night814

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
15,099
Pennsylvania
It's ok to not like the game, I don't like the game either. I've done 70-80 Shrines and no beasts. I don't like the lack of proper dungeons, hate the durability system so much that I'd rather run away from pretty much each enemy encounter than fight them and risk my gear breaking. I don't emjoy exploring The World, it's too empty and uninspiring.

I just decided to drop the game, but I might go back and try to finish it later. But I think BOTW is the worst game in the series so far (Have played all console ones, Links awakening and Minish Cap)
Throw bombs at them instead. It makes enemies drop what they're holding. Keep a free weapon slot and pick up what they had and bash them with it. Simple really.
 

Xx 720

Member
Nov 3, 2017
3,920
I loved it, got me back into Nintendo big time, but any game isn't for all people.
 

Deleted member 5148

User requested account closure
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,108
I was like you OP , right of the bat I knew the stamina was very limited.... so I focused on leveling it up as much as I could. So for the first few hours I was kinda fed up witn shrines. But once I got all my stamina I ended up liking the game more and more.
 

Kcannon

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,688
You guys should really stop doing things you don't like. No wonder most of ERA is so miserable.
 

Deleted member 4037

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,989
It doesn't but it's more than a fair point to bring up how they were brought together and why they make sense. Not liking something doesn't make something bad or pointless
I never said it didnt have its pros, but saying "its supposed to be like that" doesnt mean that its without flaws. Personally I think it was poorly implemented among other things, but I acknowledge why they did things the way they did and why it would work for other people, never said anything to the contrary. How it felt for me is just my personal take
 

Cup O' Tea?

Member
Nov 2, 2017
3,610
Yes it would. The weapon degradation system forces players to try new and uncomfortable ways of dealing with challenges. In most RPGs, I'll pick sword stats and then I'm just sticking to a sword for the rest of the game. BOTW not only allows me, but forces me to try an array of different weapon types that I otherwise would have never touched. You could say "well you could still choose to switch up your weapons if you wanted" but if there's no incentive to do so, no one's gonna do it. You ever heard the phrase "Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game"? Players need limitations and constraints around them for the game to be compelling. Hell, that's literally what makes it a game. Game pushes against you, you push back. The tug of war is where the challenge and the drama lies.

It's fine if you don't like the degradation system. There are countless RPGs out there for you. But don't pretend that it's some throwaway mechanic that pointlessly hampers the player. It's a core mechanic designed to challenge and push the player. Why not give players the choice to turn health off? I should be given the freedom to walk around the world without risk of getting killed. It's annoying and just slows me down otherwise. Why not give players the choice to not have to collect arrows for my bow? I shouldn't have to be collecting arrows all the time and worrying about wasting them when I'm playing. These examples seem ridiculous, but it's really no different. A core mechanic designed to challenge and discomfort the player should not be an option.
I can accept weapon degradation as a core mechanic but did it have to be so heavy-handed? Weapons don't just degrade in BOTW. They are basically made out of wet toilet paper. Are you telling me you never got frustrated by having weapons break on you mere moments after obtaining them? For me personally, it ruins the flow of the combat and often disincentivises combat completely. I can deal with weapons breaking from time to time but it happens way too often in BOTW. At the very least they could have offered some kind of weapon upgrade system to make weapons more durable. They were willing to add durability-buffed items to the game so it's not like having a slightly more durable weapon totally breaks the game anyway.
 
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Deleted member 4037

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,989
Yes it would. The weapon degradation system forces players to try new and uncomfortable ways of dealing with challenges. In most RPGs, I'll pick sword stats and then I'm just sticking to a sword for the rest of the game. BOTW not only allows me, but forces me to try an array of different weapon types that I otherwise would have never touched. You could say "well you could still choose to switch up your weapons if you wanted" but if there's no incentive to do so, no one's gonna do it. You ever heard the phrase "Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game"? Players need limitations and constraints around them for the game to be compelling. Hell, that's literally what makes it a game. Game pushes against you, you push back. The tug of war is where the challenge and the drama lies.

