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Discussion In defence of Breath of the Wild's story

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Yes, Breath of the Wild is acclaimed, but it also gets a lot of flack for pretty much all of its aspects including from those who praise it generally. But for me, this game is GOAT, not despite these things, but largely because of them. So I want to talk about why the things people criticise this game for are what makes it work all the better for me.

On story

I never think of Zelda stories as anything other than simple, which doesn’t mean they can’t be meaningful and moving. In fact, their simplicity is usually an advantage as the narrative doesn’t get bogged down in pointless diversions and it fits well with the folk tale feel the series goes for.

In BOTW, the story is about Link, who wakes up to a ruined world, with no memory of who he is and how he came to be in this situation. He learns that the world is in ruins because 100 years ago, he was tasked to save it but failed and only Zelda held back its final doom. He must rise again to help Zelda end the threat for good and so he embarks on a journey across Hyrule to rediscover, rebuild and redeem himself.

This story does something that few stories in the series actually do. It gives Link a need as a character. Link’s involvement in the plot of the older games was generally one of being the only guy in the area at the time. Or maybe destiny or something. Someone needs to do something about that Ganon, and Link’s someone so why not him? That started to change when people close to him would need rescuing giving him a more personal motivation, but it was an external one.

But in Breath of the Wild, Link has an internal motivation. It begins with him wanting to find out who he is and how he came to be in this situation. He is told that he was supposed to be the kingdom’s hero once and that he should retrace that path and Link does so not just because, yes, someone needs to do something about Ganon, but because that path is most likely to give him the answers he seeks. And along the way he finds many answers, remembering the champions, learning of his patchy legacy, but most importantly remembering Zelda. He remembers the time they spent together and the way they bonded over their shared burden.

It's an interesting new approach to Link’s motivation that hasn’t been done before. Link initially doesn’t have a direct motivation to fight Ganon. It isn’t personal at the beginning. But as he pursues his journey for his own purposes, he understands his need for redemption and he develops the want to see Zelda again, to see her smile again. His motivation to defeat Ganon becomes personal through his journey (and the motivation isn’t simple revenge either).

It’s not a complex story, nor a story that relies on twists and reveals or lore for its own sake, but it is a sincere and heartfelt one about Link and his journey of redemption. It is also a story the player tells rather than simply unlocking. It is not enough to just make your way from quest marker to quest marker looking for cutscenes that tell the story for you. You must throw yourself into the part. Contrary to popular belief (a belief that leads to the erroneous statement that “The story takes place in the past”), what happens in the memory cutscenes is not the story. Link finding the memories is the story.

Though I don’t think it’s without flaws (the English localisation changing the adventure log from its original intent and the ending cutscenes playing it a bit too casual), Breath of the Wild is an almost ingenious blending of story with the open-air gameplay. The focus isn’t narrow plot beats to hit, which would require linear rail-roading, but rather a narrative thrust. Almost everything the player does contributes in a broad way from earning spirit orbs, to finding memories, to freeing the Champions, to helping the vulnerable Hyrulean survivors, to buying a house and building a whole new town. The player is given an earnest goal and the freedom to make their own journey towards it and so tell the story of Link putting things, and himself, right again.
 
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i really don't think botw needs any defense tbh. yeah there's a vocal minority that have been complaining about it for 5 years now but for most it's considered one of the best games ever made.
 
Oscillator said:
That minority is VERY vocal. It's gotten worse recently, with them calling Eldin Ring (which is effectively just a Souls game in a bigger setting) the BotW killer.
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The internet has always been like this. For reference, there was a Usenet group in the early 90s that complained about Simpsons episodes as they aired - the era of the show nowadays generally considered to be its peak and an untouchable touchstone of pop culture. The Simpsons writers created Comic Book Guy after reading posts from this forum, and lifted the phrase “worst episode ever” from a post word for word.

What I’m saying is, everyone’s got an opinion.
 
This reminds me of how people felt the need to rush to BotW's defense after that Sterling review of it. Not everyone is going to agree about BotW being a 10/10 game, but the critical consensus is that it's at or near there, so it's a game that really doesn't need much defense.
 
Oscillator said:
That minority is VERY vocal. It's gotten worse recently, with them calling Eldin Ring (which is effectively just a Souls game in a bigger setting) the BotW killer.
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true but a, that shouldn't bother anyone and b, elden ring is the new thing and some of its fans are going to shit on other games to make the game seem even better. in a few months things will cool down.
 
