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Finding Comfort in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (as a Non-Gamer)

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MSU chapter.

I was late getting the Nintendo Switch. Growing up, I would play video games on my Dad’s old playstation like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon and of course I had the Nintendo DS – in pink – with games in the ‘Imagine’ or ‘Nintendogs’ franchise amongst many others.

However, I was never big on video games. I was never super big on the idea or the time commitment that comes from a busy schedule with school and work.

This was until I got The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; my views changed instantly.

Five years after the release date, this game is still seen as the best game for the Nintendo Switch as seen here, but this is the general consensus. So, after a few months of owning a Switch and being bored with my other games, I caved in and bought it over winter break as an after-Christmas present. It would be an understatement to say that I’m obsessed. 

Two and half months, 90 hours of play time, all the divine beasts conquered, the final boss beat, and I am still just as obsessed as I was in the beginning.  The world – and nearly every situation within it – can be solved in a countless ways, the player has full freedom when it comes to exploring the world, conquering quests, and solving puzzles.

One of my favorite aspects, like everyone else, is the fact that after the initial quests in the great plateau, which even there you can do however you see best fit, you can do whatever you want. You could go towards the castle and finish the final boss instantly if you so desired, you can do the divine beasts in any order, or not at all, you can do all the shrines or simply activate them as a travel point.

Outside of playing the game itself, I love seeing the order and how others take on the various aspects. There is no set guide, the game does nudge users in a way, but even then, the players can make their own calls.

According to the Website, How Long To Beat, BOTW typically takes about 50 hours to beat and nearly 200 hours to complete. The downloadable content could add on extra 15-20 hours to beat and complete.

Where I’m at now, I had beat the game about 10 hours ago, but even so, I realistically have over a hundred hours of potential play time. I just got the DLC, and with how slowly I’m going through the game while amassing over 90 hours of play time, I doubt I’ll ever be bored with it.

But if I do…

The unnamed sequel is set to come out in late 2022 after being in the works for a few years. There is very little information out about the game but according to the online community, it is predicted to be the big holiday game of 2022 as mentioned here

You can view the official trailer released in June 2021 here.

I never thought I would be excited about a video game. For reference my first games on my switch were Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. I never even thought I would beat BOTW, or even come close to it. Yet, here I am searching for Switch skins to turn my device into a Sheikah Slate.

Kaytlyn is a Senior at MSU majoring in Marketing and minoring in Creative Writing. She has been a published journalist and writer for over six years. Kaytlyn is currently the Chapter President and Campus Correspondent for HCMSU as well as being involved in the Campus Trendsetters program, College Fashionista program, and the HCM Internship Credit program. Outside of Her Campus, Kaytlyn has two cats, Leo and Zelda, as well as a ferret named Willow. She is also the President, Marketing Director, and a co-founder of the Creative Writing Club at MSU. She is also a cheer coach.