#totk hate

The main map wouldn't be a reward so much but it would emphasize the new parts of the game first and foremost and have a stronger impression. To go from the Sky Islands tutorial area right into Hyrule is just. It was kind of too fast too soon into too familiar territory because Hyrule is the LARGEST maps and I'm not counting the depths as large because it's so, SO incredibly empty and it's a mirror of it's top side copy.

I dunno man I'm just thinking of ways they could've avoided it being SO much like the game they're pretending didn't happen before TOTK to give it a better feel. The stark differences between the depths and the sky islands are so great that I think being soft locked into the two of them for the first part of the game would've created a different vibe that would've made it stand on its own more. The player would've also brought the skills they learned from the 2 new areas into the familiar rather than just applying new tricks into old areas. It's like, you'd experience the new mechanics and know that you'd be able to access Hyrule later, I think it would've built excitement at the prospect of using the build mechanics in Hyrule rather than just opening up the entire toolbox right then and there.

Maybe none of that would've helped it either I dunno man. The idea of creating mechanical creations with the consequences of dying/getting hurt and losing the vehicle if you didn't create them in a way that gets you across a gap or something would've added a layer of challenge and interest to the Sky Islands that they so desperately need as well. Both areas are so...EMPTY too. Not just of things to do in general but also of just like. Life. NPCs. The sky islands are more interesting than the depths per square inch of land I think, easily but they are still underwhelming and very easy to ignore.

You know? I feel like there were a lot of questions to ask and it felt like they just wanted to start the story and plot over completely but with the same sand box elements, just keep the aesthetics but get rid of everything else because it's easier and quicker for production if we can pump out a game everyone has already liked.

I also feel like Totk got choked out by corporate decisions, trends and keeping everything dulled and dimmed down for a younger audience. Which is kind of fine because honestly I don't really know who the audience for totk was, if it was general or targeted at younger audiences. That is certainly what it feels like for a large majority of the game.

In which case, I need to come to terms with the fact it wasn't ever aimed at me regardless of the money I spend on it and I will always be disappointed because of that.

I did actually enjoy, kind of playing it for the first time in a couple months for a couple of hours. But I played it like I played botw, mid world with my horse and slowly kind of picked around the map in one central spot I liked for a little bit. Enjoyed the flora and fauna, didn't take battles too seriously or just ran away. Focused on an areas quests instead of shooting all over all 3 maps, without my horse or a mode of transportation.

I honestly hate the build system and I know I'm bitching about the things that didn't happen, and that I won't change anything by complaining but fr a mount system to me works so much better for open world games. I hate "paying" to make a vehicle or going through the motions of making a vehicle. It's cold and distant to me, I want my horse or a "living" mount companion to hang out with on my adventures. Bleh so much wasted potential and so many interesting questions that could've been asked but just weren't.

What's an interesting way to navigate the maps that gives players the freedom they want but isn't cumbersome? Somehow they made the horse controls worse which I honestly don't understand how that even happened, considering they did NOT improve or add anything to the horse system. Vehicles are a pain because yeah, the buying your vehicles aspect but also the menus, the menus and menus and menus and the scrolling through all your items. The fact that you not only have ultrahand but it was annoying ENOUGH that they added a specific tool to try and circumvent the annoyance of rebuilding vehicles.

And I can't even get started on the erasure of the sheika and sheika technology AND the fucking guardians and I cannot believe I'm saying it but I do actually miss the guardians. I think the battles with them were awesome and they were scary as hell and I liked not only running from them but knowing that they can cover a lot of distance quickly added to the thrill. It was so incredibly lazy to pave over them with "just another ancient civilization". Another question that could have or actually was asked this time and they just didn't want to answer it because it took effort to figure it out. "How do we continue with the sheika and guardians considering the calamity's impact on them? How do we not repeat botws ganon taking over the guardians when he awakens again?" I think pretty interesting questions! That will never be answered.

I miss having my horse teleport to me and not need to be within 500 ft of me. Quality of life and functionality just took a nose dive to me. Anyway! Totk is a different beast I suppose, the only way I'm going to enjoy it it seems is as slowly as I can and try and enjoy the things I liked about botw and the rare new things I find in totk.