DistractedByPixels said:
This reminds me of how people felt the need to rush to BotW's defense after that Sterling review of it. Not everyone is going to agree about BotW being a 10/10 game, but the critical consensus is that it's at or near there, so it's a game that really doesn't need much defense.
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Don’t forget 8.8.
 
Mekanos said:
Don’t forget 8.8.
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The funny thing is that I think "strong B+" is about right for Twilight Princess. B+ is a very good grade, considering how hard it is to make games!

Overall, though, that's why I like the trend away from scoring games in reviews. The score takes center stage rather than the meat of the critique.
 
DistractedByPixels said:
The funny thing is that I think "strong B+" is about right for Twilight Princess. B+ is a very good grade, considering how hard it is to make games!

Overall, though, that's why I like the trend away from scoring games in reviews. The score takes center stage rather than the meat of the critique.
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Oh yeah, I’ve talked about it before on this forum but the reaction to 8.8 is a perfect microcosm of where the Zelda fanbase was at. People NEEDED TP to be an industry-changing masterpiece on the level of OOT. Saying “it’s really good but perhaps not flawless” was unthinkable at the time, even though that’s probably what the consensus is nowadays.
 
The OP's specifically talking about an aspect of the game (the narrative) that even people who enjoyed the game have criticized in the past years, and why they think it actually works in favor of the game. Even as my personal 10/10 I didn't think much of the story, so it was a good read.

I don't think they're making any commentary defending the game from the 'vocal minority', a few reviewers, or the recent string of Elden Ring comparisons. Of course BotW as a whole is not underrated, at all, but there can be bits and pieces that one can look at and say "hey actually, this was better than I thought."
 
Oscillator said:
That minority is VERY vocal. It's gotten worse recently, with them calling Eldin Ring (which is effectively just a Souls game in a bigger setting) the BotW killer.
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People can say and think what they want. There are things Elden Ring does better than BotW; there are things BotW does better than Elden Ring. There's a lot more to do in BotW's sandbox than in ER's for example, and more interesting ways to traverse it.

Some of it is recency bias. Give it time for things to level out. Either way, anyone calling something the "killer" of a game that came out 5 years ago and already made most of its money isn't to be taken seriously.
 
I never understood the "but everything happened in the past" argument anyways. Lets say all of the cutscenes would happen in the present. Now what? The cutscene would be the same, the characters the same, the storyplot the same. So whats the difference. I never understood it.
 
Discussions on open world games are pretty fruitless when you consider that it’s not a genre, it’s a structure

When people criticize the game while comparing it with whatever flavor of the month open world, they will mention story, they will say breakable weapons is a dealbreaker. Those are very shallow criticisms in the first place, they don’t value BOTW’s puzzles and uniqueness and whatnot so they purely judge it on where does it measure compared to the usual open world template.

This also applies to Elden Ring, Zelda is not an action RPG so there is just no point to compare the two. No need to roast Zelda about difficulty and weapon variety, the action is not the point. Just like how Souls games lean way harder on action RPG over action adventure, you’ll never see Zelda’s traversal/puzzles/abilities in a Souls game. Now there is one constructive point in the comparisons between the two. Elden Ring is acclaimed because it’s simply open world Souls, it expands upon the more open structure of Dark Souls 1 so it’s basically them implementing open world as a structure to a Souls game. That’s why some people like that game more, they will say it’s more rewarding. Meanwhile, BOTW lost quite a few fans (myself included) because despite the multiple advancements it has made to the series, it kinda took multiple steps back as well due to adhering too much to “open world game” design conventions. This includes marked side quests, the homogenization of progression and the inclusion of isolated challenges (shrines). A lot of Zelda fans’ idea of an open world Zelda involves stumbling on your usual Zelda level design in an open structure. Ideally, series going open world should ask themselves how open world can benefit their series rather than how their series can add to the usual “open world game design” template.
 
Serif said:
The OP's specifically talking about an aspect of the game (the narrative) that even people who enjoyed the game have criticized in the past years, and why they think it actually works in favor of the game. Even as my personal 10/10 I didn't think much of the story, so it was a good read.

I don't think they're making any commentary defending the game from the 'vocal minority', a few reviewers, or the recent string of Elden Ring comparisons. Of course BotW as a whole is not underrated, at all, but there can be bits and pieces that one can look at and say "hey actually, this was better than I thought."
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Thank you.

