The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwas 2017’s game of the year for many fans and critics.Nintendo’s open-world action adventure epicwas praised as one of gaming’s most immersive experiences, allowing players to take their own route to defeating Ganon and returning the Divine Beasts to their natural state.
At 2017’s Game Awards,Breath of the Wildpicked up multiple wins, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, and Best Action/Adventure Game, while being nominated for multiple other awards. To put it simply,Breath of the Wildwas a game enjoyed by many and is still used as a comparitive for AAA open-world released, with fans noting the differences betweenBreath of the WildandRed Dead Redemption 2’sapproaches to horseback riding, for example.
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It seems that it’s not just Nintendo fans that can appreciateBreath of the Wildthough, as gaming titan and platform owner Xbox recently took to Twitter to share its appreciation of the open-world adventure title. Xbox had initially begun a thread asking gamers what game makes them feel right at home. User @rogvc answered that question withBreath of the Wild, stating that they love being able to just run around and explore. Xbox agreed with the sentiment, repling that “BotW offers such a relaxing sandbox experience (punctuated with the occasional death laser).”
Xbox’s praise forBreath of the Wildwas met with positive responses from fans. One user wrote “this is one of many reasons why I love Xbox, they show respect and love to games in general.” This is not the first time Xbox has shown cross-platform praise though. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer appeared on a podcast back in July,praising PlayStation’s DualSense controller, which was introduced alongside the PS5. With Xbox even willing to praise long-time rival Sony, many were beginning to see the end of the so-called “console wars” that plagued gaming for generations.
The praise didn’t just go one way though, Xbox also has received love from other platform executives. Former President of Nintendo of AmericaReggie Fils-Aime spoke about the impact of Xboxon the gaming industry during a panel celebrating the 20th anniversary of Xbox. As Xbox continues to take new steps like releasing the Series X/S and Game Pass, it seems Xbox will be making an impact for years to come.
Breath of the Wildis set to release its sequel in 2022, and many are speculating that the game will have some sort of reveallined up for this year’s Game Awards. With nearly five years since the game’s initial release, Xbox’s praise ofBreath of the Wildis indicative of how much of an impact one game can have over the industry.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis available now on Nintendo Switch.
