Daily Debate: What Breath of the Wild Elements Should NOT Return in Tears of the Kingdom?

While Breath of the Wild received nearly universal praise from critics and fans alike, much of the game’s minutiae has caused argument and disagreement. Certain elements of the core gameplay have rubbed some the wrong way, while others laud them or at least consider them not to be issues. Tears of the Kingdom is clearly a direct follow up to Breath of the Wild and one of the great benefits of an iterative sequel is the ability to evaluate what did and didn’t work. I’m sure most people hope there’s at least one way in which Nintendo adds through subtraction to this upcoming title. Which elements from Breath of the Wild should be left behind? Hard mode: No weapon durability.

In all seriousness, the weapon durability system and it’s attendant affects have been Breath of the Wild‘s most divisive mechanical elements. Proponents will argue that this is a necessary consideration for maintaining balance, as players could grab powerful weapons early in the game and trivialize most of the game’s content. The opposition counter-argues that there are many other forms of imbalance in the game and that the freedom to disrupt this equilibrium is a fundamental value in Breath of the Wild. I feel there are merits to both notions. It creates a much larger conversation about developer and player responsibility when directing a game’s experience, but I feel the answer lies somewhere in the middle. People should be able to play the game how they want, but doing so shouldn’t require ignoring content.

There’s actually hundreds (maybe thousands) of things I don’t want to see return from Breath of the Wild. I’d lump them all under a single category; brief, trivial, insubstantial discoveries. This would constitute the Korok seeds, enemy encampments, and about ninety percent of the shrines. Instead of 100 plus shrines, I think forty to fifty more robust structures with meaningful and unique rewards would be more fulfilling. Exploring Breath of the Wild was usually a treat, but the fruits of my exploration almost always disappointed. It’s true that I’m hoping for Tears of the Kingdom to pull back on the scope a bit and focus on quality over quantity. There’s really no reason we can’t still have most of the latter without a massive improvement in the former. I swear this has nothing to do with Elden Ring.

What do you think? Which elements of Breath of the Wild should remain in that game? Why didn’t these work for you? Let us know in the comments below!

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