It's fine if you don't like the degradation system. There are countless RPGs out there for you. But don't pretend that it's some throwaway mechanic that pointlessly hampers the player. It's a core mechanic designed to challenge and push the player. Why not give players the choice to turn health off? I should be given the freedom to walk around the world without risk of getting killed. It's annoying and just slows me down otherwise. Why not give players the choice to not have to collect arrows for my bow? I shouldn't have to be collecting arrows all the time and worrying about wasting them when I'm playing. These examples seem ridiculous, but it's really no different. A core mechanic designed to challenge and discomfort the player should not be an option.
Why not have enemies that make you switch up your weapons because its more advantages to do so, that way you are actually thinking about situations rather than "here use this weapon cause your other one broke". Even in that system you could have weapon durability, but then you can incorporate repairing so you can hold on to things longer than a couple of swings frivolously and not break the game. I dont think anyone is saying it was just added without reason, that would be stupid, also a switch is stupid, I agree with that. But I think some people believe it could have been done way better, if its frustrating and actively makes me want to play the game less, not because im doing bad or the game is too tough, just because its "what they wanted to do", is a failure of the game imo
 
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Hzsn724

Member
Nov 10, 2017
1,767
If it hasn't clicked with you yet then it probably won't.

The game is vastly different from any other Zelda game to date. I've beaten every game in the franchise and this game at times doesn't feel like Zelda at all. But that's what makes it interesting, because it is Zelda.

It's something so far outside of what Nintendo has ever done with any game in the franchise. If you hate open world designs then you'll probably never like this game.
 

Coztoomba

Member
Oct 28, 2017
394
It's probably my favourite single player game of all time. Having not grown up with Zelda (Sega kid), I've had the same experience trying to play Zelda OOT. Everyone says I should love it but I can't get into it. I've liked the 2D Zeldas though. I don't blame you for keeping trying though lol. I fully expect to give OOT more cracks as well. It's curiosity more than anything.
 

Yossarian

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
13,285
Ive restarted it probably 20 times...

giphy.gif


I'm guilty of this with Witcher 3.
 
Oct 26, 2017
9,856
I never said it didnt have its pros, but saying "its supposed to be like that" doesnt mean that its without flaws. Personally I think it was poorly implemented among other things, but I acknowledge why they did things the way they did and why it would work for other people, never said anything to the contrary. How it felt for me is just my personal take
Fair enough, man, and I don't completely disagrew
 

Deleted member 8791

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,383
I'm surprised this monthly thread manages to get so many pages each time.

I'll echo most others and say, you don't have to enjoy every great game.
 

TheAvatar

Member
Nov 4, 2017
699
I genuinely don't think people have ever played the first zelda or link to the past if they think this isn't zelda, if anything this game is the closest to miyamotos vision of the franchise anyway, not saying its better or not but you have to remember how ocarina of time was seen as a great departure for the series, that was generally seen as "go as you please!" franchise and ocarina took the story/linear aspects really really far.

now if your talking about dungeon aspect, i could agree that they could have used more art styles and different settings. Though they were all technically different, i think the lake of art styles there hurt them a bit, they were still fun though in my opinion. Also I would have made the shrines wayyy larger and complex, and if that meant making less of them than so be it, would have preferred 80 shrines if they were all longer and complex. But even then thats a preference aspect, zelda being more of an adventure of exploring has always been the goal for them.
 

Crayon

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,580
Yes it would. The weapon degradation system forces players to try new and uncomfortable ways of dealing with challenges. In most RPGs, I'll pick sword stats and then I'm just sticking to a sword for the rest of the game. BOTW not only allows me, but forces me to try an array of different weapon types that I otherwise would have never touched. You could say "well you could still choose to switch up your weapons if you wanted" but if there's no incentive to do so, no one's gonna do it. You ever heard the phrase "Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game"? Players need limitations and constraints around them for the game to be compelling. Hell, that's literally what makes it a game. Game pushes against you, you push back. The tug of war is where the challenge and the drama lies.

