The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Review - 9 Ups & 1 Down

5. The Right Way To Do Survival Mechanics

Some survival games really want their 'harsh, enduring' worlds to ravage the player's time, killing them thanks to a random weather event or ensuring an enemy gets the upper hand because they've ran out of a crucial component.

Not here. Glance to the bottom of the screen and you’ll immediately know the time of day, the temperature and how much noise you’re making. These factor dynamically into monster aggression, weather or environment-inflicted damage and the ability to pull off stealth kills respectively - all things you'll need to make it through increasingly greater swathes of the environment, specifically to the north east.

Crafting and cooking also feature, and that subtle twist on established Zelda norms - turning every creature and environmental object into something that can be combined and consumed - instils a sense of preparation and player agency that thanks to how seamless it all is, feels almost unmatched.