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[JPSLotus97T]

I bought BOTW day 1 when the Switch came out 6 years ago. I've never been able to get far in the game since it just feels like you're aimlessly wandering to nowhere in the game. I've started it from the beginning at least 10 times and give up in a few hours. Only Zelda game I've had this issue with. What's the secret to enjoying this game?

 

[GermanZepp]

Have you tried to make some quests?

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

What's the secret to enjoying this game?

forgetting it has zelda in the name

 

[GymWolf]

The secret is to sell that one and buy tokt instead.

 

[BossLackey]

You make your own adventures in these games.

You give yourself small goals, and by the nature of BotW and TotK, your choices will inevitably branch off in a nearly endless path.

 

[Rien]

Guess it’s something that needs to click with you. If you don’t like it I don’t think there is anything that is gonna make you feel otherwise. The game is pretty clear in what it is from the start.

I liked it tho. Don’t think it’s the second coming of Christ but it’s fun and does the thing it wants to do right.

 

[German Hops]

The secret is to sell that one and buy tokt instead.

 

[near]

Start the game follow the main quest until you know what the overall premise of the storyline is and you have the basic utilities to achieve your goal. Then tackle it in sections of the map. Visit an area, unlock the map, find shrines, and keep an eye out for memories. Rinse and repeat, along the way you'll encounter plenty of characters that offer side quests, do them as you please. Take it slow, but don't aimlessly travel, you will bore yourself without a purpose. You will find stables in most areas, find them, grab your horse, and discover.

 

[MrA]

You might just not like it, don't dwell on its popularity, let other people enjoy it and you play what you enjoy, win win baby!

 

[Northeastmonk]

Save scum for rare materials. Sell for Rubies and buy whatever you want.

 

[GymWolf]

I rest my case, your honor.

 

[Captain Toad]

I like these games, but I really dislike the lack of meaningful rewards. I go through several steps to reach a treasure chest, and barely can be bothered to open it, as it's always nothing.

I think that's one of the biggest differences between this and Elden Ring for me. In ER, you never know what you may find. Depending on your build and play-style, you always have the chance of stumbling across something can be a complete game changer.

That basically doesn't happen in BotW and TotK. You explore for the sake of exploring. You hunt down to find shrines and complete them for the exact same reward dozens or hundreds of times - 1/4 of an item that allows you to upgrade your health or stamina a small amount.

I miss the Metroidvania aspect of traditional Zelda too. No longer is there that thought, "man I gotta remember this place once I find something that will allow me to advance". You start with basically everything you're going to get.

I still love these games and they are 10x better than most "checklist open-world" games. But, I just really there was that sense of finding exciting things that will change the game throughout. Instead I see obstacles and I have to ask if it's even worth bothering with.

 

[Tokio Blues]

Inner peace

 

[HazukiSensei]

forgetting it has zelda in the name

Expand on that lol why does he need forget its a zelda game.

 

[Fbh]

A big part of the appeal of the world of BOTW and the way the main quest is designed, at least to me, is that you are encouraged to actually explore by "aimlessly wandering around". Just go in any direction you want, check out anything that catches your attention on the way, go towards distant landmarks that seem interesting, etc and you'll naturally come across towns, quests, shrines, main story moments, etc.
It's in many ways the opposite of the traditional open world design where you open a map, get a bunch of icons for different activities, select the one you want and then get a GPS to guide you there.

If you don't enjoy that sort of aimless exploration than maybe the game just isn't for you

 

[ResilientBanana]

I bought BOTW day 1 when the Switch came out 6 years ago. I've never been able to get far in the game since it just feels like you're aimlessly wandering to nowhere in the game. I've started it from the beginning at least 10 times and give up in a few hours. Only Zelda game I've had this issue with. What's the secret to enjoying this game?

I had the same issue until about half-way through. I made it a point to collect hearts via temples and get the master sword, it became more fun after that. You will need 13 hearts. After that the divine beasts were pretty easy. The story is garbage, pay no mind.

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

Expand on that lol why does he need forget its a zelda game.

it doesnt play like any other zelda game has

its as much of a spinoff as hyrule warriors

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

The game is not for everyone. If you don't like it, you don't like it.