It's fine if you don't like the degradation system. There are countless RPGs out there for you. But don't pretend that it's some throwaway mechanic that pointlessly hampers the player. It's a core mechanic designed to challenge and push the player. Why not give players the choice to turn health off? I should be given the freedom to walk around the world without risk of getting killed. It's annoying and just slows me down otherwise. Why not give players the choice to not have to collect arrows for my bow? I shouldn't have to be collecting arrows all the time and worrying about wasting them when I'm playing. These examples seem ridiculous, but it's really no different. A core mechanic designed to challenge and discomfort the player should not be an option.

I like this post. I would add that the weapons breaking introduces the possibility of loss. Demons souls showed us how powerful the possibility of loss can be. The breaking weapons in breath manage to introduce this. It gives tension. Risk and reward. It can help evoke more complex feelings like irony or regret. Following from that, the way fighting can result in loss is waaaay important to an adventure game that de-emphasizes combat like this one.

Open world games are so concerned with trying to incentivize their combat all the time. In botw you need a natural incentive to fight monsters in the field; Either they are in your way, or you have to defend yourself after bumping into one carelessly, or they have something you want, or you just feel like fighting. And the way fighting has a cost of breaking weapons (and consuming food, arrows) is an elegant balance to this.

If you can imagine a player who enjoys exploring the overworld but dislikes fighting, and imagine what the game would be like for that kind of player, I think that shows how natural and flexible the game is.
 

Footos22

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,807
I love it. It's also prob the only game I've ever played in short spats. Still not finished it and i started at launch.

Generally only play it when the wife is watching bad TV. But that hour of exploring and discovering is unmatched. 1 beast left to go. I'm probably not even halfway done map reveal wise.
 

Rangerx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,562
Dangleberry
I've never understood the bizarre obsession here with forcing oneself to like a game. You don't like it, its ok to not like it. Move on.
 
Oct 29, 2017
943
Australia
People really need to get over the weapon thing. It's really all in your head. Enemies don't have much health. You can kill them with anything.

Stop getting attached to shitty, replaceable weapons!
 

Raijinto

self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
10,091
I mean I can certainly attest to liking games that I initially didn't like after restarting them after a while but beyond that, heck 20+ times in fact? Just no. You don't like it and I'm not sure what I/we can say to change things. Play something else.
 

Pascal

▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
10,288
Parts Unknown
The weapon degradation never really bothered me, because I tried to use everything I had available to me in order to defeat enemies. I would always look around the environment just before and during combat to see if there was anything I could use to my advantage. Like, a body of water that would insta-kill certain enemies, or a beehive that would damage enemies before I even attacked. I also did things like try to knock trees down on enemies using bombs or even using shield-surfing to close the distance in combat while also shooting arrows (I hear you can use the shield surfing spin to footstool enemies like in Smashbros, but I haven't really tried it). I even started using the weather to advantage. Like trying to get the drop on enemies while rain muted my footsteps or throwing a metal weapon into a group of enemies during a lightning storm or using wind to guide a round bomb to its destination. This is not even getting into all of the stuff you can do with Stasis and Magnesis.

Basically, I was always trying to approach combat in a way that always kept me thinking. I did my best to avoid depending on my weapons when I could and try to use everything at my disposal to beat enemies. So, when I actually needed weapons, I would always have plenty ready to go. Outside of the Plateau, I don't think I ever ran out of weapons a single time. I think that's why BotW's systemic design is truly compelling. There are so many possibilities in regards to combat and I think it really opens up if you try to use everything at your disposal instead of relying solely on weapons. Not saying the combat is perfect or anything (it's pretty unbalanced and a bit shoddy in certain parts) but I still really enjoyed its open-ended nature.

Also, Eventide Island was my favorite area in this game for reasons I described above.
 

Visanideth

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
4,771
It's fine.

I didn't hate it, but I feel it's one of the weakest Zelda entries and if the BotW open world approach is the future of open world games I don't want to ever touch one again. But I feel BotW succeeded in delivering a coherent gameplay style that is probably not "for me" but that most other people would strongkly enjoy.
 

