Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is the first time I have ever left a review online for a video game, but I need to let everyone considering buying this game know that they MUST buy it. Within 20 minutes of playing I was in love with the visuals, mechanics, and gameplay and it became one of my favorite games. Within a few hours it had become my favorite game, hands down. You can play this game by rushing through the story, or by simply exploring and doing whatever you want. It really is a breath of fresh air, and the possibilities are limitless. I'm trying hard to not write an entire article on how I feel about the game (plus I hate spoilers), so without getting into too much detail, here are some Pros and Cons. Pros: - Enemies drop materials and weapons that you can forage, not money and hearts. They can be sold for money or cooked into meals to restore hearts - You can carry tons of food to eat whenever you want to replenish hearts and stamina (no more bottle limits) - Autosave system is super convenient - Easy to switch between active quests and destinations - Shrines range in difficulty from too easy (for experience Zelda players) to truly challenging - There is no "one right way" to do something...you can defeat enemy camps by rolling rocks of hills, throwing and detonating bombs from hiding, sniping with your bow, or doing an all in rush attack with a swords, clubs, and other weapons.. You can ride your horse, climb up mountains, or glide from location to location. Your goal in a shrine is simple...get to the sage at the end. It is up to you to figure out how. It is different than the normal dungeon formula of obtaining one item that changes the entire dungeon after that point that is then used to defeat the boss. Cons: - Your horse can die - Not as easy to place pins and stamps on map as I would have hoped (but it is still a neat feature) - Only one account (unless you switch the active Nintendo Account/user from the menu, then it MIGHT work...I've heard it does, but it's a little hard to go back and forth) - It was hard enough to come up with these three. I don't have any others. Cons turned into Pros: - Your weapons break quickly. I hated this before, but I love it now because it forces you to learn how to use lots of items and approach combat differently every time. The gameplay experience is much more full. You are forced to keep a variety of items and choose when you will use them or save them. - No easy way to know what you can make with combined materials. It has now become fun foraging for items and trying out new things, and I have a general feel of what can make what now, but it was frustrating before just trying random things and getting lots of "dubious dishes" that were not good for eating. Tip, don't combine insects and lizards with food materials or monster parts with food. Insects and lizards should be combined with monsters for elixirs. Also, don't combine materials with different secondary effects because they will cancel each other out. - Controls and button layout. It felt cumbersome at first but, once you get the hang of it it is pretty easy. For a long time Zelda fan, it is obvious that this game has totally changed the series. It isn't as linear and the story doesn't push you along, but it still feels like a Zelda game, and I would argue that it feels more like a Zelda game than any others before it have. Ocarina of Time was once my favorite game of all time, but it has been bumped down the list with this game. I feel like this game can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Younger kids won't find the game too difficult or scary, and parents won't find the violence graphic or disturbing. The difficulty of the game scales by region and with your character, so all skill levels will be able to enjoy the game, and those who aren't up for the very difficult parts can still enjoy the foraging, crafting, and survival portions of the game. There really is something for everyone in this game, and if you can get your hands on it, you won't be putting it down anytime soon.