 

[German Hops]

nush , is it BOTW or TOTK?

 

[Kataploom]

The idea is that you look at a point of interest from the distance and try to get there, you're supposed to be distracted by world events or other points of interest frequently... That's what many de in the world, talk about an empty world with that type of loop working so well as it does there

 

[XXL]

I didn't like it either. But, I've heard TOTK fixes some of the issues I had with it.

As for TOTK, I will probably wait for the next Nintendo system to play it.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Take a minute to explore, get the four main champions (Mipha, Daruk, Revali, Urbosa), enjoy the story because it’s classic Zelda lore and

 

[German Hops]

 

[AV]

How did you not get to the point where the game said "there's these 4 divine beasts and you should go do them"?

 

[near]

A big part of the appeal of the world of BOTW and the way the main quest is designed, at least to me, is that you are encouraged to actually explore by "aimlessly wandering around". Just go in any direction you want, check out anything that catches your attention on the way, go towards distant landmarks that seem interesting, etc and you'll naturally come across towns, quests, shrines, main story moments, etc.
It's in many ways the opposite of the traditional open world design where you open a map, get a bunch of icons for different activities, select the one you want and then get a GPS to guide you there.

If you don't enjoy that sort of aimless exploration than maybe the game just isn't for you

The game does encourage you to explore, but I don't think it is designed in a way that's satisfying to keep doing that without a purpose or a method. Most areas lack enemy variety, density, and fail to supplement you with valuable weapons and armour, so if you don't know what you're looking for to an extent, it can get boring. Like Captain Toad mentioned above with how rewarding Elden Ring is with exploration, BotW significantly lacks this.

 

[Robb]

Not sure. Find stuff you want to explore or just follow the main quest if you want direction I guess.

When I played it for the first time I just ran from spot to spot all the time and suddenly I was at the other side of the map. The main quest was the last thing on my mind for like the first 50h. TotK is pretty much the same but x10.

Maybe it’s just not your type of game.

 

[touchfuzzy]

Ubisoft should have another Assassin's Creed or Far Cry Something for you this year, just wait for one of those to come along and tell you what to do.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Trying 10 times to force yourself to like something you clearly don't like is just being sadistic. There's nothing wrong with you or the game, sometimes tastes just line up that way. It's ok, there's tons of other things you'll like more that's worth putting time into.

 

[SeraphJan]

Remember the game had only one goal, the final boss is accessible at the right beginning of the game. Keep "prepare yourself for that fight" as a goal in mind, all the exploration are there to improve your character.

 

[Fbh]

The game does encourage you to explore, but I don't think it is designed in a way that's satisfying to keep doing that without a purpose or a method. Most areas lack enemy variety, density, and fail to supplement you with valuable weapons and armour, so if you don't know what you're looking for to an extent, it can get boring. Like Captain Toad mentioned above with how rewarding Elden Ring is with exploration, BotW significantly lacks this.

It's definitely flawed, yeah. I do agree the lack of variety eventually makes it monotonous, and exploration eventually gets unrewarding because most of what you get from it are weapons that will break after a fight or two.
What I meant by the way it's designed is that the main quest basically just gives you certain tasks that you can complete in any order as you come across them, so you can go wherever you want and you'll eventually run into a main objective. For an open world game I think that's way better than something like, say, Horizon where quests consist of doing specific tasks in specific locations in a specific order, so you never feel like you are actually explorin but rather just being guided through the world.

As a side note I DO liked Elden Ring a lot more because it basically gives me a similar sense of exploration but with better combat, better and more rewarding loot, like 20X the enemy variety, way better bosses, better art direction and more interesting and well designed locations to reach.
However I still really enjoyed BOTW and I do think it stands out from Elden Ring in some areas like the fun physics and world interactions (which seem to have been further improved in TotK) as well as the climbing which I really like and makes traversal fun.

 

[kunonabi]

If it's not clicking now it probably won't. I loved the game at first but once I saw how awful the vast majority of the rewards and how lame the dungeons and bosses were the game completely lost its appeal. What you do in the first 20 hours is pretty much all you'll be doing with the only part of the game with any spice being the Gerudo desert but that just isn't enough. The game is just very flat. The game never builds to any meaningful payoff in any area so the simple comfort of exploration, NPCs/side stories and the physics stuff has to pretty much carry the whole experience.

