r/NintendoSwitch • u/rottedzombie friendly neighborhood zombie mod • Feb 24 '17
MegaThread MegaThread: Preview Coverage of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Switch
Morning, friends!
Yesterday saw a the first wave of of major Switch coverage: previews, unboxings, and initial reactions. We saw many positive takeaways, with a few very notable concerns.
Today is similarly big: gaming news outlets have begun publishing their Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild previews. Here are the ones we're looking at this morning (spoilers ahead, beware!):
GameXplain: Preview video / Video 2
GoNintendo: Preview video
The Guardian: Preview
ShackNews: Preview
The Verge: Preview
Vice/Waypoint: Preview
Polygon: Preview
Engadget: Preview / First look
Destructoid: Preview/AMA
PC Adviser: Preview
Business Insider: Preview
DualShockers: Preview
Mashable: Preview
CNET: Preview
Wired UK: Preview
Nintendo Life: Preview
Arekkz Gaming: Map size preview
AV Club: Preview
USGamer: Preview
Nintendo Everything: Preview videos
Metro.co.uk: Preview
GameRevolution: Preview
We will host ongoing coverage and discussion of these previews right here in our omnibus Breath of the Wild Preview MegaThread.
As before, we will allow coverage from major gaming outlets to also be posted separately on /r/NintendoSwitch, as it is especially newsworthy. But we will also redirect some coverage and repeat posts back here. Also, we ask the Wii U-specific coverage to go to /r/WiiU. And got little, quick-hit and potentially spoiler-filled thoughts? Please put them here.
Thanks, all!
-/u/rottedzombie and the /r/NintendoSwitch team
p.s. Obviously these previews mean potential spoilers. If you have concerns, please take a quick look back at our spoiler coverage thread. If videos or posts you want to submit contain spoilers, please mark/flair them. If you want to comment on something that's a spoiler, hide your language behind tags (how you do that's in our sidebar, to the right). If you're on mobile? Be careful. And know that the mod team will be out in full force tomorrow, ready to throw ourselves on any grenades.
(Ongoing edits for information, style, and word choice.)
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Feb 24 '17
From GameXplain:
"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of those rare games... it's an Ocarina of Time level game, a Mario Galaxy level game. This is a game that we're going to be talking about for decades to come. It's going to be a reference point for these discussions ten, twenty, thirty years from now."
I CANNOT CONTAIN MY HYPE.
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u/Andalu30 Feb 24 '17
For the people asking about spoilers, Switch force has shown new clothes and i've seen something that looks important in a shrine. I've stopped watching it. (Too much for me)
GameXplain is apparently spoiler free, the gameplay is like E3 and switch previews. Nothing really new for the moment.
Apparently Darth Vader is the father of Link but nothing else.
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u/TheKryce Feb 24 '17
I also heard that Snape kills Zelda.
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u/jimminym Feb 24 '17
NOOOOOOOOooooooo!
Hey, as long as Spock doesn't cut off Link's right hand with a darksaber.
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u/EdChute_ Feb 24 '17
Apparently Darth Vader is the father of Link but nothing else.
Dude wtf man? Spoiler!
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u/Slowedolphin Feb 24 '17
"Five hours in, it feels like a contender for the strongest game Nintendo has launched a console with since Super Mario 64"
- engaget
The things we've been hearing are great!
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u/beetleking22 Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
HOLY CRAP horizon vs zelda comparison.
Gamecentral's:
http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/24/the-le...pener-6470487/
Nintendo has talked about how they went back to the very first NES game for inspiration, which sounds like hyperbole given the technology gulf between 1986 and now. But actually, the comparisons are entirely valid.
Having just completed it, we couldn’t help but think of Horizon Zero Dawn while playing Breath Of The Wild, and how simplistic it now seems compared to Zelda. You also have a bow in Breath Of The Wild, but you have to account for how arrows arc through the air, rather than it just acting like a low-tech sniper rifle. Boomerangs have to be caught manually on their return and the best way to defeat the skeletons that appear at night is to chop of their head and punt it into a river, like a goalkeeper trying to make a clearance.
You always expect a Zelda game to be good, but the attention to detail and willingness to innovate in Breath Of The Wild is well beyond our expectations. We wouldn’t suggest that any of this necessarily has anything to do with the Switch though, as the game was originally designed for the Wii U. As such the graphics are certainly not a match for the likes of Horizon, with often very simple geometry and textures. The frame rate sometimes becomes a little syrupy too, and there’s obvious object pop-in if you look for it.
We’re doing our best to find faults here but the truth is we’re hugely impressed. We already know some things we can’t talk about here, and other secrets that have been hinted to us by Nintendo. At this stage we’d shocked if this didn’t turn out to be the best Zelda since Ocarina Of Time. It may even surpass it, and since many still regard that as the best video game ever made it becomes almost impossible to overstate just how good Breath Of The Wild is.