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
14,108
a Socialist Utopia
It's ok, just stop. I quite liked the game overall, but it has too many glaring flaws to warrant all the crazy hype that surrounded this game. It's a good game, but not a super great one.
 

Dr. Mario

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,042
Netherlands
Your problem is that you are forcing it. Starting over 20 times because you must understand it. BotW is a huge garden with garden paths leading everywhere, but you're intent on getting all the way to the other side and out the fence door. No wonder the playful maze gets in the way.

I don't think it's salvageable. Try the next game and this time don't sweat it.
 

DarkPrince

Member
Dec 2, 2017
1,061
Same with me, minus the restarting 20 times, started the game beat the one divine beast, wondered around a bit more and never went back. Happier for it as the game just isn't any good and found it really boring. If you don't like it don't force it just move on maybe in a couple years time you might find yourself back with the game enjoying it for now just stop and play something you enjoy.
 

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,000
Ive restarted it probably 20 times... Currently done the elephant shrine and working on the bird one. Done probably 40 small shrines... I hate this game. I feel like it's a chore to do anything.

The weapon breaking system is legit broken for gaming, traversing anywhere takes what feels like years and it's never fun getting there. The stanima system is absolutely stupid. The difficulty doesn't make sense, the ancient enemies are unfair and confusing on how to counter or kill.

I legitimately hate this game.. and I'm the biggest Zelda fan.. Zelda collectables, Zelda clothing, Zelda wallet (obviously I don't wear these), Zelda backgrounds.. hell my notification sound is the Zelda secret sound. But I find absolutely nothing enjoyable about this game and I feel like Nintendo let me down.

I get it's crazy popular for others, and it's got great reviews... But I hate it and I don't know what to do to like it.. being a Zelda fan I should like this right??? Am I doing something wrong? I don't have a horse and no idea how to get one.. though I feel it's pointless at this point. Cooking is a chore and I have a bazillion monster parts that I don't know what to do with. Trying to get somewhere and oh it starts raining so I either wait forever for it to stop so I can spend a half hour climbing a mountain and falling to my death anyways or go around and maybe shield slide... Until my shield breaks... And I gotta walk now anyways...

Someone help me like this game lol
Why would you restart a game 20 times trying to like it? I would have figured out by the second or third time it's not for me if I kept restarting it. What the hell?
 

Asbsand

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,901
Denmark
Restarted it twice.

But yeah.

Era. We had the Mario Odyssey Contrary Opinion Support topic, I need this BotW "Didn't feel the magic" support topic :(

Trust me, I'm a big Zelda fan, a huge one. I'm tall as a mountain and as wide as a country, nahmean!?
 

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,000
Looking back at this game I think the open world was good and one of the best in terms of content, traversal and design. But I didn't enjoy the game as much as some of the older zeldas. Not sure why really.

I think the weapon system was one of the main reasons where it keeps breaking. just slowing you down and because it was a big part of the game there was too much micromanaging inventory to swap or struggle to find a new one somewhere - none of these situations were fun to be in and because of those mechanics alone it affected my overall enjoyment of the game.

Often I would find I don't even have a decent weapon in combat scenarios and the combat fucking sucked because of that reason alone. It just wasn't very fun. I never felt powerful or a bad ass at any point in the game like other Zelda titles that give you amazing armour or weapons and tools.

it's not like I was itching to get to the next fight it just got in the way because you knew the outcome - more broken weapons, more inventory management and samey combat dynamics that never changed much from the first fight to the end. And boss fights weren't good either. Everything else was first class though.

The game really suffered from those issues though as they were such a big chunk of the gameplay.
 

Prine

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
15,724
The weapon breaking was awful, and the justification was even worse (condescending even as we're not able to decide when we'd like to switch weapons). All of that is moot when you fill your inventory with the same weapon type, essentially breaking them one by one and restocking, so you end up using the same weapon. It cannot be defended its complete dog shit. I tried to avoid combat as much as i could when i was playing, lack of enemy variety along with the BS weapon mechanic burned me out on the game. I loved the world but my god do they undermine it with its main form of interaction (combat).
 
