Why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of 2017

2017 was arguably one of the greatest years in gaming ever. One game however personally stood out from the rest. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of 2017, and this is why.

Wonderment. I search for it in the books I read, in the music I listen en most of all in the games I play. Wonderment makes us lose ourselves in the moment. It stirs our souls and is the source of the greatest joy. Wonderment is the ethereal ingredient that turns entertainment into art. And in 2017 wonderment was, for me personally, synonymous with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

At first glance however, Breath of the Wild doesn’t do anything revolutionary I haven’t seen in other games before. On paper the new Hyrule is just another open world in which you gather weapons and equipment, defeat a couple of bosses and save the princess. Been there, done that and bought the Tingle T-shirt.

But from the moment you set foot on The Great Plateau as a sleepdrunk Link, wonderment hits you right in the face. The first time you conquer a frozen mountain. The sudden realisation that you can simply climb everywhere. That moment you walk into a sleeping Stone Talus and get your ass kicked. Your first flight with the Paraglider. The Great Plateau is a masterclass in how to let a player discover the game rules in an organic and natural rhythm.

Another smart design choice of the new Hyrule is the way all the zones are separated of each other by a mountain range. While exploring you’re always surrounded by peaks that pique your interest. What’s beyond the horizon? What vista will meet me when I conquer the crest of the next hill? The game constantly urges you to push on and keep exploring. And the rewards are worthwhile and often times leave you speechless. The first time you spot a dragon while exploring the peaks of Mount Lanayru. The blistering heat of the Gerudo Desert that make you want to turn back at first, but you know you have to press on. The moment you spot the mysterious Korok Forest for the first time, from the top of the boiling Death Mountain.

And these your just some examples of the big and bombastic showstoppers. Don’t forget the little moments, like finding an elaborate labyrinth, Great Fairy or Shrine completely by chance.

The real strength of Breath of the Wild however lies in the way you discover all these surprises. In contrast to most other games, points of interest don’t get marked on your map in advance. If you want to find something in Hyrule, you’ll just have to make smart use of a high viewpoint and binoculars. This game isn’t about mindlessly chasing icons on a map, but about really exploring a virtual world. Inch by inch, even if this means you often time won’t find anything useful.

This is because Nintendo understands that if you want to nurture wonderment, you first have to give it space to flourish. In Breath of the Wild gamers are oftentimes faced with something other games try to avoid at any cost: emptiness. Sometimes you have to run around for 10 minutes before you stumble into an enemy, treasure chest, Shrine or whatever. It is during these moments that the game truly shines. Your imagination starts to wonder. What’s behind that mountain top? What adversities will I have to face? Small things start to pop out in the world. The sound of a waterfall in the distance, the frogs in the water pools nearby and the way the sunlight paints the passing of time on the landscape. In this emptiness, Hyrule comes alive.

So don’t be mistaken: the title Breath of the Wild isn’t randomly chosen. Instead of bombarding the player with impulses, this game gives you time to breath. And in this tranquility, in this natural rhythm that you explore Hyrule, the greatest gift video games can give us begins to bloom: wonderment. Nothing but wonderment.