 

[Captain Toad]

Trying 10 times to force yourself to like something you clearly don't like is just being sadistic. There's nothing wrong with you or the game, sometimes tastes just line up that way. It's ok, there's tons of other things you'll like more that's worth putting time into.

Unless it's Souls. Then, it is absolutely worth it for the moment it finally clicks.

 

[_Ex_]

What's the secret to enjoying this game?

Practice mouth stretching exercises to fellate hyperbole cock.

 

[Cashon]

Start the game follow the main quest until you know what the overall premise of the storyline is and you have the basic utilities to achieve your goal. Then tackle it in sections of the map. Visit an area, unlock the map, find shrines, and keep an eye out for memories. Rinse and repeat, along the way you'll encounter plenty of characters that offer side quests, do them as you please. Take it slow, but don't aimlessly travel, you will bore yourself without a purpose. You will find stables in most areas, find them, grab your horse, and discover.

You just described every Ubisoft game, if you swap "shrines" and "stables/horses" with their respective side-stuff/traversal.

 

[Cashon]

I like these games, but I really dislike the lack of meaningful rewards. I go through several steps to reach a treasure chest, and barely can be bothered to open it, as it's always nothing.

I think that's one of the biggest differences between this and Elden Ring for me. In ER, you never know what you may find. Depending on your build and play-style, you always have the chance of stumbling across something can be a complete game changer.

That basically doesn't happen in BotW and TotK. You explore for the sake of exploring. You hunt down to find shrines and complete them for the exact same reward dozens or hundreds of times - 1/4 of an item that allows you to upgrade your health or stamina a small amount.

I miss the Metroidvania aspect of traditional Zelda too. No longer is there that thought, "man I gotta remember this place once I find something that will allow me to advance". You start with basically everything you're going to get.

I still love these games and they are 10x better than most "checklist open-world" games. But, I just really there was that sense of finding exciting things that will change the game throughout. Instead I see obstacles and I have to ask if it's even worth bothering with.

I actually did have this issue with Elden Ring. Most items, particularly weapons and armor, I didn't care about because they didn't fit my playstyle (I don't use guides or follow "builds;" I just play how I like to play). So most of the rewards for exploration fell flat for me.

 

[near]

You just described every Ubisoft game, if you swap "shrines" and "stables/horses" with their respective side-stuff/traversal.

I find this post very offensive.

 

[cireza]

What's the secret to enjoying this game?

You need to enjoy wasting your time doing random stuff without any objective. If you can't enjoy this, then you can't enjoy BotW.

 

[ARK1391]

I had this same issue. I couldn't get into BotW no matter how many times I tried. But this month with the release of TotK, I started it back up and have finally found a system that's working for me.

I'm using a BotW map on my phone to find shrines and whenever I go to a town I seek out as many side quests as I can. This helps me fill the void of wandering around aimlessly by giving me something to look for or do while I'm exploring.

It's not the "ideal" way to play it, but it's at least keeping me engaged. I find myself using the map less and less as I go since side quest objectives tend to send me all over the map anyway.

Hopefully I can finish it soon and move to TotK which looks more enjoyable all around.

 

[Cashon]

I find this post very offensive.

Sorry, but it's true.

To be fair, the two new Zelda games have far less direction than Ubisoft games, on default settings. You can absolutely turn most/all waypoints/markers off and just explore their worlds, especially in the three most recent Assassin's Creed games, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and the Far Cry games.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Honestly, maybe it just all depends on how you're feeling when you approach it. When I originally approached it, it did almost nothing for me, and I put it down. Just like I did with the Souls series, but one day it all clicked. So, with all the TotK hype, I figured I'd give BotW another proper shot, and it clicked for me. I'm about to wrap it up now and plan on moving on TotK in due time.

 

[Danjin44]

For me just act of exploration and interacting with environments was enough to keep me engaged.

