My Journey Through Breath of the Wild

Sharing my 100-hour adventure in Hyrule

This review may contain spoilers.

Why I Started Playing

I spent over 100 hours exploring the world of Breath of the Wild on my Nintendo Switch. As someone who loves both gaming and taking time to appreciate experiences, this game gave me exactly what I was looking for - a vast world where I could explore at my own pace and discover things that personally connected with me.

The World Feels Like Home

One of my favorite parts of the game is the Faron region, which really connected with me as someone from Southeast Asia. The tropical environment, with its frequent rain and thunder, feels incredibly familiar. Finding durian and banana trees made me smile - it’s not often you see these fruits in video games! The attention to detail in creating this environment makes exploring feel special and personally meaningful.

Villages That Make You Want to Stay

The villages in this game became my favorite places to just exist and relax. Kakariko and Hateno villages, with their beautiful music and architecture, are so peaceful that sometimes I just open the game to walk around and listen to the soundtrack. Each village has its own personality, and the music perfectly matches the atmosphere - something I really appreciate as a player who values these quiet, peaceful moments.

Building a Community: Tarrey Town

The Tarrey Town quest is probably my favorite side activity in the game. It’s amazing to watch a town grow from nothing, finding different people to help build it, and learning their stories along the way. Yes, collecting wood and finding specific characters takes time, but seeing the town get bigger and eventually celebrating a wedding there makes it all worth it. It shows how a game can make you feel like you’re really making a difference in its world.

Combat and Survival

The way the game handles weapons is really interesting - they break after use, which actually made me try lots of different weapons instead of sticking to one favorite. I mainly went for direct combat using melee weapons and the Rune abilities, and while it was challenging, it never felt unfair.

The game makes you think about survival in clever ways. During thunderstorms, I had to be careful about using metal weapons. The cooking system is practical and fun - I spent a lot of time cooking food for health instead of just sleeping to recover.

Exploring the Past

Finding Link’s memories across the world was like putting together a puzzle of the past. Instead of just watching cutscenes, I had to explore and discover these memories myself. Each one gave me a better understanding of the world and what happened before. This way of storytelling made me feel more connected to the story than if it had just been told to me directly.

Shrine Challenges

The shrines are like little puzzle boxes scattered across the world. Some I solved quickly, while others, like the Rohga Chita shrine, took me about an hour to figure out. This variety kept things interesting - you never know if you’re walking into an easy puzzle or a real brain-teaser.

What Could Be Better

After defeating Ganon, I wished there was more to do in the post-game. It would have been nice to see how the world changed - maybe having NPCs thank Link for saving Hyrule, or getting invited to celebrate with the people we helped along the way. A big celebration with all the characters we met would have been a perfect ending.

Technical Notes

• The game runs smoothly most of the time
• There are some frame rate drops in Korok Forest, but since I didn’t spend much time there, it wasn’t a big issue
• The art style makes everything look beautiful and fits perfectly with the world

Final Thoughts

After 100 hours, Breath of the Wild isn’t just a game I played - it’s a place I visited and experienced. From the familiar tropical regions that reminded me of home, to the peaceful villages where I could just relax and listen to music, to the satisfaction of helping build Tarrey Town, every moment felt meaningful.

The game lets you take your time and find joy in small discoveries, whether that’s finding a new shrine, cooking a meal, or just watching the sunset from a high point. While I wish there was more to do after beating Ganon, the journey to get there was unforgettable.

If you love exploring at your own pace and discovering things for yourself, this game gives you that freedom. It’s not just about fighting Ganon - it’s about all the memorable moments you create along the way.

Played on Nintendo Switch Lite for about 100 hours