6. Taming the Wild – Horses
We all love Epona, but this time we get to branch out and really see what Malon of the Lon Lon Ranch was talking about when it comes to her love of horses. Link will not simply be handed a horse and sent out to frolic, instead he has to sneak up and tame one, taking it to a stable where he can name it and safely house them until needed. Horses will have their own stats, making different ones more helpful in different scenarios, as well as having a variety of appearances to make them stand out. It isn’t just a means of getting around, as each horse will react differently and have different difficulty levels of taming. It can forge a very real bond between you two, rather than simply having that bond preprogrammed into the story. I also wonder if failing to tame a horse will see it run away or even charge at you in anger? Given the survival theme it doesn’t seem that farfetched an idea.
5. Feeling the Wild – Physics Engine
The joy of exploring an open world and experiencing exhilarating freedom is eventually met with fatal curiosity, namely: can I jump off of this thing and survive? In the past, Link could survive a fall from any height in which he could see the ground simply by holding the joystick forward. Breath of the Wild, however, introduces a fantastic physics engine allowing Link to pratfall, enemies to flail in pain, and objects to move in a natural way like gravity intended. The physics engine adds a depth of realism not only in how the world affects Link directly, but how Link can in turn affect the world. Trees can be cut down, boulders rolled off of cliffs, objects thrown or stacked to solve puzzles. It doesn’t have that clunky feeling of objects being forced to perform set actions but rather it gives life to inanimate objects, a fantastic detail to watch the world come to life around you.
4. Fighting the Wild – Combat
In the days of Link to the Past, it was a big deal to find the Master Sword and upgrade its power. In Ocarina of Time, players could use the Kokiri sword, Master Sword, and Biggoron sword. This gave you a feeling of progression, but as you got the next weapon the previous one didn’t matter. Breath of the Wild, however, now introduces a massive variety of weapons with different strengths, ranges, special attacks – and of course – breakability. Combat is more versatile than ever with slow-mo archery moments when jumping off cliffs, flurry attacks when perfectly dodging, deflecting projectiles, magnesis attacks to throw objects, as well as throwing your melee weapon into your opponents face for critical damage, not to mention interacting with the environment to cause your enemies massive damage by setting off traps, pushing trees down a hill, and generally causing mayhem. There are even combinations to be discovered as seen in a battle with a guardian where tall grass is set on fire before Link uses the glider in the thermals to catch an updraft and then draw his bow for some slow-mo devastation.
Click on through to PAGE 3 for the final reasons….