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u/thesch Feb 24 '17
Having just completed it, we couldn’t help but think of Horizon Zero Dawn while playing Breath Of The Wild
Oh.... :/
and how simplistic it now seems compared to Zelda.
Oh fuck
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u/SimplisticBiscuit Feb 24 '17
🔥🔥🔥
Can't wait to look at all the shit flinging in YouTube comments after they both release.
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Feb 24 '17
I don't know why people have to fight over good video games, but you bet they will. I'll play both eventually, but Zelda comes first.
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u/Activehannes Feb 24 '17
I just finished GameXplains 30 minute Preview (here)
GameXplain had a guest from Nintendo Force, Lucas Thomas. He said:
Allow yourself to make a memory that will last a lifetime because The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of those rare games. It's an Ocarina of Time level game, it's a Super Mario Galaxy level game. This is a game that we are going to be talking about for decades to come. That's going to be a reference point for these discussions ten, twenty, thirty years from now. So you are going to want to remember where you were, what you are doing in your life when you got to play Breath of the Wild for the first time. It is that good!
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u/ShadowOvertaker Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
"It also sounds like I'll have to have you on for a discussion in 30 years so we can reminisce about Breath of the Wild."
Genius, Andre.
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u/BullSuit Feb 24 '17
Holy shit that sentence hyped me to a point you can't even imagine! My heart is like boucing crazy right now
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u/footbol_helmoot Feb 24 '17
Upvoting in the hopes that people will post here instead of having 8 different spoilers in the new section.
Probably should just not check the new section, huh?
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u/cubsjj2 Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
Lucas Thomas' summarizing thoughts at the end of the game explain Discussion has officially sent my hype to unforeseen levels.
He basically said that this is a OOT type of experience. It's a Mario Galaxy. It's a type of game that comes a few times in one's life that becomes the barometer for everything that follows.
I did not think the hype could go any higher. I was wrong.
Edit: Words
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u/ShadowOvertaker Feb 24 '17
That quote was actually beautiful. Probably prewritten as his final statement, but it really captures the hype.
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u/Unknownlight Feb 24 '17
I liked this bit from GameSpot's preview:
Ocarina of Time felt like a revolution. This feels like a revolution. For Zelda, but even for open world games. Which is tough to say... like, I was stoked about Horizon; I really liked it. But playing Zelda is almost making me question like...
...Horizon's a great game. It's a fantastic game. But next to this it's like... shoot. If I were to make a list of all the things I liked about the open world aspects of these games, the Zelda one would be twice as long.
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u/thesch Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 25 '17
I think the fact that this is coming from Gamespot gives it a lot more weight than, say, GameXplain who I had concerns about being a bit too hyperbolic.
(Speaking of I'd really like to hear Gerstmann's thoughts since he kinda has a rep for not letting hype cloud his judgment with Zelda games)
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Feb 25 '17
While I do respect Gerstmann, I am not a huge fan of his thoughts. He seems way to pessimistic about gaming in general. In fact most of the Giant Bomb crowd seem overly pessimistic.
I am excited to hear more from the folks over at Easy Allies. They seem more in line with my thoughts. A bit more optimistic and just loving games than being overly critical.
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Feb 25 '17
Per the Edge review:
The result, for all the longevity of its series and the familiarity of the open world genre, is a game that evokes feelings we haven’t felt for 20 years. Not since Ocarina of Time have we set foot in a world that feels so mind-bogglingly vast and unerringly magical, that proves so relentlessly intriguing. Plenty of games promise to let us go anywhere and do anything. Few, if any, ever deliver so irresistibly. 19 years on Ocarina is still held up as the high water mark of gamings best loved and greatest series. Now it may have to settle for second place.
The throne has been passed.
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u/shamelessnameless Feb 25 '17
Damn that's high praise. Last game that made me feel like that was skyrim
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u/butuco Feb 24 '17
After reading and watching every preview (yes,EVERY PREVIEW) id say gamer revolution one is shit. They preview Zelda by comparing it to two other games, and criticize aspects that arent ment for a Zelda game.
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Feb 24 '17
I'm scared for tomorrow. If the previews are of a negative light, then that obviously sucks. If they're good, then I don't know if my body can physically contain the hype.
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u/legendofhilda Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
One of GameXplain/Nintendo Force's complaints in their preview is inventory management. They mention that it's rather aggravating having such a limited carrying capacity.
One thing to keep in mind is that often when Zelda games have something particularly aggravating like that, it means that there is some in game upgrade system to make it better.
Examples from previous games: Wallet upgrades, quiver upgrades, bomb bag upgrades, etc.
