10 Iconic Video Game Influences You'll Find In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
6. Dark Souls
Breath of the Wild is very much the opposite of Wind Waker's easy combat and rarely lethal enemies. Venture off into the wild and you might even encounter an enemy three times your size and has a sword that'll insta-kill you in a single swipe. Find yourself facing off against Hinox, Lynel or a Stone Talus and you'll find it harder than a few jump attacks and parries.
The similarity here comes from beloved hardcore series Dark Souls. A punishing combat difficulty, a harsh world to creep your way around and boss battles so big and terrifying you'll barely make it out of the starting area alive. Fans and critics alike have welcomed a return to a more difficult Zelda, recalling both the original Zelda on the NES and the seminal Ocarina of Time. That being said, there's no inherent penalty for death in Zelda as the autosaves are fairly generous and there's no need to go chasing souls you've lost as with Dark Souls. Zelda does, however, make exploration feel more exciting and tense as you don't know what you might face in the next plain or through the next mountain pass.
YouTube filmmaker RagnarRox has suggested something similar: that Dark Souls is actually Zelda for grown ups. Pretty interesting theory when you get right down to it.