 

[Jigsaah]

I bought BOTW day 1 when the Switch came out 6 years ago. I've never been able to get far in the game since it just feels like you're aimlessly wandering to nowhere in the game. I've started it from the beginning at least 10 times and give up in a few hours. Only Zelda game I've had this issue with. What's the secret to enjoying this game?

It's taken me a while to get into it as well. My big issue is im too cheap to invest in a pro controller and play on a monitor. My internet was down for the past couple of days (some animal chewed through the line outside). So I was left with only the Switch to play. I generally hate the Joycon's because my hands feel too big for the buttons and sticks. This makes it hard to enjoy most games. When playing docked the experience is much better. The switch screen is just too small to really take in everything. I feel like I'm playing while looking through a pinhole and am squinting to make things out. That could just be age and the fact that my eyes are trash.

Enough about the mechanics. The gameplay itself shifts from very guided gameplay to completely unguided guess work. The side quests especially are really a crap shoot to me. Some are easy to find out where you need to go while others I just hope I run into the solution while exploring because there's not enough information given in the quest. Running around aimlessly can be frustrating unless im just in the mood for it. The sidequests I have completed reap rewards that I feel are just not worth time it took for me to finish it. I hate that weapons break so easily and there's no repair option that I'm aware of other that certain weapons related to the beasts. It leaves me saving my most powerful weapons, rarely using them because there's no promise you'll get another and you never know when you might actually need it. Some boss fights can feel downright unfair. One that comes to mind is the boss from the Gerudo Desert beast. Consecutive attacks after being knocked down without having an opportunity to recover your weapon and shield was absolutely frustrating, doing wayyy too much damage on top of this.

In the end, you have to be ok with solving puzzles, and just existing in the world. That's how you enjoy it. When I stop trying to simply strive for a goal and just allow myself to go with whatever comes my way, things became a lot more enjoyable.

Edit: Oh and one pet peeve I have...tracking side quests lead you to the quest giver, not the quest location. I ABSOLUTELY HATE THAT SHIT.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Just try to follow the main quests. Simple as that.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Unless it's Souls. Then, it is absolutely worth it for the moment it finally clicks.

If it clicks. For some it's just not going to happen.

 

[alucard0712_rus]

Same thing with RDR2 for me - it just never clicks for me. The world is outstanding but I can't play it.
Maybe BOTW is just not for you? Because I loved BOTW from the first time I've watched the trailer and I haven't played any Zelda game before.

 

[DryvBy]

Just go exploring or use a map and try to knock stuff out. If you're not a fan, TotK might still be for you. It's a huge improvement and I doubt I'll ever touch BotW again thanks to how many improvements they've made.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

The secret is to sell that one and buy tokt instead.

This.

After firing up TotK last night for the first time, I can safely say there's no reason to ever play BotW. YouTube the "story" if you must, but don't bother playing it.

 

[Madflavor]

I bought BOTW day 1 when the Switch came out 6 years ago. I've never been able to get far in the game since it just feels like you're aimlessly wandering to nowhere in the game. I've started it from the beginning at least 10 times and give up in a few hours. Only Zelda game I've had this issue with. What's the secret to enjoying this game?

There's no secret to enjoying it. You're just understanding that BotW is not that great of a game. I put 80 hours into it back in 2018. I enjoyed it enough, but it was more of an 8/10 experience for me and I never had the desire to go back.

Sell it and try TotK instead. Supposedly it makes up for some of BotW's flaws.

 

[Rush2112]

Have you considered the possibility that you might not care for the game? I know all the weebs on this forum act like you must love it, but maybe you just don’t.

 

[Cashon]

Have you considered the possibility that you might not care for the game? I know all the weebs on this forum act like you must love it, but maybe you just don’t.

I agree with this. It's easy to see everyone praising a game and think that it must be amazing, so you want to join in and experience whatever it is that they are.

But you have to keep a couple of things in mind:
1) Hype, especially in the gaming world, can be contagious and lead to a sort of mob mentality that feeds off of itself. It doesn't mean a game actually is as good, or as bad, as people are saying.
2) You may just not like whatever the game offers. There's nothing wrong with that. Try not to worry about keeping up with the zeitgeist and instead focus on playing games that interest you on a personal level, whenever they're old or new.