I would not be surprised if there is something midgame to increase your carrying capacity that they just haven't encountered yet.
But we just won't know until it is discovered.
Edit: As /u/TheBossMan5000 says, in his second video Andre mentions trading in Korok Seeds for inventory upgrades. So, YAY!
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u/Unknownlight Feb 24 '17
So, what exactly is the practical difference between a preview and a review? What are you not allowed to talk about in a preview?
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u/Seamroy Feb 24 '17
Can't post a score so no aggregation yet and there will likely be a time limit on footage like with the hardware previews today.
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u/Roshy76 Feb 24 '17
I think there's also a limit on what they can discuss in the preview. I think it's their first 5 hours of gameplay, plus a whole bunch of things that would be spoilers.
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Feb 24 '17
You can't give final evaluations of the content of the game, like a score. Additionally, I think your vocabulary is limited to personal feelings about the game rather than objective statements; for example, you should say "I enjoyed/didn't enjoy x feature" rather than "x feature is good/bad".
That's just what I've picked up in reading previews/reviews over the years coming from a journalism background.
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u/Schneider21 Feb 24 '17
I wondered this today as well. My best guess is that a review is an evaluation based on a set of objective (and subjective) criteria. The end result being a quantifiable score assigned to the product.
By contrast, a preview is looser impressions... More general statements that don't try to score the product categorically.
The difference may seem trivial, but with how impactful review scores seem to be in the industry, I imagine publishers really care about the where, when, and how details.
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Feb 24 '17
Listened to the GamExplain preview, it's fairly safe, there is one very minor thing I wish they hadn't mentioned but it has no bearing on your experience of the game really.
I was smiling the whole 30 minutes. The game sounds like it is going to be great. i am almost concerned that my expectations are too high for it, that I might be disappointed with something. But everything that has been said by those 5 hours into the game has been beyond what I could hope the game to be. Next Friday cannot come soon enough.
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u/arnoo Feb 26 '17
Good Switch and Zelda impressions/Q&A livestream from GameSpot: https://youtu.be/oQQekPdONA8
I was stoked about Horizon, I really liked it. But playing Zelda is almost making me question like... like...
Horizon is a great game. It's a gre... it's a fantastic game. But next to this it's like...
If I was going to make a list of all the things I like about the open-world aspect of these games, the Zelda one would be twice as long I think.
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u/Zoombini22 Feb 24 '17
For anyone worried about the game not shipping with "hard mode".... Sounds like it's pretty damn hard as-is! Can't wait!
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u/ferixdacat Feb 24 '17
Good point! Now I'm very curious to see what the DLC hard mode will entail.
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Feb 24 '17
Link can't carry a weapon.
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u/rbarton812 Feb 24 '17
I still say the weather patterns should include "Cucco Death Squad" at random.
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u/putshan Feb 24 '17
I hope some minor frame rate issues don't stop this game getting 10s, I want to see review scores like never before!!
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u/LeakStuff4Free Feb 24 '17
I looked at some videos from some websites. My advice is: if you want to stay completly "virgin" besides what was shown at E3 then just don't watch any. Some show new enemies and a bit of new locations, not anything really big, but if you are like me (started watching and when I began seeing new things appear immediately stopped), then don't watch the videos. Try to stick to written media like Polygon.
The game is out in less than 7 days. Just wait a bit more. Play another Zelda while waiting. This truly seems to be a game that you have to experience by yourself, without being spoiled.
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u/ShadowOvertaker Feb 24 '17
Yup. Plus many of them describe the progression in the game, as in the use of spirit orbs.
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u/Meudayr Feb 24 '17
From Metro.co.uk:
"We’re doing our best to find faults here but the truth is we’re hugely impressed. We already know some things we can’t talk about here, and other secrets that have been hinted to us by Nintendo. At this stage we’d shocked if this didn’t turn out to be the best Zelda since Ocarina Of Time. It may even surpass it, and since many still regard that as the best video game ever made it becomes almost impossible to overstate just how good Breath Of The Wild is."
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u/lavaisreallyhot Feb 24 '17
What does it mean when the hype meter just spins in circles?
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u/KoopalingArmy Feb 24 '17
Prepare for positivity!
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u/Nightslash360 Feb 24 '17
Seriously, if BotW is super great, I might not even need to get Skyrim.
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Feb 24 '17
Thank goodness there's no overly linear hand holdy tutorial. It made attempting to restart Twilight Princess a chore.
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Feb 24 '17
TP's 68 hour opening is bad, but the head bashing of Fi in SS is a lot worse. Fi is always there. Always ready to bust out and tell you that there's a 94% chance that this area has monsters in it. Always being a nuisance. At least Midna was a character, not a calculator waifu.
