BotW

Breath of the Wild (BotW) is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo. It was released for Nintendo Switch and Wii U and is part of The Legend of Zelda series. Set in the kingdom of Hyrule, the game follows Link as he awakens from a century-long slumber to defeat Calamity Ganon and restore peace to the land.

BotW features an open world that rewards exploration and experimentation. Players climb cliffs, swim rivers, and ride horses across a landscape that includes deserts, forests, and mountains. The game emphasizes survival mechanics such as resource gathering, cooking, and weather effects. Puzzles appear in shrines and are complemented by towers that reveal map regions. Players use the Sheikah Slate to access runes—Magnesis, Remote Bomb, Cryonis, and Stasis—for puzzle solving and combat.

Gameplay also centers on combat and stealth, with a durability system for weapons that encourages variety in loadouts. Players can approach objectives nonlinearly, with optional side quests and environmental puzzles guiding progression. The game world operates on a day-night cycle and weather patterns that influence traversal and exploration.

Development was headed by Nintendo EPD, with Hidemaro Fujibayashi serving as director.

Reception and impact: BotW received widespread critical acclaim for its open-world design, freedom of exploration, and reinvention of the Zelda formula. It won multiple Game of the Year awards and is frequently cited among the best video games of all time. Some criticisms included weapon durability and a perceived lack of traditional dungeon structure.

Sales and legacy: The game sold over 30 million copies by 2023, contributing to the Zelda franchise's popularity on Nintendo Switch. It influenced later game design and led to the direct sequel The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released in 2023, which expanded on BotW’s open-world approach.