Tracey Maynor

First of all, I grew up playing zelda games with a more linear formula, with added side quests, and that's why this one didn't ring to me as much as the other games in the series. Even if I don't prefer this one the most, I still can honestly say that this is an incredible game with a massive, cohesive world. BoTW deviates from most other open-world games by having a surprise or landmark around every nook and cranny of the world. The music for me wasn't as memorable as in Skyward sword or Wink Waker, but the soft piano melodies add to the serene landscapes of the grasslands and mountains. The sandbox elements work really well, too. In every enemy encounter, you could just run at them and slice the monsters up, or you could find a new clever approach. For instance, when encountering a bokoblin camp, you can use okto balloons on an explosive barrel, make it float, blow it towards a group of enemies with a deku leaf, then shoot the barrel and stay well out of the blast ranch and maybe even go undetected. BoTW really encourages you to experiment with different ways of traversing the vast landscape. It utilizes human curiosity in an incredible way with how much there is to do and see, and you will get hundreds of hours out of this game and it has a nice challenge. This game is great. If you own a wii u or a switch, buy it.