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ckareset

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
Banned
Feb 2, 2018
4,977
Honestly I agree with the weapons breaking being more of a mental attachment thing than being a game breaking (pun intended) mechanic. I dont remember it ever being a huge problem.

What was a problem was the game had little variety, was a tad too large/empty, and needs bigger and better dungeons. Bring on BOTW 2. Hopefully they dont need to make the engine again and can just add content.
 

unicornKnight

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,313
Athens, Greece
Sounds like you are trying to play the game like the previous 3D Zelda games. First you need to accept that when you start you are weak and you will gonna die, and there are enemies that you wont be able to defeat until much later. Not saying that you should like it or not, just saying that this isn't like the Zelda games you know. Personally I enjoyed this formula, I enjoyed that I had the freedom to go everywhere I wanted but at the same time I had to be careful when visiting new places and knowing that I have to run away when the enemies are tougher.

PS: The weapon breaking system is poorly implemented, but it's not broken imo. The weapons just break too fast.
 

Deleted member 25108

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,877
The game is a mundane empty world with better than the average sandbox mechanics.

Finding inventive ways to do things is great. But you have to find reason to do them in the first place.

Its not what I like in a game. Traded it in after beating the first area.
 

Dr. Caroll

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,111
Sometimes you have to make peace with the fact a game isn't to your taste. There's no point forcing yourself to play a game you don't enjoy, and there's especially no point resenting a series for taking a direction you don't like. See how you feel about the game in 10 years. Maybe 20.
 

Colossal Moo

Member
Jan 13, 2018
213
Look OP, asking people to help you like a game you obviously don't like isn't going to work. You need to understand the Zelda BOTW is not for you and move on to other games. Also, remember that just because a game is popular doesn't mean everyone is going to like it.
 

ffvorax

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,855
If you are a fan of a franchise is because you like it... if you don't like one game it's ok, just give up.
I am a fan of the FF franchise, this doesnt mean I force myself to play each chapter or game about it if I don't like it... (the games on mobile are not for me; record keeper should be "paradise" gacha for FF fan, but I just can't like it)
 
Oct 29, 2017
129
At least you tried. Seems though that we have a different point of view in some of the things in the game since I think one of the biggest strengths is how you must figure out most things by yourself and how the game seems challenging and mysterious at a times. This way the game has a real sense of adventure and discovery.

Personally I'm playing it through for the third time now on master mode and have spend way over 500 hours in the game and never had a dull moment. Breath of the Wild is actually now my favorite game of all time.
 

Boddy

User Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,160
You should just stop playing, trust me I know how you are feeling.
I kind of like the main dungeons, but even they are all pretty similar.
Hyrule Castle makes me wish that the game had more levels like it. Reminded me of the bases from MGSV.
Even then, I had little reason to explore it since I was already prepared for the final fight.

One of my biggest problem, next to the combat system, is that there aren't enough pay-off for exploring.
For the most part you will just run into the same enemies, mini bosses and shrines over and over again.
 

Gamer17

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,399
not every game is made for everyone. lots of people hate masterpieces and lots of people love average games . it is what it is .
 

Deleted member 2595

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,475
I know but I keep getting bored and then restarting because I'm lost after a few months of not playing
It sounds like you're missing the point.

The point of BotW isn't finding and completing everything like the traditional games. It's to wander and indulge in wanderlust.

Go watch a great adventure movie like Princess Mononoke then boot up BotW, turn off the HUD, and just wander for fun. Get immersed in being a wandering adventurer.
 

KayonXaikyre

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,984
Ive restarted it probably 20 times... Currently done the elephant shrine and working on the bird one. Done probably 40 small shrines... I hate this game. I feel like it's a chore to do anything.

The weapon breaking system is legit broken for gaming, traversing anywhere takes what feels like years and it's never fun getting there. The stanima system is absolutely stupid. The difficulty doesn't make sense, the ancient enemies are unfair and confusing on how to counter or kill.

