If you have friends, responsibilities, or a life outside of games, you may you may have missed last night's epicly lengthy "Nintendo Treehouse Live", where a bunch of Nintendo reps spent six hours streaming gameplay from the latest Zelda game to the world. Luckily for you, though, there are no such issues for the staff at Everybody Plays - and we invested our evening poring over gameplay, analysing footage, and taking notes, so you don't have to.
The latest in a long line of Zelda games, Link's latest adventure, now officially subtitled "Breath of the Wild", certainly looked impressive, with a scale never before seen in a Zelda game, and tonnes of new features. Here's ten things we learnt yesterday:
The Release Window
While specific date is still being kept a closely guarded secret, Nintendo announced that Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be launching in March 2017, simultaneously on the Wii U, and Nintendo's next home console, the secretive machine currently codenamed NX. Inadvertently confirming their next console's release date too (previously, Nintendo had announced it would be launching at some point in 2017 - now it seems almost certain to launch in March), this isn't the first time a Zelda game has launched cross-platform. The GameCube and Wii did a similar thing with Zelda: Twilight Princess, where players game launched on both the GameCube, which was in its dying days, and the Wii version, which had just launched. While this gave players the choice between a regular Zelda game on the GameCube, or a motion-control upgraded version on the Wii, it's not yet clear whether there'll be any major differences between the Wii U and NX versions - although with the NX rumoured to be a lot more powerful than the NX, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed it looks even more spectacular.
Free Climbing
This is one of those things people have been going mental about online, without actually explaining what it is, or what it means. With a gigantic open world to explore as you see fit, Zelda: Breath of the Wild has a huge amount of terrain to cover - and you'll be able to cross it in several different ways. If you need to reach a point at the top of a cliff, you could jump on a horse to take the scenic route - or, you could simply climb your way up the rugged cliff face. Almost any nigh on vertical surface in the game is climbable, from the walls of someone's house, to trees, churches, castles, and even the aforementioned cliffs - as you can see in the picture above. Unfortunately, there is a stamina bar, which means the amount of time you can spend climbing in one go will be somewhat limited - but it should still allow a great amount of flexibility.
Sheikah Slate
With a humongous open world to explore, finding your way around can sometimes be a bit tricky - but luckily, in Breath of the Wild, Link has a trusty companion device to rely on. Yes, in this medieval fantasy style world, Link has a kind of PDA/smartphone style tablet known as the Sheikah Stone, which is immensely useful for getting around. Not only does it function as a map, where you can leave markers to remind yourself of things you've passed - but it also doubles up as a "scope", to let you zoom in on distant places. If you find something you like the look of, at the touch of a button, you're able to place a "pin", which will work as a checkpoint in game, making it so much easier to get your bearings.
Shrines
While there will still be traditional dungeons in Breath of the Wild, the fact Nintendo have decided to stick a gigantic open world in the game means they've had to fill it with something - and that something is over 100 shrines. Working kind of like mini-dungeons, these shrines are filled to the brim with puzzles, to provide a very different pace to the gameplay. Rather than bashing enemies, you'll have to put your grey matter to the test, and make us of what the game calls "runes" - essentially special powers that help you tackle puzzles. Whether you're dropping a bomb through a pipe to fire it through a cannon, lifting a giant metal plate using the Sheikah Slate's magnet rune, or having to be a dab hand with a bow and arrow, the shrines offer classic Zelda gameplay aplenty - and for those who prefer their dungeons to be bigger, more involved affairs, there will apparently still be traditional dungeons too.
No Rupees or Hearts From Grass
Run, little boar!
"Heresy!", we hear you cry - and you're not wrong. If you've ever played a Zelda game before, you'll know that should you take any damage, help is never far away - all you need do is hack and slash at some nearby grass, and as if by magic, some hearts will almost certainly appear, along with some handy rupees, the game's currency. Not any more. Now, hacking and slashing at the grass will simply do the Hyrule gardener's work for him - and you'll have to look elsewhere for your health fix. Luckily, the hearts have been replaced with items and food that you can forage - almost everywhere you turn in the game, you'll see mushrooms, apples, and many other items of food that can be picked up, and chowed down upon in your hour of need. If you're that way inclined, you can also "hunt" animals, as any creature you kill will turn into a chunk of meat, or a drumstick, that you can then cook. Which brings us on to our next point.
Crafting and Campfires
Another first for the Zelda series, Link can now craft and cook, either using the pots he finds scattered around the world, or on a campfire of his own creation. Using the game's menu, Link can hold up to five items at once - all you need to do is get him to hold some wood, and some flint, then drop them, and whack the flint with a metal object to create your very own campfire, on which you can cook any meat you own - or roast any vegetables - to make them give you extra health. If you come across a pot, you can combine various ingredients together, to create uber powerful concoctions - skewers, potions and the like - that not only fully restore your health, but give you extra hearts to play with too - something that's bound to come in handy for those tricky boss fights.
Weapon Degradation
Out of every new feature announced for Breath of the Wild, this is the one we're least certain about. Whereas before, you could whack almost anything in the game without even so much as denting your sword, now, every weapon Link picks up will eventually break - and that's often going to mean having to switch weapons out mid-combat. While you can nick enemies' weapons, this has the potential to be more of a faff than a plus point, as it's hard to see what it really "adds" to the gameplay, bar to potentially make things that little bit more frustrating.
Clothing
It's not only your weapons you'll need to change, though. Hyrule is a pretty big place, and with it comes a host of different environments - including some snow capped mountains. If you venture up the mountain without a way to keep warm, you'll quickly start to lose health - and so you'll need some sort of back up plan. That can be as strange as carrying a flaming torch, or as simply as changing into a quilted shirt, which offers cold resistance, and should keep you warm when the snow starts falling.
Snowboarding
Having to change your shirt is one thing, but it's not exactly cool, is it. Well, this is. Once you've scaled the mountain, and are in need of a quick way down, there's no need to cautiously tread your way down the precarious slopes - you can simply hop on your shield, and use it as a snowboard to shoot down the hill. Cool!
Naked Link
We thought we'd save the best one til last. If you're feeling more than a little bit crazy, forget about wrapping up warm - why not simply forego your clothes altogether? Yes, Link doesn't actually have to wear any clothes (or at least, any shirt) for the entirety of the game - so if ogling blonde svelte blokes is your thing, well, Zelda: Breath of the Wild has you covered.
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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be out March 2017 for the Wii U and NX.
