The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild revolutionized the gameplay experience within the Zelda franchise. Boasting an expansive open world filled with limitless freedom and innovative mechanics, the game successfully captures the spirit of adventure. Players engage in diverse activities, from scaling mountains for breathtaking vistas to executing intricate physics-based maneuvers or choosing their combat strategies. The result is a dynamic exploration of Hyrule that feels more immersive and alive than ever before.
However, revisiting this iconic title years later reveals that the thrill of exploration can diminish. The allure of discovery wanes once players realize they have already uncovered the game’s many secrets. Shrines and Korok puzzles, once a source of satisfaction, may become tedious upon repetition. If you’ve poured numerous hours into Hyrule, restarting might feel less like an exciting journey and more like a chore. Thus, we explore ten reasons why returning to Breath of the Wild might not deliver the same enjoyment a second time.
10 Redoing Your House Feels Unnecessary & Repetitive
Link’s House Lacks Meaningful Utility
Building a home in Breath of the Wild brings joy the first time, as players save rupees and gather materials to witness their creation come to life. This sanctuary in Hyrule serves as a brief retreat from endless adventures. However, starting anew on a replay transforms this process into a tedious task.
To recreate your house, you must find Bolson, endure repetitive dialogues and quests, and grind for rupees—ultimately leading to the same design time and again. The lack of customization leaves little room for individuality, and unlike other quests with unique rewards, the benefits of having a house are limited. Your options are primarily relegated to weapon storage and a place to rest.
Having replayed Breath of the Wild, I found myself uninterested in the house beyond its initial construction, as it lacked excitement and diversity.
9 Collecting Korok Seeds Becomes Tedious
The Burden of 900 Korok Seeds
While discovering Korok Seeds initially provides an enjoyable challenge, it often devolves into a daunting grind. With a total of 900 seeds to gather, and a staggering 1,800 for those who dare to replay, what might seem like an engaging endeavor becomes repetitive quickly. The simplicity of retrieving a Korok seed, resolving basic puzzles, and moving rocks grows tiresome when repeated ad nauseum.
Unfortunately, these Korok challenges lack variety and quickly devolve into monotony. While players may start with enthusiasm, the thrill of discovery dissipates with each passing seed.
If you wish to expand your inventory, collecting Korok Seeds becomes a necessity. After securing a few dozen, the excitement fades, and players may find themselves skipping many on subsequent playthroughs. I personally collected all 900 during my initial experience, but barely scratched the surface in my second attempt.
8 Exploration Lacks Its Initial Enchantment
The Familiarity of Hyrule
In a second playthrough, the excitement of uncovering new locations vanishes. Having previously explored Hyrule, the thrill of discovery fades as players already know the lay of the land—including crucial landmarks and enemy territories. Familiarity transforms the once vibrant world into a predictable landscape.
Even a change in the sequence of Divine Beast encounters can only partially rejuvenate the experience, as most environmental areas remain static.
Even in the more challenging Master Mode, the gameplay does not feel substantially different. Although enemies are more formidable, the core mechanics remain unchanged, making the increased difficulty feel minimal. With surprise and excitement lost, a replay results in a daunting derivative of the original experience.
Moreover, with time, Hyrule begins to feel desolate. Despite its stunning visuals, numerous stretches offer little interactive content. Familiarity can diminish once-intimidating locations like Hyrule Castle, which, once a source of dread, becomes a straightforward endeavor.
7 No Significant Changes to the Story
Stagnation in the Narrative
A significant disappointment when replaying Breath of the Wild is the static nature of its narrative. No matter how many game resets you initiate, the overarching storyline remains unchanged. Although players are free to explore and tackle objectives, the central plot does not evolve.
In contrast to other open-world titles that offer narrative branches and choices that shape character fates and outcomes, BOTW lacks such depth. The primary storyline, which involves Link’s quest to vanquish Calamity Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda, unfolds uniformly each time.
This unwavering narrative structure can render replaying a monotonous endeavor. Exploring is entertaining, but it does not influence how the story progresses. If a new experience is what you seek, you may be disappointed by the predictability of the plot. The absence of profound decision-making opportunities makes it feel more like reliving the same tale rather than embarking on a fresh adventure.
