to explore. The open world is dotted with mini dungeons, moblin camps, puzzles, and more. And there no little dotted lines: plop a waypoint on the map and it just hangs out at the side of your mini-map, letting you figure out exactly how you're going to get there.
There is fast travel, and stuff is gated off using items. But I'm looking forward to the full game to see how this open exploration really pans out. Right now, it's very promising.
Also, it's very driven by systems. Which is kinda weird for Nintendo. It's got fire propagation and wind effects. You can chop down trees and bake apples. You can steal weapons from enemies while they sleep and then they'll be powerless when you attack.
But anyway, I think the game will be very interesting because it does a lot of the stuff that I've praised in previous videos. Exploration that's up to the player, and encourages proper engagement with the world. Systemic stuff that leads to great anecdotes. Even an adaptive soundtrack that blends from adventure to combat and back.
Lemme know if you have any questions about the game. I'll be happy to answer as many I can.
Comments
Feels great. From surfing down a hill on your shield to sneaking through a moblin camp like its a Far Cry 4 base, to climbing up a tall tower and surveying your surroundings. I can see myself playing this for weeks
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-30 17:06:51 +0000 UTCAnd how did the game felt? Do you see yourself playing tens of hours to this Zelda? :)
Dr Tenma
2016-06-30 14:50:09 +0000 UTCSo there will be some direction, it seems: in the demo, an old man asks you to go to a specific shrine and get him some treasure in exchange for his hang glider. But then again that could just be a tutorial thing. The main thing that guides you is just curiosity, yeah, and also going up really high on towers, looking for interesting stuff, and then tagging it with the gyro. And then just walking in that general direction, getting distracted by caves and chests along the way.
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-30 04:54:01 +0000 UTCYou say that there's no dotted lines... What guided you from place to place during your demo playthrough, other than curiosity? Do we know how you'll be pressed to work towards major objectives if the game doesn't hand-hold and force you to do a specific thing in order to progress?
Alex Bradley
2016-06-30 00:16:36 +0000 UTCNo idea :P It's pretty futuristic though - Link's got an iPad
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-29 22:04:09 +0000 UTCWhich Zelda timeline is it?
Ossian Olausson
2016-06-29 22:02:53 +0000 UTCHaha, they're very very different. But I'm super excited for it, especially in how it contrasts to Skyward Sword. Also, you'll be happy to hear that my Link's Awakening video will be out tomorrow or Friday.
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-29 21:56:26 +0000 UTCDoes it come close to Link's Awakening (my fave Zelda game)? :)
2016-06-29 21:55:12 +0000 UTCDefinitely used the gyro for some sweet bow and arrow head shots, but not sure about Gamepad... I definitely didn't need to look down. Not sure if I ever did!
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-29 21:46:38 +0000 UTCNah, coming out on both Wii U and NX in March 2017.
Game Maker's Toolkit
2016-06-29 21:46:03 +0000 UTCThis sounds brilliant! So this is coming out on the WiiU this year, as well as the new console next year? Feels like that odd period where I ended up getting GTA5 on the 360 but somehow never bothering to re-buy it for the current generation.
Bewilderbeest
2016-06-29 21:23:15 +0000 UTCAny use of the gamepad's touchscreen/gyro?
Gabriel Henrique Dalposso
2016-06-29 20:56:43 +0000 UTC
