THE GAME OF
THE YEAR 2017
Story
Link is suddenly woken from his one hundred year sleep inside the Shrine of Resurrection of the Great Plateau, and is guided by a mysterious female voice through the ruins of Hyrule. He learns from an Old man that a being called Calamity Ganon had appeared one hundred years earlier and destroyed much of Hyrule before being sealed away in Hyrule Castle.
It is later revealed that this Old Man is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the last King of Hyrule, in spirit form. Although Ganon was trapped, his power continues to grow from inside the castle, and Link must defeat him before he breaks free and destroys the rest of Hyrule.He must do this by unlocking memories of his past, which are revealed over time.
With the help of the Sheikah's Guardians and the Divine Beasts, the people of Hyrule prepared for the return of Calamity Ganon. During this time, the Champions bonded with each other, with Zelda growing especially fond of Link once she realized their similarities as people burdened with tremendous legacies to live up to.
However, Zelda was unable to unlock her power in time, and Calamity Ganon proved to have learned from its previous defeat; using its nigh-limitless dark power, it killed the pilot champions, took control of the Guardians and Divine Beasts, and nearly killed Link. However, Zelda saved Link from the fatal blow, finally unlocking her power. Link was then sent to the Shrine of Resurrection on the Great Plateau, where he would recover in a deep sleep for the next one hundred years.
As he regains his memories, Link frees the spirits of the Champions, and reclaim the power of the Divine Beasts. He then proceeds to defeat Calamity Ganon, freeing Zelda from the depths of Hyrule Castle and saving the world from immediate destruction
GAME
PLAY
Breath of the Wild features a vast open world for Link to explore. Most of Hyrule's scenery is accessible by walking, paragliding or climbing. While the game still includes barriers (such as weather effects, inhospitable environments or strong enemies), many of these can be overcome by using Food, effective weapons and armor or finding alternate routes.
The world also includes an elaborate physics system which allows for creative interactions (e.g., cutting down a tree and using its trunk as a raft on a river, or setting grass ablaze and spreading the fire with wind gusts).
Unlike many previous Zelda games, Breath of the Wild does not enforce a specific order in which quests or dungeons have to be solved, with the exception of completing the starting tasks on the Great Plateau. It is possible to challenge Ganon right after leaving the starting area, though the game does encourage exploration in order to solve Ancient Shrines (and thus gaining additional Hearts or Stamina), find useful and powerful equipment, and defeat the game's own version of dungeons, the Divine Beasts. Additionally, many of the game's puzzles can also be solved in various different ways, often rewarding Link for creative solutions.