6 Time Consumption for Replay
A Time-Intensive Commitment
One of the major hurdles of revisiting Breath of the Wild is the considerable time investment required. The first playthrough unfolds with the thrill of exploration. However, during a subsequent attempt, the hours spent collecting resources, achieving shrine unlocks, and climbing towers quickly devolve into a monotonous grind.
Even if players opt to bypass the main narrative, numerous tasks still await. Hours are consumed retrieving lost progress through collecting Korok Seeds, obtaining materials, and enhancing armor. Unlike other gaming experiences where players can seamlessly re-enter the action, Breath of the Wild necessitates substantial time to reach previous milestones.
5 Repetitive Gameplay Dulls the Experience
Combat Feels Predictable
Combat in Breath of the Wild quickly veers into repetition. Despite encountering various foes like Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos, the engagement can grow stale over time. Each encounter often feels alarmingly similar.
Even with numerous enemy types, many share similar combat styles and weaknesses. This predictability erodes the excitement, making confrontations feel like a monotonous cycle. Even during my first run, I found myself growing weary of the combat.
Given the open-world design, it’s inevitable to encounter these familiar enemies repeatedly, leaving players wanting more diversity in combat scenarios.
4 Resource Collection Becomes a Tedious Grind
Harvesting Resources Can Be a Drain
Gathering materials for armor upgrades or cooking starts as an engaging task but transforms into a burdensome chore over time. Upgrading armor requires specific resources, often hidden throughout Hyrule. Players find themselves scouring the world for rare items like star fragments or monster parts, which can quickly wear on the player’s patience. Although intended to be fulfilling, the process can feel overwhelmingly like a grind.
The breakable weapon system compounds this issue. While utilizing diverse weaponry adds excitement initially, their fragility means frequent searching for replacements. Once your top-tier weapons shatter, reliance on less effective options means added time spent hunting for weapons. The necessity to constantly seek new weaponry becomes one of my least favorite aspects of the game, particularly during a second playthrough.
3 Ancient Shrines and Divine Beasts Lack Challenge
Replaying Breath of the Wild diminishes the challenge of Ancient Shrines and Divine Beasts. Shrines that were initially exhilarating feel tedious, as most involve repetitive combat or puzzle-solving that lacks novelty after the first encounter. The same applies to Divine Beasts, which play significant roles in the narrative but lose their allure due to the already-known solutions to puzzles and combat scenarios.
As players grow more skilled, these once-challenging sections are now mere obligations. The excitement of locating well-hidden Shrines in the first playthrough may turn into a mind-numbing repeat of previously-solved puzzles devoid of challenge on second attempts.
2 Side Quests Offer Little Depth and Low-Effort Rewards
Unfulfilling Side Quests
Side quests may initially seem intriguing, but most devolve into simple tasks that quickly lose appeal. Tasks like collecting items or defeating generic enemies may yield rewards such as rupees or items, but these often feel insufficient in return for your time investment. The repetitiveness of these quests reveals a lack of variety that can eventually lead players to question their purpose.
Furthermore, the characters encountered in these quests generally present brief interactions with little substance. Consequently, there’s seldom a sense of connection or deeper narrative significance, rendering many side quests as mere filler. The rewards, including weapons or gear, frequently prove underwhelming since items break easily, leading players to question the value of completing these quests. Like many others, I found myself skipping the majority of side quests during my second playthrough.
1 Tears of the Kingdom Elevates the Experience
A New Era in Gameplay
While Breath of the Wild was groundbreaking upon release, its successor, Tears of the Kingdom, enhances the experience significantly. New mechanics, a more detailed environment, and an evolved narrative breathe new life into the franchise. Features such as Ascend, Fuse, and Autobuild enrich exploration, making it more engaging and less cumbersome.
Additionally, the gaming landscape has evolved, presenting players with a plethora of options that rival Breath of the Wild. Although BOTW made a lasting impression during its launch, current titles further refine open-world gameplay, offering richer storytelling and diverse mechanics. Tears of the Kingdom stands as a prime example of how the series continues to advance.
As new games continue to emerge with captivating narratives and engaging gameplay, revisiting Breath of the Wild may feel less enticing. While it remains a remarkable title in its own right, once players have exhausted its offerings, the allure diminishes. With more innovative and engaging experiences available now, the motivation to replay Breath of the Wild might not hold the same appeal.