I legitimately hate this game.. and I'm the biggest Zelda fan.. Zelda collectables, Zelda clothing, Zelda wallet (obviously I don't wear these), Zelda backgrounds.. hell my notification sound is the Zelda secret sound. But I find absolutely nothing enjoyable about this game and I feel like Nintendo let me down.

I get it's crazy popular for others, and it's got great reviews... But I hate it and I don't know what to do to like it.. being a Zelda fan I should like this right??? Am I doing something wrong? I don't have a horse and no idea how to get one.. though I feel it's pointless at this point. Cooking is a chore and I have a bazillion monster parts that I don't know what to do with. Trying to get somewhere and oh it starts raining so I either wait forever for it to stop so I can spend a half hour climbing a mountain and falling to my death anyways or go around and maybe shield slide... Until my shield breaks... And I gotta walk now anyways...

Someone help me like this game lol

I love the game, but if I didn't love or like the game I wouldn't play it.I'm a huge Ninja Gaiden fan. I pre-ordered the collector's edition of Ninja Gaiden 3 way before its release or any reviews because I just knew it was going to be great as the other games we're genre defining games. However, Ninja Gaiden 3 was total shit. I was shattered and I did try to make my way through the game but the lack of weapons, no combo list, shitty level design, and the way the enemies worked was just abysmal so I had to stop even though I really wanted to like it. I even played the multiplayer and that was actually decent, but the game wasn't want I wanted so I had to let it go. Now BotW isn't total shit lol it's a well made game, but just has mechanics some people who are used to the traditional Zelda experience may not enjoy. You probably just liked the traditional Zelda and wasn't one of those people who begged for it to change and this Zelda is much different from the other 3D offerings. It's totally okay to not like it! You're normal to have preference and even more normal to dislike something that's very different than what you normally like.

My best advice would be to stop restarting it and to just complete it. If you really won't quit trying to play it, then stop quitting the game and just endure it and struggle through it till it's completion to see if at any point it clicks for you. But at the very least, when you do that it will finally be finished and you won't be burdened with trying to figure out whether there's ways to like it anymore.

Edit: One tip I can think of though is to stop worrying about trying to complete everything and just do the things you like the most. If you're trying to do every little thing, pick up every seed, but you don't like doing that kind of thing then stop doing it. You don't have to do it. The games good because you can do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it for the most part (unless its raining : 3 but even then you can find ways around the rain which can be fun or you can simply just light a campfire and progress time to when its not raining lol)
 

KnightimeX

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
877
I'm in the same boat.
To me BOTW is like LOZ without LOZ.
It's like they worked on the sidequest but forgot to insert the main game.
Dungeons, bosses and actual equipment is what makes a zelda game.
Without it there's no flavor.

Cool sidequest spinoff game though.
 
Oct 26, 2017
9,856
I'm in the same boat.
To me BOTW is like LOZ without LOZ.
It's like they worked on the sidequest but forgot to insert the main game.
Dungeons, bosses and actual equipment is what makes a zelda game.
Without it there's no flavor.

Cool sidequest spinoff game though.
...I guess I imagined those bosses, dungeons, and equipment then? And "side quest spin off game"? Really? Yikes, the hot takes and hate boner by some in this thread
 

OtterSpace

Member
Oct 27, 2017
119
Similar feeling. I played for about 42 hours and stopped.

For me, I appreciate the changes, I feel like the game lacked the signature moments that comprise a Zelda game (proper dungeons, bosses and weapons/gadgets for example).

I accepted it wasn't for me and moved on.
 

KnightimeX

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
877
...I guess I imagined those bosses, dungeons, and equipment then? And "side quest spin off game"? Really? Yikes, the hot takes and hate boner by some in this thread
Don't hate the game it's just not up to par with what Legend of Zelda games usually aim for.
Had it contained actual LOZ dungeons, bosses and equipment on top of everything BOTW has to offer it would have been godlike.
Hopefully in BOTW 2 they'll remember to include the main game.