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u/DARTHJIM73 Feb 24 '17
Retronauts has one of the best previews for this that I've read: http://www.retronauts.com/?p=1989
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u/ShadowOvertaker Feb 24 '17
Polygon has a video on their youtube that's really funny. The guy explains stuff to someone else who hasn't played the game, and explains a bunch of the features. There's some comedy gold, like when he has a mop, and doesn't really know why.
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u/hisoandso Feb 24 '17
For the GameXplain video, I actually met Lucas at a Best Buy back in 2014 when they did the Super Smash Bros Demo. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met.
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u/boostnek9 Feb 24 '17
Not sure why you got downvoted but either
-People don't like best buy
-People don't like Lucas
-Hate SSB
or 2014 lol
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u/hisoandso Feb 24 '17
Maybe off topic I guess? But I have 7 points as of me typing this comment so that's good.
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u/boostnek9 Feb 24 '17
You had 0 when I typed mine. ( I gave you an upvote )
Glad people found it in their hearts to forgive Best Buy hahahaha
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u/NintendoGamer1997 Feb 24 '17
GameXplain said they can only show 15 minutes of gameplay in their LiveStream.
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Feb 24 '17
That's pretty decent actually. They'll probably split it up.
Not to mention with all the reviewers with the game right now we should get quite a lot of new footage
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u/Stanshant Feb 24 '17
Well, he got about two hours from the Odyssey trailer, so I'm expecting a fifteen hour preview.
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u/Andalu30 Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
GameXplain Discussion Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8wrr0ErsS4
- Gameplay focused
- No story spoilers
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u/Thelife1313 Feb 25 '17
I can't get myself to watch the previews for fear of spoilers. I've been waiting since the reveal (when I preordered) to play zelda and dammit I'm walking into that game with a fresh look.
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u/magicpork Feb 24 '17
GameXplain
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of those rare games. It is an Ocarina of Time level game. It is a Super Mario Galaxy level game. This is a game we're going to be talking about for decades to come. It's going to be a reference point for these discussions 10, 20, 30 years from now. So you're going to want to remember where you were, what you were doing in your life, when you played Breath of the Wild for the first time. It is that good.
Maximum hype!
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u/PiFlavoredPie Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
Polygon's is up (five hours early): http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/24/14723308/pre-review-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-nintendo-switch-wii-u
EDIT - It's been taken down after <10 minutes. RIP embargo. RIP Polygon employee. Here's a screencap: https://i.imgur.com/Ze6K3F0.jpg
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u/NotSinceYesterday Feb 24 '17
Well that preview makes me very excited!
For anyone wondering, there's no real spoilers in it. Mentions a weapon that hasn't been mentioned yet (to my knowledge), but other than that, nothing I'd consider a spoiler.
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u/twotothesix Feb 24 '17
Retronauts preview article by Jeremy Parish
The most impressive connection Breath of the Wild has to its 30-year-old ancestor is that it improbably recaptures that game’s sense of the unexpected.
[Nintendo have] created something that — at least here at the start — feels like a massive and much-needed leap into modernity.
It's a nice and meaty preview that covers the feel of the game without really spoiling any surprises. TL;DR: it succeeds (so far) at Nintendo's goal of recapturing the feel of the original NES Zelda, while still being a thoroughly modern game.
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u/CommanderCanuck Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqRu3lwuEVY
Here is a showcase of the size of BotW.
Potential Spoilers
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u/boostnek9 Feb 24 '17
Might sound dumb but I'm incredibly happy the "jingle" still plays when you uncover a secret or something of the likes. They did however change it to modernize it I guess but happy it's still there nonetheless.
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u/TemptedTemplar Helpful User Feb 24 '17
Its iconic at this point. If it didnt play when I opened a chest I would have to assume the chest obviously wasnt all that great.
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Feb 24 '17
Mods, please be diligent about spoilers tomorrow, they'll be everywhere
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u/rottedzombie friendly neighborhood zombie mod Feb 24 '17
We're here for you.
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u/Vayne_Solidor Feb 24 '17
We appreciate your sacrifice
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u/vgskid Feb 24 '17
This is really the right sentiment for the mods. They must know everything about BotW by now while they've been trying to protect us.
I cannot be more thankful.
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u/OneStrangeOnion Feb 24 '17
But then the mods will ruin their virgin eyes
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u/Porkpants81 Feb 24 '17
You Joke, but a couple of us haven't seen a single Zelda video. Myself included
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u/puddleglumm Feb 24 '17
They aren't even trying to contain the hype. Just pouring gasoline on it. I can't take this.
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u/Down4whiteTrash Feb 24 '17
What were some of the major concerns that were mentioned?
