THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD
Well, this one was kind of an easy choice- perhaps the easiest of them all. The Legend of Zelda was due for a reinvention after the underwhelming Skyward Sword, and Nintendo decided that this time, it was time to tear up the rulebook. Breath of the Wild came along and took the series in a completely new direction. Gone were the traditional dungeons, gone the item-based progression, gone the excessively linear direction of recent Zelda titles. No, in Breath of the Wild, total and absolute freedom was the name of the game. Once you’re let lose in the massive world of Hyrule within the first few minutes, you’re free to do whatever the hell you want. It’s hard to think of open world games that have handled exploration and traversal as well as Breath of the Wild does. The pure magic of discovery in this game is unparalleled, and the way it keeps surprising you thanks to its superbly reactive physics and chemistry engines gives it an enduring quality that’s hard to come by in any game. Breath of the Wild has often been called one of the best games ever made in the short time that it’s been out in the world- we’re inclined to agree.