Admittedly, I should spend less time at zeldadungeon.net, but story is something I think is almost universally underappreciated and I don't think just because the game is widely praised in general it has somehow used up its praise quota and defending the more criticised aspects should be sneered at.

If something is good, I want to celebrate it.
 
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All I have to say in "defense of BOTW" is when you have to compare it to a game that released 5 years later on a system that is way more advanced than the Switch. It speaks to the testament of how good and revolutionary BOTW is/was. Elden Ring is an outstanding game, no doubt. Both games should be enjoyed and not be compared.
 
Let's make another comparison:

BOTW is much like this video:




...It's very long.
 
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Yoshifan31 said:
Discussions on open world games are pretty fruitless when you consider that it’s not a genre, it’s a structure

When people criticize the game while comparing it with whatever flavor of the month open world, they will mention story, they will say breakable weapons is a dealbreaker. Those are very shallow criticisms in the first place, they don’t value BOTW’s puzzles and uniqueness and whatnot so they purely judge it on where does it measure compared to the usual open world template.

This also applies to Elden Ring, Zelda is not an action RPG so there is just no point to compare the two. No need to roast Zelda about difficulty and weapon variety, the action is not the point. Just like how Souls games lean way harder on action RPG over action adventure, you’ll never see Zelda’s traversal/puzzles/abilities in a Souls game. Now there is one constructive point in the comparisons between the two. Elden Ring is acclaimed because it’s simply open world Souls, it expands upon the more open structure of Dark Souls 1 so it’s basically them implementing open world as a structure to a Souls game. That’s why some people like that game more, they will say it’s more rewarding. Meanwhile, BOTW lost quite a few fans (myself included) because despite the multiple advancements it has made to the series, it kinda took multiple steps back as well due to adhering too much to “open world game” design conventions. This includes marked side quests, the homogenization of progression and the inclusion of isolated challenges (shrines). A lot of Zelda fans’ idea of an open world Zelda involves stumbling on your usual Zelda level design in an open structure. Ideally, series going open world should ask themselves how open world can benefit their series rather than how their series can add to the usual “open world game design” template.
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Exactly this. Open world is a design philosophy, not a genre. I haven't played Elden Ring yet (and need to correct that) but even if it's a monumental game it doesn't necessarily have any bearing on BotW. That said, Zelda (and Metroid) generally are designed to within an inch of their lives; you can't do that in an open world unless you're willing to wait 25 years for your sequel. To go open world some things have to change, and I feel BotW was really clever in how it did that.
 
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About the BOTW x Elden Ring discussion.
As someone who is a huge Zelda fan and not that fan of SoulsBorne(had a good time and finished ds3 only) Elden Ring is one of the best open world games I played and also the best Souls game by a far margin imo.

BOTW is also one of my favorite open world games but it's probably my least favorite 3d Zelda game alongside with Skyward Sword(still I consider both very good games).Though I see huge potential on a sequel that incorporates a lot of stuff it brought with the past elements of the series like From did with Elden Ring.
 
Not saying that this is the OP, but the insecurity of some people since Elden Ring is kind of wild. Like, it could be argued that The Legend of Zelda is the greatest video game franchise of all time. Breath of the Wild was Nintendo's first attempt at an open-world game and it had creators like Ken Levine going "how the fuck did they do that".

Elden Ring comes almost five years after Breath of the Wild, of course it's going to do some things better. But Breath of the Wild's sequel is coming.
 
Why do so many threads have to become some weird insecurity thing about people not liking criticisms given to BOTW in comparison to Elden Ring, or some kind of weird hatred of Elden Ring, or a backhanded compliment to the game only to say that quality exists only because of BOTW (then to say Elden Ring is just "open world dark souls" in the next sentence, lol).

Like, look at this thread. What does this thread have to do with Elden Ring? Literally nothing. The thread is titled a little poorly for sure, but the post has 5 likes and yet it's like no one even read it except Serif and Pagan. Yet the entire thread has become a discussion about how BOTW doesn't deserve criticism because of Elden Ring. Elden Ring isn't even praised for its story so discussion of it here makes no sense. What the hell?

I don't personally find what the OP says to be a convincing argument but it's something interesting to talk about, which at this point Elden Ring vs. BOTW really isn't.
 
I don't think BotW needs defending. It can take the criticism, and criticism doesn't have to change our own feelings about it.
 