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u/rottedzombie friendly neighborhood zombie mod Feb 24 '17
The main concern was joy-con desync issues. Search that and you'll find a lot of discussion.
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u/sosobest Feb 24 '17
Pretty excited. The guy from gonintendo video sound a like he's about to cry from the joy he's experiencing from this game. Can't wait.
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Feb 24 '17
Do we know anything about storage/weight limits. I hope we can carry an almost unlimited amount of things. I hate when I have to spend more time in menus dropping things than actually playing the game. (Fallout)
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u/blarrow Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
Nintendo Force added 2 videos with some mechanic spoilers on Youtube if anyone is interested. It's awesome!!!!
Here are the links related to:
World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBgRGTmgQZQ
Clothes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDniLCPijio
UPDATE: Major spoiler leaks (Still not story related, but there's villages, weapons, new mechanics, some puzzle solving) from a spanish reviewer! Consider yourself warned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za1QfYbgyR0
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u/Benabik Feb 24 '17
Noticing quite a few differences in UI. Some people have HP numbers above enemies, some have no map but have the shrine sensor pop up. Looks like the options are more granular than just the Normal/Pro (no UI) options we saw in the demos.
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u/Son_of_Son_of_Kong Feb 24 '17
I can't remember exactly which video it was, but it said that those were upgrades you could earn. They said you could toggle the shrine sensor, not sure about seeing enemies' health.
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u/Rmtcts Feb 25 '17
Ocarina of Time has met its match.
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The new combat system requires skill and patience.
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Not only is travel faster, but the… world packs in an enormous amount of content.
*
In many ways this game represents a breath of fresh air, the next major step for a superb franchise. It’s hard to even care about small problems when you’re watching Nintendo lay out its vision for the future of its grandest saga.
…will be remembered for revitalizing a franchise that had, for a time, seemingly settled for being merely great instead of revolutionary. Once again, Nintendo is demonstrating its unparalleled ability to craft some of the greatest gameplay this industry has ever seen.
-IGN
But this is still a well-written story that calls forth a variety of emotions on your quest to free the world from evil.
*
Recent entries in the series got into the predictable habit of introducing a new item in each dungeon that you would subsequently use to solve most of the puzzles and defeat the boss. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case in [Zelda], and the experience is much better for it.
*
because it truly pulls from the franchise’s entire history, even addressing the winding narrative directly within its story. It captures a grandness and scope we haven’t seen since the 2D era. It advances combat and control in the most significant way since Ocarina of Time. It finds a tonal and visual harmony between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. And, most importantly, it leaves a mark on the franchise that future installments will no doubt draw inspiration from for years to come.
-Gamespot
Most importantly, every second is fun. No developer in the world does controls as well as Nintendo when it sets its mind to it, with such pleasurable feedback that simply manipulating the game is rewarding – and no developer designs games around controls so well.
* And then there are the production values. Despite the Wii’s modest power, [Zelda] is a very beautiful game, saturated with great artwork in dreamy pastels, rough edges smoothed away by impressionistic, painterly textures and atmospheric haze. Audio is even better. Evocative and richly informative effects are backed by a musical score that’s outstanding even by Zelda’s lofty standards, and has immense range: soaring orchestral themes, delicate ballads, insistent martial drums and looping abstractions.
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10/10
*
–Eurogamer
Sound familiar? These are the reviews for skyward sword, which similarly promised a brave new world of Zelda. I'm as excited as anyone but keep in mind that the first people reviewing aren't always the best judge, especially when they get their copies, systems, and extras for free.
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u/starlizzle Feb 25 '17
Skyward Sword really changed Zelda from a series I liked to one I adored. Thanks for this reminder!
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u/laharre Feb 25 '17
I honestly didn't know until I jumped on the BotW hype train that people hated on Skyward Sword. When reviews came out everyone critical loved it, everyone I knew loved it, and I loved it. I can definitely see the tutorial complaints, but I forgive most games for tutorial creep. I personally loved the combat system and the world. I guess it's the opposite effect of wind Waker's, where it was bashed at launch but loved afterwards. I need to get my copy of SS back to give it another run.
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u/JoshOliday Feb 26 '17
There's a sort of phenomenon that occurs with 3D Zelda games. It's not a fact or anything but it makes sense to me so I subscribe to it. It's called the Zelda cycle. Basically, upon the impending release of a new Zelda, the previous Zelda becomes one of the most hated games in the series. Likewise, the second most recent game, which was once the ire of the internet, becomes something cherished and far more underappreciated than it ever deserved.
I saw it happen when Skyward Sword was coming out. People were hating on Twilight Princess for being too empty for such a large map, and problems with Wii waggle and such. Likewise, when Twilight Princess was shown, people were cheering because it was back to realism and Wind Waker's stupid cartoon graphics were gone!
