

And yes, you will at times find yourself unarmed, but that rarely means defeat in the mind of a capable and confident player. But weapons are meant to be used, and in the course of your journey you will go through hundreds of them. You may find that you become attached to a particular weapon in Breath of the Wild, too, and you can, if you like, put it on a plaque in a house and leave it there to admire down the road. Part of this is because weapons have finite durability and cannot be repaired, meaning you need to rely on your wits just as often as your blades.ĭestructible weapons have turned out to be a controversial design choice no doubt because Zelda games traditionally make each and every piece of equipment you acquire feel special. When faced with a powerful enemy, your reflexes and creativity become paramount. They also scale with you over the course of the game, growing stronger and more capable over time. The enemies you face will surprise you with their adaptability and calculated reactions.

Of course, Link isn't the only one capable of intelligent decision making. This is but one of a seemingly endless number of possible scenarios, a reality that makes even an aimless trek through Hyrule feel like an adventure into the unknown, whether you've spent 10 or 100 hours in the game. Rather than an escape, this is a moment of opportunity, as you can trigger a slow-motion phase in mid air and square up a follow-up arrow pointed directly at your enemies forehead. Of course, an enemy could come from behind and force you to run towards the flames (which are quickly spreading to nearby brush), but you can always jump and whip out your glider to soar out of harm's way, using the hot air from the flames to create lift. Have an arrow slung in your bow? Walk up to a fire to light the end, shoot it at an enemy with a wooden shield and watch it and the grass around them catch fire. When in the past we've been accustomed to strict definitions of how and when two objects in a game can interact, Breath of the Wild employs something closer to laws of nature. This unusual reality stems from Breath of the Wild's multiplicative gameplay model-a major factor in the game's overall success.