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To make a comment that is ONLY about your point OP, while I think you did a really good job writing why the concept of Breath of the Wild's story great, I just find the execution too lacking to really agree with the premise that its story is underrated. When I'm thinking characters, performances, cutscene quality and the "story beats" (putting in quotations because I know you touched on this), I'm simply not thinking Breath of the Wild is particularly good at that. And we can say that the concpet its going for - Link rediscovering himself through finding memories - is meant to detach the story from those qualities, but it really doesn't in execution. Having to find the memories scattered around the map is great, albeit somewhat unfulfilling. But that's not really the problem. The problem is that a lot of the story just ... isn't that interesting?

Of course, it's all up for debate because it's just personal taste at the end of the day. And I can understand admiring something a lot just because the concept of what it's going for is so great. But I just don't think the story-related parts of BOTW are all that. If you want to say that the entire game is the story, well then, sure ... but then we can just talk about the cutscenes or the lore surrounding the game and we'd be back to square one discussing whether those aspects are great or not, right?
 
Breath of the Wild needs defending like pizza and Keanu Reeves need defending. The sentiment toward BotW is overwhelmingly positive, it's just that any game (no matter how beloved) will always have its detractors. RE4 is my favorite game, and occasionally, I'll see an Era thread pop up, saying the tank controls hold it back from being truly great, or some such similar complaint. I disagree with that assertion, but RE4 is the same deal: lotta love for it, but also some people who critique it. That's fine!

Elden Ring comparisons are inevitable, but like... one is an action RPG with an emphasis on combat encounters and crazy boss fights, and the other is an adventure game, with the emphasis being more on how the player interacts with the world in interesting ways. Different goals.
bellydrum said:
How do people keep misspelling is as "Eldin Ring", like the word is everywhere
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I like it, personally. It's almost meme status now. Long live Eldin Ring, and Elder Ring.
 
I don't think it needs defending either, but I'll take the opportunity to say that the story in Breath of the Wild worked for me personally because its structure is so variable and not clearly defined. Everyone agrees with how the story begins and how the story ends, but for the most part everything in between is dependent on the one telling the story (the player).

If we were retelling the story, we could all agree that there are four divine beasts, but disagree on what order Link conquered them in, or even that he conquered them at all. Some would talk about Link helping to build Tarrey Town or owning a home in Hateno Village but those who didn't do those quests would leave those things out. There would be those who'd say that Link retrieved the Master Sword and rode into Hyrule Castle on a motorcycle to face Calamity Ganon; others would say he walked right in shirtless and armed with nothing but a stick, yet defeated Calamity Ganon all the same. One person might spend more time talking about a shrine that particularly challenged Link, but a different person might say no, Link breezed through that challenge; this other part is where Link had a tough time, etc.

The game itself is the story elements and the player is the storyteller, which makes the story your own. The variations of that story from player to player gives Breath of the Wild a feeling of a tale that's being passed down, not 100% indisputably verifiable...like an actual legend. I wouldn't say I want every Zelda game to follow that type of narrative, but for me at least it felt right for this game.
 
The story in BoTW was great. I loved it and could never understood why there were so many complaints about it… and the I realized I’m not American and that’s why I appreciated it’s way of handling narrative.
 
Clix said:
I realized I’m not American and that’s why I appreciated it’s way of handling narrative.
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mark-wahlberg-confused.gif
 
Part of this probably comes down to the difference between plot and story, where plot is what happens (that happened because of such, which caused this to happen and so ...) but story is focused more on the character and themes, and how the plot informs them and vice versa, and how those work together, the meaning to be discovered.

In this way, Link's story, that which you're pointing to in your defense, falls under the area of story, but different people will continue to feel something lacking in the area of plot.

And maybe some appreciate the ideas behind the story, but find the execution somehow lacking -- wishing there was more to strengthen and deepen themes, perhaps.

That said, the idea of focusing on story over plot isn't inherently bad, and can even be more meaningful but also more difficult to pull off.

I've long considered some executions of the concept an underutilized aspect of the gaming medium. Different forms of media have varying strengths and weaknesses; books and movies, for instance, can effectively tell plots and stories, but games are uniquely positioned to tell stories through what the player decides to do.

It's a direction I've thought useful for something like Metroid, for instance. You enter a devastated land, the civilization once there now destroyed, and the history you can discover impacts your own understanding of current events. You can build themes and reflections on character, all while remaining light on present day plot, and requiring only as much as the player is willing to discover.