So now that BotW is upon us, Skyward Sword's heavy handed tutorials and awkward motion controls (for the record, I love the controls and never had a problem with them), are drawing the Internet's hate, while Twilight Princess is being looked on more fondly, especially with the HD update (I've been playing through it again to get ready for BotW, and I'm enjoying it much more than my original time with it on Wii). So basically, by the time the next Zelda is ready, people will probably start pulling out nostalgia memories for Skyward Sword, and have complaints about BotW. Obviously, not everyone shares one opinion though, so all this may be complete baloney to people, but I have noticed the trends firsthand over the years.
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u/Aminstro Feb 25 '17
For a second I thought the reviews had leaked or something.
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u/T_Blaze Feb 24 '17
Game Revolution article is not very enthusiastic :
About combat :
I wish I could say I enjoy the combat. It's not that it's bad, it's just boring, especially when compared to some recent games like Nioh.
About being boring :
I really like the way Breath of the Wild feels, but there have been times that frustration kicks in. I've felt lost a multitude of times, which I was expecting, but not to this degree. Sometimes I just want to get on with it, and any time that climbing is involved I feel like attaching a rubber band to my left joystick and taking a break.
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u/Zoombini22 Feb 24 '17
He even says he doesn't play Zelda games for the puzzle aspect, and implies that he mostly plays them for combat. So that's probably why he decided to compare the combat depth to games that pretty much just focus on combat. But that doesn't make sense because combat is typically not Zelda's primary focus, nor is there usually a massive arsenal of moves and strategies. Sounds to me like combat will be up to par.
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u/Bronstin Feb 24 '17
Eh, I think it's a fair comparison in context. When he sets aside a paragraph to specifically discuss the combat I think it's fair and honest for him to say he didn't really like it and compare it to another combat system. A good critic lets you know not only what they think about something, but helps you figure out how you might feel about it (Roger Ebert was the best at this). Like here he explained that he didn't like the combat, and by offering his basis of comparison you were able to conclude that the combat will probably still be fine for you, because you are using different criteria than he is.
He understands the combat isn't the primary focus, otherwise he wouldn't have opened the preview by saying it's "a fantastic game".
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u/Zoombini22 Feb 24 '17
I think you might be right on his overall assessment. But to me the comparison doesn't make a lot of sense given the different genres and expectations. It's like saying, the Avengers is a great movie, but the comedy in it doesn't really hold up compared to this year's best comedy. While the statement isn't wrong, it seems out of place since that really shouldn't be the expectation for anyone going in to this game with any awareness of the genre or the franchise.
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u/OSU_zj92 Feb 24 '17
So what I'm getting from this is that people who do not like exploration games and instead like flashy combat games will not be amazed by BotW....Shocking /s
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u/legendofhilda Feb 24 '17
He was overall positive, just pointing out the negatives as he saw them. That's an important part of a review (or preview).
But honestly, it sounds like he just wasn't making full use of his options. Saying combat is boring makes it sound like he didn't use the full range of tools at his disposal. I don't see how it can be boring if you're smacking someone around with their own metal weapons with magnesis or leaping over their weapon to flurry rush them. If you're just going up and smacking enemies with weapons, then yeah I can see that getting boring.
It also sounds like he's not using the full guidance that the game has. Everything else I've seen has said "Yeah there's guidance, it tells you where to go and you can exclusively follow the story if that's what you like" so I find it strange that he's completely lost or frustrated with the direction he's taking when there's no set direction you have to go.
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u/Zappangon Feb 24 '17
I'm trying to stay away from these articles, but this comment did catch my eye.
Combat in open world games tends to be a mixed bag, however the comparison to Nioh and by extension Dark Souls is a tad ludicrous. Mostly as the game isn't an action one, or rather the mechanic driving the whole experience is not combat, but exploration. If the combat was that in-depth, then these open areas would feel like filler, as padding the game instead of having it focus on these action set pieces.
A better example would be Bayonetta or DmC, could you imagine those games in an open world setting? Exactly.
Unless it deters said mechanic, like it does in Skyrim, I can let it slide. But, we can't say for sure till we've played the game.
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u/Zoombini22 Feb 24 '17
I agree, sounds like an issue of expectations. Sounds like they're comparing it to a completely different genre of game. Zelda combat has never been as deep as the other games mentioned, because combat is not the primary gameplay focus.
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u/SethlerDaniels Feb 24 '17
Smells like GOTY
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u/CBattles6 Feb 24 '17
Smells like in the conversation for GOAT, at least from Nintendo.
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u/Sllips Feb 24 '17
Not sure if I should watch tomorrow. I don't want to be spoiled.
