I found The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild captivating in a way that the franchise hasn’t truly managed before or since, although I still remain hopeful that a future Zelda game will recapture that experience. It is fair to say that BOTW has had an immense influence on the franchise, and is arguably one of its most important titles to date. Of course, that level of success may not be easily replicable for a variety of factors, but aspects of its appeal may still reappear in future titles regardless.

When it first released, BOTW presented a far larger and more detailed version of Hyrule than ever before, and understandably became immensely successful. In many ways, Switch 2 will have its own Zelda games as well, but no matter what form they take, I hope that at least one will revive a key part of BOTW.

Exploring The Unknown Is A Powerful Aspect Of BOTW

Hyrule Is Full Of Unique Discoveries Waiting To Be Made

From the outset, what struck me the most about playing Breath of the Wild was how much of the world was a mystery to me. Despite there being many familiar landmarks and even characters, there was also so much more that I had never encountered before. As well as making Hyrule so much bigger than it ever had been before, the developers were also able to fill it with a level of detail that would previously have been unimaginable. Because of this, so much of BOTW’s Hyrule is a fresh and new world to explore.

The sheer thrill of exploring Hyrule and discovering more about this expansive version of the kingdom was a huge draw for me. Being just as lost as Link was in Hyrule made it an extremely immersive experience, as it meant I learned about the world at the same rate that he did. And given the much-expanded design of Hyrule in BOTW, this meant that for as much as I recognized as established elements of the series, plenty more was completely unknown to me; something that I believe plays a strong part in BOTW’s appeal.

Of course, much of this mystery was then lost in Tears of the Kingdom, as the sequel’s very nature guarantees that much of Hyrule is now familiar terrain despite the changes it has undergone since BOTW. For me, this is true despite TOTK’s map being much larger than BOTW’s, as the implementation of the Sky and Depths feels more like additions to the same base Hyrule than anything else. Both new areas of the world are still fun to explore, of course, but the core kingdom itself is still much the same.

BOTW’s Open-World Design Reintroduced Hyrule As A Living Place

The Game’s Many Details Make The Kingdom Feel More Real Than Ever Before

The initially-unknown parts of BOTW’s Hyrule can create some truly striking moments. Early on in my own playthrough I randomly glimpsed Farosh’s tail disappearing over the edge of a nearby clifftop, and immediately dropped everything in my attempt to find out what I had seen. Of course, when I reached the top Farosh had moved on and I found nothing, which was arguably even better. In this way, BOTW left me with the singular experience of knowing that something huge was out there, and having no idea what.

The later discovery that dragons existed in this version of Hyrule led to an incredible moment of realization for me regarding this cryptid-like encounter, with Naydra ultimately being the first dragon that I saw in full.

In addition to this, I constantly noticed little references to past games, such as various locations in BOTW being Easter eggs. At the same time, I was sure that there also were plenty of references that I didn’t understand, a suspicion that later online research easily proved. However, that was far from a disappointment; instead, this feeling only compounded the weight of Hyrule’s history, suggesting its landscape was full of long-forgotten memories of its past. As a result, I felt like I was exploring the ‘real’ Hyrule in its entirety for the first time.

The wide range of possible encounters and discoveries in BOTW is arguably only possible due to it being an open-world game, with more fluidity and room for minor details than a more traditional top-down RPG may be able to provide. The open-world format also pairs perfectly with BOTW’s focus on being able to freely explore at one’s own pace, which is what made many of my own experiences possible. It makes its version of Hyrule feel alive in a way that few other games in the franchise can match.

Future Zelda Settings Should Follow BOTW’s Example

Locations Outside Of Hyrule Can Be Presented As Similar Unknowns

Despite its surface-level familiarity, large swathes of Hyrule were a complete mystery during my initial playthrough of BOTW, a design choice that created a unique experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, I can never truly relive that sense of uncovering an entire world in Breath of the Wild, as I already know it, and Tears of the Kingdom is similarly affected. However, the Zelda franchise could still replicate this incredible experience in the future by giving other settings a similar treatment.

There are countless opportunities and potential features for a new open-world Zelda game, but arguably the best trait of BOTW can only be replicated by broadening said game’s horizons to beyond Hyrule’s borders. BOTW (and by extension TOTK) have provided a definitive open-world version of the kingdom, but there are far more settings that can still be built up in the same way, such as Labrynna and Holodrum, as well as the ever-present possibility of a new setting altogether. This would once again place Link in an entirely new world for both the hero and the player to explore together.

Slowly uncovering a new world in Breath of the Wild captivated me in a way that has stayed with me ever since, and I dearly hope that the franchise will eventually find a way to replicate that feeling. Of course, Hyrule is naturally the most popular Zelda setting, so this may not happen for a long time, but it also seems inevitable that the franchise will one day produce an open-world game set elsewhere. When this does happen, I hope that it provides the same constant sense of wondrous discovery that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did.