JB

‘Finished’ this last night. Well, I beat Ganondorf. I’ve seen all of the sky islands but still got 5 shrines to find. Can’t be bothered with the depths, caves, koroks or upgrading armour. Anyway, turns out that Ganondorf has just been sitting in his cave chilling for the entire game. The final fight kind of sums up the game as a whole. Should be epic but it’s just boring and repetitive. Overall it’s a 5/10 game at best. Started off amazingly but quickly became insanely repetitive. Seems like it tries to test the player in terms of endurance rather than actual challenge. Any difficulty is artificial - items not dropping, enemies being sponges etc. Terrible story and main quest, more or less empty skies, depths all looks the same and takes the piss with how exactly the same as BotW the overworld is, yet somehow manages to be worse. Story also retcons any Zelda stories that have come before, if anybody is bothered about that sort of thing. Won’t be playing this again.

There’s a side quest in this game where the task is to stand on a pillar from sunset to sunrise. I thought it was taking the piss but I started it and that’s literally all it is. I’ve never seen anything like it in a game. I’ve just put my controller down and am writing this post while it goes on. It’s been nearly 10 minutes of doing nothing. Utterly bizarre. There have been a few things that have made me think Nintendo are purposely taking the piss. I’ve hardly been playing this game but I’m done now. I might do the final boss at some point but then I’ll probably sell it. It’s been too much of a chore to ever consider playing again. Been to a few regions where there’s actually less than in BotW. It’s absolute shite. Don’t waste your time or money if you haven’t already got it.

Completely agree with the above posts. Despite all my complaints, I’m still playing it, so there’s stuff that I’m enjoying. I think it’s a game where you need to make your own fun. My favourite moments have been things like figuring out how to get up to and between sky islands. But even that can get boring and nearly all of the sky islands are empty ruins, anyway. There’s almost nothing good or interesting about the main quest and the story is awful. Frustratingly, there’s so much potential. I just want to be presented with something entertaining to tackle, not have to activate terminals, walk through identical caves and fight the same boring enemies constantly.

Can’t believe it - just stumbled into the final boss battle. Another character specifically says that he won’t be there and even gives another probable location. What an underwhelming experience this game has been. They’ve taken one or two great ideas and stretched and repeated them to breaking point. Other than that, there’s a complete lack of imagination to it. There are other great ideas but the execution has been poor (how did they manage to make riding on a robot’s back a complete ballache?!) Of course, it’s tricky to judge this objectively. I grew up with Zelda and it’s been by far my favourite game series but if this is what it’s going to be now, I’m out. I’m all for open world but there needs to be a lot more variety and more actual highlights, rather than hundreds of hours doing the same thing again and again and again.

Agree with nearly all that. I’m enjoying it enough to carry on at the moment but it’s around a 70:30 chore-to-fun ratio. The 10/10 reviews don’t seem to be in tune with player feedback and I don’t think it will ultimately be as well regarded. Despite its size, it’s a really lazy game imo. They’ve followed the BotW template to a tee to the point where some gameplay elements are exactly the same. My biggest issue with BotW was how repetitive it was and that it seemed like the same handful of areas copy-and-pasted again and again. This game has doubled down on that. Wells, caves, the depths, even the sky are all filler. The overworld is too familiar to generate much excitement and enemies still attack and are defeated in the exact same ways. Shrines are instantly forgettable and there are no genuine highlights gameplay-wise. Ultimately, they seem to have hung their hat on ultra hand, with the game around it an afterthought. It’ll generate millions of YouTube videos, though, so maybe that was the plan.

He’s so, so good. Already one of the best Villa players I’ve seen. There are little things he does in 50/50 situations to either win or retain the ball when he has no right to that just show a higher level of thinking and speed of thought. The subtlest of touches or movements that make it look like he’s seeing the game in slow motion.

The incident that stood out to me was the back pass. I didn’t see a replay so I assume I’m missing something (or don’t know the rule properly) so would be interested to know why it wasn’t called. It seemed at the time to be the most obvious example of a defender intentionally clipping it back to the keeper.

Would love for McGinn to score today.

I’m enjoying some aspects of the game but I did the Fire Temple last night and it was the worst, least fun thing I’ve ever done in a Zelda game. Truly awful design. Yunobo also kept standing in the way so there were times that I couldn’t even see what I was doing, or he wouldn’t keep up so I’d have to backtrack to get him to use his power. And once again, it’s not a dungeon and it’s not massive. Not sure why the developers lied. It’s a shame as the approach to it made it look really cool. Pretty gutted about this game after looking forward to it for so long and after how much I enjoyed the opening few hours. I’d hoped it would clear up some of the issues I had with BotW but instead it’s doubled down on them. Quantity over quality.

I never thought I’d say this about a Zelda game but same here. Bit of a rant and perhaps mildly spoilery:

Hmm. Just done my first “dungeon”…

One issue I do have with it is Korok seeds again. Disappointed there isn’t a better/new way of expanding your inventory, rather than having to repeat the same four or five puzzles hundreds of times.

There are a couple of creatures you can catch to make elixirs that stop you from slipping in the rain. Have a look in caves and around Kakariko.

1:38am. I’ve got to be up with the kids and take them to swimming lessons in just a few hours but I can barely tear myself away. This game is utterly incredible so far. I’m

Incredible so far. Significant graphical upgrade is striking. It looks great, which really didn’t come through in any of the trailers. Ultrahand is incredibly intuitive, with just the right amount of nudging in the right direction early on.

Yep, definitely. Saw it myself last night. Just requires an Online membership.

For anyone looking to buy BotW and TotK, Nintendo Online members can buy a game voucher for £84 which is valid for any two games from a decent list. Both Zeldas are available on it so saves a fair bit of cash.

Not reading any reviews in full as I want to go in as blind as possible but these words from the top of the Guardian’s make it sound fairly promising: ”Occasionally a game comes along that makes you look at life in a whole new way.” Blimey.

I really can’t **** wait for this. Insanely excited. Feel like a kid getting Ocarina of Time again. I had my issues with BotW but by all accounts, this game takes all the best things about it and goes above and beyond. Plus an awful lot of new stuff, including: My main issue is going to be, as a grown adult with responsibilities, finding enough time to play it. Could do with another lockdown tbh…

That’s probably as bad a ‘decision’ as I’ve seen this season because it wasn’t open to the ‘subjective’ defence. It was provably, measurably, objectively wrong. If the BBC data is accurate there were six substitution stoppages (not including Bailey at HT), which alone should cover a minimum of 3 minutes. (Unless the 30 seconds thing is a myth?) Not that I think we would’ve scored if we’d played all night but it was such obvious bullshit that the ref really should be held accountable, on principle.

Bah. One of the most frustrating games I’ve watched in ages. Could’ve played all night and not scored. We weren’t bad but lacked composure and a decent bounce in and around the box. Had enough chances to win comfortably. I had a feeling that the levels needed for the Newcastle performance might make us feel a bit flat afterwards.

I don’t recall as little as 3 minutes being added on to any game we’ve played this season. What the ****?!

Going to be one of those days. Just can’t see us scoring.

And breathe! I can’t remember being as happy about a result and performance in a league match. Possibly the 7-2 but it’s close. Incredible stuff.

Yeeeeeeessssss! Moreno the best player on the pitch