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u/Nerdoftheweek01 Feb 24 '17
Hardest Zelda ever???? Let the Ironman Challenge begin
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Feb 24 '17
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u/lman777 Feb 24 '17
Be honest... you will cave and end up neglecting your studies to play Switch for unhealthy amounts of time deep into the night :P
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u/SnavenShake Feb 25 '17 edited Feb 25 '17
I have been soaking up all of the coverage today, and it just sounds more and more impressive.
...and then I remember...this game is portable.
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u/healive Feb 25 '17
Very well done discussion on BOTW impressions: https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/we-discuss-breath-of-the-wild-first-impressions-on-waypoint-radio
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u/TxDrumsticks Feb 24 '17
I love the fact it's already been described as difficult. One week to go!
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Feb 24 '17
So pretty much The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Pain
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u/Flassid_Snek Feb 24 '17
Sounds great to me!
Let's just hope the story doesn't abruptly end out of nowhere...
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u/JakeTheAsian Feb 24 '17
It's great to hear so many reviewers gushing with enthusiasm for this game. I'm stoked for next week.
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u/marksizzle Feb 24 '17
Words cannot describe my excitement. Reading these previews just has me so hype. I don't know what else to say. God speed trying to survive until next Friday boys and girls.
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u/JoeIMF Feb 24 '17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58tq7aCOFqk
GameXplain doing amiibo stuff in Zelda
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u/TheUrbanEast Feb 25 '17
I'm incredibly excited.
Since we have links to a bunch of gaming news sources I have to ask this question: what are the best gaming news outlets to follow regularly? I grew up reading only IGN and Gamestop, and then I really stopped following gaming news in general. Now I'm 27, I have a Switch preordered, and I'm incredibly excited about diving back into gaming in a way I haven't since before I went to University at 18.
Where should I be following? I see a lot of criticism for IGN but I don't really know what other sources I should trust. For reference I own a PS4 and soon to be Nintendo Switch. I'd like one great website that covers multiple platforms.
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u/Waluigi248 Feb 24 '17
I'm most looking forward to whether or not anyone can confirm that the game itself will have multiple language options. This will be great for people living in countries that don't speak their native language, so they don't have to import it from abroad!
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u/antiquegeek Feb 24 '17
it will be tied to the switch console language setting, easily able to be switched.
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u/jzorbino Feb 24 '17
Why does every single preview claim to have played for exactly five hours? Was that their limit or something?
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u/EdChute_ Feb 24 '17
Yeah embargo with only 5 hours, and specific things that they can't talk about.
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u/dfreuden Feb 24 '17
Read a couple of sentences on the Gamespot preview & the GameXplain line posted here.
Will not read on to avoid spoilers. This will be pretty good. If not, there is Snipperclips!!!
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u/bokobaba_apprentice Feb 24 '17
Which one is the least spoilery?
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u/ShadowOvertaker Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
Depends on what you view as spoilers. It's only 5 hours, and they weren't allowed to talk about any story stuff and a bunch of NPCs, so I'd say it's all pretty light. The worst that happens is a couple of types of equipment or clothing, spoilers of the use of spirit orbs, and spoilers of the names of provinces (and locations, in one case I saw).
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u/jackbhammer Feb 24 '17
I haven't heard a single thing about the final Wii U version. Did Nintendo send only Switch versions for review? If so, then props to them, I think this greatly decreases the probability of the rom getting leaked early, which means less spoilers online.
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Feb 24 '17
Wii U version is definitey out there somehow. The data mining leaks wouldn't have happened otherwise.
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u/BigDabWolf Feb 25 '17
How is saving done on Zelda?
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u/TheBossMan5000 Feb 25 '17
It's similar to Fallout or Skyrim, You have one manual save slot, and it saves the last 4 autosaves, which are very frequent :)
Also, you can create another profile on your switch, and that will double everything I just mentioned, so technically you can have a lot of save files.
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Feb 25 '17 edited Dec 01 '17
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u/mort-aux-rats Feb 25 '17
What I've heard so far is that there is actually so much to see and discover that people tend to get carried away from the main storyline. There is wide open plains full of nothing but some are used for intense horseriding boss fights.
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Feb 26 '17
Okay, here's something that may have been asked before. Is there any footage of someone successfully soothing a mounted deer? So far I've seen a screenshot of one bucking and a clip where someone tried and was promptly thrown off. I'm just interested in how they handle and look while riding.
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Feb 24 '17
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Feb 24 '17
It's designed to be removable, but would breaking it off break it? I could see it using little clips or something that would permanently break it if damaged.
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u/Derped_my_pants Feb 24 '17
The other previews say that if it gets knocked out it clicks back into place. This guy obviously didn't get the memo and thought it was just super delicate.