As Zelda has progressed through the years, it's seemed less tailored to this experience, as plot has developed more of a focus -- and even then, instances such as Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask remain so renowned largely for their story work --, but the same idea easily applies to this series, especially when one considers the series' origins and looks at how such a structure could have played out in the original The Legend of Zelda.

Granted, given the series' progression, I can easily see why people might want more modern day plot in addition to this, especially if these come together for a cohesive story, playing off each other on some way.
 
speaking about the story specifically, i personally loved it and really enjoyed how minimal it was, but i get how some people would want something more out of a game they can potentially play for like 100 hours.
 
I can understand what you mean OP. BotW is not perfect and can be criticised but I have problems with the most common criticism for it. Two things that comes to mind is the weapon breaking and the story. Like the weapon breaking mechanic is essential for the game systems and the freedom of the world. And the story told through environment without actually saying anything is great thing in games. There is a sense of history in the game world. Things has happened in the game world before you started playing making the world more real and lived in and immersive. Story also has many layers. Ancient past, 100 years ago and now. I don't think the critics of the story really understand the power of environmental storytelling. What I don't like is the voice acting and maybe some writing. It's not awful but it could be much better.

One more thing comes to mind as I write: music. I think the music and sound and how they are used in the game is brilliant. They are just low key which really fits the game.
 
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mazi said:
speaking about the story specifically, i personally loved it and really enjoyed how minimal it was, but i get how some people would want something more out of a game they can potentially play for like 100 hours.
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This is where I'm at too. I love BotW's story... Not necessarily due to its lack of narrative complexity or masterful storytelling but because its cutscenes are so wonderful at establishing the mood that serves the world they've built and the few cutscenes they do have are aces. Great direction overall.

Story spoilers:

Watching the desperation of Zelda attempt to become who she knows she needs to be to save the world, and basically fail at it... It's all pulled off really well. The melancholy shines through every part of the story and it does so very effectively.

But yeah, I get why some people maybe wanted more out of it.

EDIT: Also, let's not be silly. BotW is one of the last games on Earth that needs to be defended, haha.
 
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merp said:
ResetEra is much like Breath of the Wild itself.

...I mean, I don't know just how they are comparable, but Polygon proves you can compare that game to anything.

So I stand by what I say.
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after the Nintendo exodus, Resetera has been the most anti-Nintendo on the internet.
 
I've edited the title because it seems a lot of people knee-jerked at it. There were other aspects I wanted to talk about, but I think I'll leave it at story.

AngryAlchemist said:
To make a comment that is ONLY about your point OP, while I think you did a really good job writing why the concept of Breath of the Wild's story great, I just find the execution too lacking to really agree with the premise that its story is underrated. When I'm thinking characters, performances, cutscene quality and the "story beats" (putting in quotations because I know you touched on this), I'm simply not thinking Breath of the Wild is particularly good at that. And we can say that the concpet its going for - Link rediscovering himself through finding memories - is meant to detach the story from those qualities, but it really doesn't in execution. Having to find the memories scattered around the map is great, albeit somewhat unfulfilling. But that's not really the problem. The problem is that a lot of the story just ... isn't that interesting?

Of course, it's all up for debate because it's just personal taste at the end of the day. And I can understand admiring something a lot just because the concept of what it's going for is so great. But I just don't think the story-related parts of BOTW are all that. If you want to say that the entire game is the story, well then, sure ... but then we can just talk about the cutscenes or the lore surrounding the game and we'd be back to square one discussing whether those aspects are great or not, right?
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Thanks for responding to my point. Naturally, I disagree that it fails in execution. It's not perfect (I mentioned a couple of issues but also I do think there are some hokey lines and line reads here and there) but I felt the execution to be good enough for a pretty great concept.
 
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The story is of course very simple in its essence, but the character stuff is great for the most part both in the past and current (though full voice over might have made it more effective in the current time of the game). I think BOTW idea of discovering the story through the environment, these places that were so meaningful to Link and Zelda allowing his memories to return is great and another spin on what people love so much about Elden Ring and other games' environmental storytelling and for me personally, more effective than finding cryptic allusions to story in item descriptions and inferring things from locations (which BOTW has some of too) etc... so idk everything is subjective but i do think BOTW story is unfairly maligned. And obviously a lot of it is missable so might not land for everyone, but it would be hard to criticize that and praise ER/Souls for the same thing
 
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Breath of the Wild's solution to the problem of story-telling in an open world is elegant. Once a game commits fully and uncomprosingly to the principle of player freedom it is one of only a very few possible approaches.

