The open world genre has seen a resurgence in recent years. Many big games, and even some smaller indie ones, have experimented with the grandiose style of world design, and some, likeRed Dead Redemption 2have seen great success with it. Some non-open world games, likeGod of War 2018,have even worked in mild open world structural elements into their design to provide a feeling of freedom and abundant content. While this trend can be traced all the way back to 2001’sGrand Theft Auto 3, andopen world is probably in even older immersive sims, there have been certain gaming touchstones in the ensuing years that define or redefine the genre.
One of the biggest during the last console generation was 2017’sThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game is the defining Nintendo Switch title, and a large part of why it has sold so well. An adventure of epic proportions, this title looked to totally reinvent the action-adventure, puzzle-centricZeldafranchise into an open world where exploration was the be-all, end-all goal of the game.
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Sure, Calamity Ganon was waiting in the center of the map, and the four Divine Beasts were scattered throughout Hyrule, but players needed to gear up and learn the lay of the land before they could tackle those challenges. It was an incredibly compelling set-up for a game, and in just a few short years it seemed like every open world game worth its salt was copying something fromBreath of the Wild.
A Long Development Cycle Has Passed Since Breath of the Wild
The fact of the matter is, it’s been four years since the release ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That’s half a console generation. It only makes sense that every open world game worth its salt is taking a little piece ofBreath of the Wild; it’s such a massive, well-designed game that it only makes sense to use it as a consultant. Games that started pre-production afterBotWcame out are now in their marketing phase or have released outright, and it’s easy to assume that some entire games wereconceived as a direct response toZelda’s success.
The most noticeable example of this happening isImmortals: Fenyx Risingfrom Ubisoft. Right from the leakedGods and Monstersdemo on the Stadia that showed what the game intended to be, it was clear thatImmortalswas meant as a sort of response toBreath of the Wild. Ubisoft is well-known for its open world games, and indeed it could be argued thatImmortalswas spawned specifically because it would be too much of a hassle to rework the realisticAssassin’s Creedgames to be more likeZelda. While it’s a bit more linear and RPG-like, the late 2020Immortalsclearly owes its life toBotWtaking off like it did.
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Breath of the Wildis a shining example of how to design an open world action-adventure with scattered puzzles and non-linear storytelling. While some players simply couldn’t get past its sheer openness and weapon durability, many others went on to enjoy how points of interest were tactically laid out through the entire map, and how the many mechanics could be applicable to a seemingly endless number of situations. Developers noticed too, and some of them took the effort to copy some ofBotW’s best innovations, like the paraglider. That one, in particular, has been in a ton of games recently, includingBiomutant,Horizon: Forbidden West, andGenshin Impact.
Genshin Impactis probably the biggest example of building off ofZelda. Made byHonkai Impact 3rddeveloper miHoYo, this game wears its inspiration on its sleeve. The paraglider, the ability to climb any wall, the Hilichurl camps that resemble Bokoblin bases, the way bows are aimed, and even, to some extent, the art style used for the environment are all inspired byBreath of the Wild.Genshin Impactisn’t only likeZeldahowever, it was an experiment to see if a console action-adventure could feasibly be combined with a mobile gacha RPG experience. According to the profits miHoYo has reported, it was a rousing success.BotWis an incredibly solid base to build off of, and many open world games would be remiss not to borrow something from it.
Breath of the Wild Was a Pioneer in its Genre
Of course, all of the innovations other games took fromBreath of the Wildstem from the game coming up with them to begin with.Breath of the Wildwas a series and developer pushing into a genre they had no experience with, and using that fresh perspective to come up with something truly unique.
The fast travel points and “Ubisoft towers” used to uncover the map were now cleanly worked into the game’s setting, and every single one of the 100+ shrines and towers offered a unique puzzle to solve. Gone was the difference between main story quests and side quests; now everything between the tutorial and defeating Ganon was optional. Manual air travel was now oftenthe preferred way to travelZelda’s world, and players would often use this to both cover large distances quickly, survey the land for shrines and points of interest, and pick up supplies while journeying.
It’s not a stretch to say that every game seems to be copyingBreath of the Wildrecently because it really is that good. The game has sold a staggering 22 million copies as of March 2021, and any big publisher will look at that and think it has a chance to score a few million. The audience is there, and is stillwaiting for the officialBotWsequel, so there might as well be similar games around to fill the gap.
Even Nintendo’s ownSuper Mario Odysseyfollowed inZelda’s footsteps, and it looks like Sega’s next bigSonicgame could be going down the same road.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhas made massive waves in the game industry, and everyone can expect to continue to feel those waves for years to come.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is in development for Nintendo Switch.
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