Daily Debate: Did The Open World Design In Breath Of The Wild Make Up For The Lack Of Population?

Posted on April 08 2018 by Judy Calder

With Breath of the Wild being the first open world game in The Legend of Zelda series, Nintendo introduced fans to a whole new gaming experience within the franchise and suddenly possibilities seemed infinite. Going forward, we didn’t have to work out exactly what to do to move forward in the game, it was as simple as making a snap decision and heading out into the wilderness of Hyrule to see what we could sink our teeth in to. You see something interesting in the distance? Just make your way there and check it out! Decided you don’t want to continue on in the Eldin area for the time being? Then head on over to the Hebra region for a change of scenery. Or if you just can’t hold off from running in to the fight with Calamity Ganon? Then adventure through Hyrule Castle at the beginning of the game and try your luck with him!

The downside to the open world aspect of Breath of the Wild was that Hyrule was extremely unpopulated. This did fit in with the storyline of the game, what with Hyrule being a ruin of its former self but I really felt the absence of the communities and characters that seemed to fill the world in other titles like Twilight Princess and Majoras Mask. For me personally, what we did have in BotW in the form of Kakariko Village, Gerudo Town and others like it barely filled that void.

I think that Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece with its open world design and I would definitely enjoy future titles designed this way but such titles would definitely require more settlements and characters. Would you agree with this or do you think that the open world terrain made up for the lack of population? Let us know in the comments below!