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Oof, BotW was absolute trash. It was the epitome of bad open-world design. You have an absolutely massive map with nothing to do. The story is fragmented into j

Oof, BotW was absolute trash. It was the epitome of bad open-world design. You have an absolutely massive map with nothing to do. The story is fragmented into just four dungeon/town areas and some memories scattered around the map. There are like two villages otherwise with still basically nothing to do in them. Exploration is not rewarded, weapons break for no reason (doesn't add difficulty or fun, it's just frustrating), shrines are repetitive, the list goes on. Nintendo rested on their laurels and released a literal 3/10 game but people still ate it up for some reason. I don't think I have ever been so disappointed with a game in my life, and I've been playing Zelda since I was four years old. I wasn't asking for much, perhaps if the map was 1/10th the size they could have spent more effort filling it with content. Elden Ring is in total juxtaposition. Exploration is rewarded with secret weapons, armor and skills that don't break and are actually useful. Your build is totally up to you and the wide variety means options for how you play the game, fight the bosses, and navigate enemy corridors is huge. FromSoft added respec this go around which lets you change it up if you're getting decimated over a bad build or just want to try something else. The bosses are unforgiving but manageable if you're resiliant. The map is still large enough to get lost in, but small enough that it doesn't feel empty. You're forced to ditch your horse in many areas out of respect for navigating on foot. And of course the story/lore which FromSoft is known for being bad at delivering (usually told through items and notes collected through the game) is leagues better than previous titles, having GRRM consult and help build out the lore was a brilliant idea as well. This game is 10/10, they did not compromise on their core values of delivering a legit challenge to players and improved upon every conceivable part of the game. If it's not clear, I really love this game. I'm 75hrs into my first playthrough and only 50% of the trophies achieved. This has been great value in my opinion.

andrewingram 5y ago
I’m over 100 hours in, and it’s probably the most sticky gaming experience I’ve had in years. I’ve played most of the recent AAA open world games (Horizon Forbidden West, Far Cry 6, AC Valhalla etc), and Elden Ring is the only one that didn’t quickly descend into feeling like a chore. It’s got a lot of rough edges, but it’s an absolute breath of fresh air; and even my gf says it’s the one she’s enjoyed watching me play the most.
- pxc 5y ago
  I struggled to finish most of the older 3D Zelda titles, but with BotW, I had so much fun just exploring and finding my own things to do that finishing the game was basically an afterthought. IMO it's a model for open world design.
  - xerox13ster 5y ago
    I don't know about you, but I played Zelda games for a story told through a world not a world with no story. The fact that what makes Zelda games Zelda games is an afterthought was series ruining for me. I have no desire to go back to Skyward Sword after playing BOTW, it sucked all wind from my sails
    - astrange 5y ago
      I remember a lot of people disliking Skyward Sword because the traditional handholding and plot-centric Zelda design had grown to the point that you couldn’t escape the tutorial for hours and the Navi-like annoying reminder mascot had returned. They were inspired to reinvent it by watching the reviews for Shadow of the Colossus which was “modeless” (low-UI) and refused to explain anything, like Fromsoft does now.
  - andrewingram 5y ago
    I felt BotW had some great ideas, but it didn’t feel as monumental as Ocarina of Time was back in the day. My main criticisms would be that the 4/5 main dungeons were pretty underwhelming, and the puzzle chambers got tedious. For all its flaws, Elden Ring is packed with “oh wow” moments as you unlock new areas. And the design of the “dungeons” is inspired, they’re so intricate and rich, yet never so lengthy that they outstay their welcome. The main gripe I have with the game is that a number of the enemies and bosses stray from being fun challenges into just being frustrating. I’d have preferred if they’d made the game just a bit smaller and focused on making each boss encounter as memorable as those on the critical questlines.
  - throwntoday 5y ago
    It's a terrible and lazy model. You can't neglect making content, and just tell the player "use your imagination". I would say BotW was more akin to Animal Crossing. That Japanese genre of relaxation game where you sort of mindlessly wander around doing menial tasks to decompress. That said, I did get like 150hrs out of Animal Crossing with my girlfriend so I do see the appeal, I just did not want that for Zelda.

andrewingram 5y ago

I’m over 100 hours in, and it’s probably the most sticky gaming experience I’ve had in years. I’ve played most of the recent AAA open world games (Horizon Forbidden West, Far Cry 6, AC Valhalla etc), and Elden Ring is the only one that didn’t quickly descend into feeling like a chore. It’s got a lot of rough edges, but it’s an absolute breath of fresh air; and even my gf says it’s the one she’s enjoyed watching me play the most.

pxc 5y ago
I struggled to finish most of the older 3D Zelda titles, but with BotW, I had so much fun just exploring and finding my own things to do that finishing the game was basically an afterthought. IMO it's a model for open world design.
- xerox13ster 5y ago
  I don't know about you, but I played Zelda games for a story told through a world not a world with no story. The fact that what makes Zelda games Zelda games is an afterthought was series ruining for me. I have no desire to go back to Skyward Sword after playing BOTW, it sucked all wind from my sails
  - astrange 5y ago
    I remember a lot of people disliking Skyward Sword because the traditional handholding and plot-centric Zelda design had grown to the point that you couldn’t escape the tutorial for hours and the Navi-like annoying reminder mascot had returned. They were inspired to reinvent it by watching the reviews for Shadow of the Colossus which was “modeless” (low-UI) and refused to explain anything, like Fromsoft does now.
- andrewingram 5y ago
  I felt BotW had some great ideas, but it didn’t feel as monumental as Ocarina of Time was back in the day. My main criticisms would be that the 4/5 main dungeons were pretty underwhelming, and the puzzle chambers got tedious. For all its flaws, Elden Ring is packed with “oh wow” moments as you unlock new areas. And the design of the “dungeons” is inspired, they’re so intricate and rich, yet never so lengthy that they outstay their welcome. The main gripe I have with the game is that a number of the enemies and bosses stray from being fun challenges into just being frustrating. I’d have preferred if they’d made the game just a bit smaller and focused on making each boss encounter as memorable as those on the critical questlines.
- throwntoday 5y ago
  It's a terrible and lazy model. You can't neglect making content, and just tell the player "use your imagination". I would say BotW was more akin to Animal Crossing. That Japanese genre of relaxation game where you sort of mindlessly wander around doing menial tasks to decompress. That said, I did get like 150hrs out of Animal Crossing with my girlfriend so I do see the appeal, I just did not want that for Zelda.