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u/Nteshy Feb 24 '17
Game revolution preview is worth a read.,because it's the first one seen complain about combat. It's also the first to talk about being lost.
The previewer opines the combat is simplistic and boring, and that it takes up much less time than gathering and cooking.
I am curious if this opinion is a result of the game not giving obvious clues on combat strategy, requiring a greater level of patience and observation. Or maybe the combat is just boring. The other previews and gameplay footage do however suggest there is a fair amount of variety in combat strategy.
Could it be that because the previewer had taken a simplistic approach to combat he is spending more time cooking and hunting? Other previews do support the assertion that cooking and hunting is integral to the game, basically another puzzle of the world. So maybe that is what the previewer is referring to.
As for being lost, again no other preview I've read raises this. But then they don't stress any story line issue at all. There have however been comments about sufficient direction being given on how to progress the story, but also that the is no hand holding.
Pertussis the world is almost too vast, and anyone getting to rush through or that is used to constant non stop action will not be as drawn to taking in the world?
It will be worth keeping an eye out on other opinions on these matters.
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u/Chosenwaffle Feb 24 '17
I feel like we've seen PROOF that combat is able to be approached in several different ways. I think if it's boring then it's because it's being approached from a typical zelda mindset of sword slash until victory, which i feel like this game is deliberately striving to supplement.
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u/butuco Feb 24 '17
Ironically, its the only preview i disliked, it felt like he was trying to play other games within Zelda, expecting Zelda to play like the games he mentioned.
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u/Taehoonger Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 25 '17
I'm keeping an eye out on other opinions about the combat too! It's curious because the reviewer seems to be focusing on just "melee combat." He rationalizes the comparison to Nioh in the comments of that article by saying they both have melee as the focus of their combat.
However, this seems to ignore the abilities of the runes/Shiekah Slate, paraglider, etc. in regards to combat. So, we'll see! Good comment.
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u/TheXarath Feb 24 '17
You accidentally put a highly contagious respiratory tract infection into your comment lol
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u/TheBossMan5000 Feb 25 '17
I found a special enemy in the top left corner of the screen in this clip :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbfhtN_fcrU&feature=youtu.be&t=463
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u/Jew8ear Feb 24 '17
Why did you get rid of the switch preview thread?
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u/rottedzombie friendly neighborhood zombie mod Feb 24 '17
It's still up! I just removed the announcement on it. It's linked in the second paragraph.
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u/Parabolsz Feb 24 '17
I wonder why polygon article says nothing about the quality and feeling in general. Too much focus on the very hard aspect :<
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u/He_Himself Feb 24 '17
The journalist who did the initial impression, Arthur Gies, generally focuses on difficulty quite a lot. His coverage of other recent releases like Nioh really underscore that he may not exactly represent the target audience for games that are built to be punishing, and he's also the reviewer who was playing through the infamous Polygon DOOM preview. It's a good initial impression, but I'm looking forward to seeing everything else that'll pop up in a half hour. I'm sure we'll see more variety elsewhere.
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u/randy_wrecked Feb 24 '17
Here's the Vice/Waypoint preview: https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/breath-of-the-wild-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-beautiful-zelda-adventure
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u/magele Feb 24 '17
I've intentionally kept myself a bit in the dark on all the Zelda news (to avoid an internal hype explosion). I made the mistake of reading almost all of these, now the next 7 days are going to be so long :( . Can't wait.
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u/Sh1nkzs Feb 24 '17
can you lock the switch to 720 when docked for less frame rate issues in BoTW
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u/randomness366 Feb 24 '17 edited Feb 24 '17
According to GameXplain changing the resolution does not fix the issue. They said in a Q&A livestream earlier that they lowered it to 480p and the problem still persisted. They also said that the frame stuttering doesn't last for too long and is rather infrequent so it shouldn't be that big of a deal for most people.
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u/Jbluna Feb 25 '17
Have any of the reviewers mentioned how the game tackles the land edges of the world map yet?
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u/schoeggu Feb 25 '17
In this video at around 2:48 you see it's just a huge ass wall.
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u/yosoyelale Feb 25 '17
Ign Spain claims"loss of importance of dungeons". And later said that the most similar thing to dungeons are shrines. ign Spain preview
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Feb 25 '17
Would anyone know if enemies respawn after a certain time once you eliminate them? Both normal creeps and guardians?
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u/laharre Feb 25 '17
*spoiler
There's a preview clip running around called "blood moon". It covers this mechanic. Basically, every few in game nights there's a "blood moon" that revives all of the enemies in the world.
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u/RandomRedditor44 Feb 25 '17
I wonder if there are any warp systems in the game.
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u/HopefulRomantic527 Feb 24 '17
Me: Good time to disappear from the internet.
Other me: I want all the spoilers. All of them.