There have been many memorable characters spawned by the independent video game industry-avatars with delightful and strange qualities that cater to their gameplay mechanics and motifs. Hand drawn, pixel-based, and three dimensional designs that are able to express and execute on smaller concepts that a full retail game might feel bloated in attempting. As games have become bigger and better, the design sensibilities of earlier titles- focusing on finely-crafted level design and a well-established set of mechanics for a tight and comprehensive experience- has become a standard of independent development, instead. Well, successful independent development, that is. When a team might only have one opportunity to make a statement on a certain platform, they need to ensure their product is as well-executed as possible in order to do so. Fortunately for developer studio Wayforward, they entered the scene at the right point to bypass this risk. They began developing and publishing games in ...

Breath of the Wild is a hugely important game, not just for the Zelda series in which it exists, but also for Nintendo. As one of the largest projects they have ever worked on, and the first Zelda title to truly use open-world design, there was a great deal riding on the shoulders of this title. Upon its release, it received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, which is something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, this likely means that the open-world, or rather, open-air philosophy for this particular entry to will carry on into future 3D Zelda games, with a focus on interconnected systems and organic experience. On the other, there are some aspects of Breath of the Wild that I believe have not received their fair share of critique, and I worry that they too will transfer over into future entries. This is a game so massive, it requires an equally massive, sloppy look at it from every angle I can possibly think of. Within this analysis, you will find what I consider to b...