I wish that simple statement could be made without sucking in the Ring of the Eldar, but since the comparison seems unavoidable anyway I'll add that when I read how G.R.R. Martin wrote the background of the world and Miyazaki corrupted, broke, and shattered it, I thought this is exactly what the journey of the Tarnished would be: Discovering and piecing together fragments of a story that happened in the past.
 
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Actually I had zero problems with the story. It was fine. It bothered me more how the storytelling worked in that game. The voice acting wasn‘t really good in most language versions I tried out and it was super weird how they decided to use it. Also the game has actually super interesting lore if you search for it, but they sometimes presented it to much in a way that said to me „don‘t care about it, this game has no real story anyway“
 
The whole discussion about the quality of Breath of the Wild's story is one of those things that I only discovered while digging around online forums. In my mind, after finishing my playthrough of the game, I was thoroughly satisfied with the narrative and thought most fans would feel the same. Well, perhaps most fans do feel the same and the people complaining are a loud minority.

I will also add that the way in which it was handled was quite brilliant, since it tied story development to exploration and therefore made it have incredible synergy with the game's main themes of freedom and discovery.

Even though I have read the arguments against the script, I still somewhat fail to see what the deal is. I mean, people are entitled to their opinion and so on, but sometimes I can see what the issue is even if I disagree with the argument. In this case, however, I can't see the problem. I think it's a good story that is told in a very smart way. And I hope Breath of the Wild 2 takes a similar approach.
 
Zelda has hardly ever had a story, or stories that are worth praising. I'm always puzzled when I see people saying botw's plot was too light
 
Zeal543 said:
Zelda has hardly ever had a story, I'm always puzzled when I see people saying botw's plot was too light
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We all just need to accept the fact that at the end of the day:

The Legend of Zelda series is just today's King Arthur tale.
 
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lexony said:
Actually I had zero problems with the story. It was fine. It bothered me more how the storytelling worked in that game. The voice acting wasn‘t really good in most language versions I tried out and it was super weird how they decided to use it. Also the game has actually super interesting lore if you search for it, but they sometimes presented it to much in a way that said to me „don‘t care about it, this game has no real story anyway“
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Play it in Spanish. It’s amazing VA!
 
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The story is less important than the storytelling, and I love BotW's approach to storytelling. Absolutely love it, and wish more games opted for this path. It's so refreshing to play an adventure video game that tucks pretty much all of its story elements away in locked away memories and pieces of lore and let the player work through that information at their own pace and direction. Or ignore it to go back to climbing things and ambushing Bokoblin encampments. Whatever. It really enhances the adventure-like feel of it. Too much story in a game like this can get intrusive and unwanted.

Case in point - Genshin Impact. Now this is a game that wears its BotW influence right out on its sleeve. And it's also a fantastic fantasy world to explore, full of adventure. I played it for a few dozen hours and had a great time, for the most part. But then... it has a story. Way too much of it. And it rudely intrudes on your exploring and adventuring far too often. Paimon pops out for an unskippable cutscene to tell you information that you didn't want or need to know and tells you where you should go next. Imagine if in Ocarina of Time, instead of Navi bugging you to press C^ for a few lines of text on what you should do next, she popped out without pressing any button for an unskippable 3-minute cutscene instead. That's Genshin Impact. It wears thin, even if the story was very good (it's not, it's pretty whatever).

This is ironic for me to say as a huge FF14 fan (and I've criticized this in FF14 too, but that's off-topic), but I'm actually tired of playing AAA video games that are more preoccupied with having extended cutscenes where non-player characters stand around talking, making decisions, and dictating the flow and direction of the game with little-to-no input from the player. It feels like it's underutilizing the strengths of the medium.

Strangely, this doesn't bother me nearly as much in non-AAA games. VNs? Text-heavy RPGs? Love it. Need more of it. This year I've played The House in Fata Morgana and Triangle Strategy and loved them both. I dunno. Maybe I'm starting to get cynical at games up their own asses with 9-digit budgets and an aching need to show it off in hours upon hours of high production cutscenes. Stahp.
 
My issue with the story is that it was just kind of boring. Most of the cutscenes don't really have much going on in them, and for the ones that do I think it would have been kind of cool had they let us play out the scenarios in some of the cutscenes in game. It doesn't really matter though, like some on here are saying, Botw is all about making your own adventure, and that's part of why it's such a good game.
 
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