The highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild can learn some lessons from Ubisoft’s Immortals Fenyx Rising. It may have been a blatant copy of the same formula, but Immortals Fenyx Rising did manage to improve on some of the elements that Breath of the Wild didn’t do a great job with.
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild originally launched alongside the Nintendo Switch in 2017, it was a massive success for several reasons. The game featured a world full of incredibly detailed mechanics, really interesting physics puzzles, and a sense of exploration that hasn’t been matched by many games. And while Breath of the Wild was a good game, it’s inflated status fueled by its attachment to a beloved franchise covered up its ever-present flaws.
Immortals Fenyx Rising managed to make some really nice improvements to the formula that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 should absolutely learn from. With the absence of weapon durability and the inclusion of a wardrobe system giving the player full customization of their character’s appearance, Immortals Fenyx Rising completely eliminates the necessity to micromanage gear throughout the game. It’s an unnecessary aspect of Breath of the Wild, and the inclusion of these trivial mechanics can interfere with the player’s ability to fully immerse themselves in the exploration of BOTW’s world.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Was Not a Perfect Game
There’s always room for improvement, and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is no different. The Legend of Zelda franchise is one with a rich history of dungeons, and unfortunately, with the bland and forgettable Divine Beasts, they were one of the most disappointing parts of Breath of the Wild. It’s important for Nintendo to not be complacent with the success of the first game, and it would be nice to see Breath of the Wild 2 take a big step forward in improving these dungeons. Immortals Fenyx Rising managed to craft really interesting dungeons using similar aesthetic concepts, and there’s no reason that Nintendo can’t do the same.
The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is sure to be an absolutely massive title when it finally releases, and it has a great opportunity to incorporate some outside thoughts to improve on what was already a really good game. Immortals Fenyx Rising was a surprisingly successful effort by Ubisoft to replicate the formula and found a way to build on it, so Nintendo would be wise to look at what Ubisoft did and incorporate some of those elements into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s upcoming sequel.
