10 GENIUS Video Game Features No One Saw Coming

Nintendo’s premier franchises are often reluctant to truly take risks and transform themselves. It’s a familiar situation throughout the gaming industry. The Legend of Zelda’s central formula remained as familiar as that of Game Freak’s Pokémon, until The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild really took the series to new places.

Granted, it wasn’t an utter revelation in terms of open-world titles, but as far as the series itself goes, it was a radical move. From the great expanse of Hyrule to the climbing, gliding and cooking that helps Link survive long enough to traverse it, this title surprised and delighted long-time fans in a variety of ways.

One of the biggest changes came in the shape of the numerous Shrines dotted around Hyrule. Far from the lengthy dungeons Zelda has tended to serve up, these offered bite-sized puzzles, combat scenarios and more to test Link’s mastery of every item and weapon in his arsenal.

In this way, the Shrines are connected to everything else unique (and often imitated) about Breath of the Wild. Were Zelda fans expecting the new game to adopt this structure? Perhaps not. Does it serve the game well? Absolutely.