PixlBit

I think with Zelda you can definitely choose to push the story quest instead of roaming around. The world is massive, so you'd get a sense of scale as you're progressing the main story anyway. Most of the combat is done in the overworld and enemies always drop plenty of weapons to equip. It hasn't been an issure for me really. I just chose to run out and see the world to get a sense of scale because I've never seen Nintendo do this and I'm in awe of what they've achieved technically, and on a portable no less. Like, Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto were big deals when they launched because of the technical acheivement of scale, and I feel Nintendo has done this but also with a portable option, which personally is a big deal. 

How do you rate this game compared to previous Zeldas? Did you feel an urgency to replay it or buy DLC? My favorite Zelda is Links Awakening, Majoras Mask, Wind Waker, Oracle of Seasons, Link to the Past.

I'm playing Zelda like you. Just mapping the world for now and doing a few shrines at a time when I get bored of exploring. The lack of new fantastical items is kind of bothering me though.  The way everything is immediately accesible without needing a special weapon or gear to access is refreshing, but a few 'lock and key' areas requiring special gear to unlock would have added to sense of discovery and made it feel  more like past zelda games. I hope that Nintendo just builds on this engine in the future with more classic Zelda progression added. They also could have added more interesting side quests and characters since they were borrowing from Witcher 3, maybe some boss fights like Dark Souls too. At this point I feel like Dark Souls and Witcher 3 are more old school Zelda than BotW. I still have a lot more to play though.

Oh. Me too. I burn out on these games very fast which is why I avoid them. Witcher 3 and FF15 are the only exception, but I definitely bounced off of DA Inquisition. Xenoblade on WiiU was very pretty and portable, but it went on forever too.

Oh right. Yeah. I've seen comparisons of these games quite a bit. I think Horizon beats it on visuals. After playing Zelda, I'd probably be interesting in Horizon now if I can go camping.

http://www.pixlbit.com/review/974/virginia_review

First off, sorry to hear you were having a hard time. I wasn't aware. I hope you feel better now and join us all again on here soon when you feel better. I would personally like some more book and music recommendations as well as more of your writing samples if you're still doing that. I've been listening to more metal lately and was reminded of your excellent music blogs. In short, welcome back! Hope to see more of your posts here.

Prey is a game I'm very interested in, but I'm on a budget so it will have to wait. Plus I got a Switch for xmas which means my game list was burned and pushed off until later in the year now. I think I might just play System Shock in the mean time and work up to Prey eventually.

Did you every post a best of 2017? Maybe a small best Metal Music list for me! Or book list?

Wasn't it reviewed here on Pixlbit? I thought pixlbit hated it. Or maybe it was on the podcast.

One of the reasons I put off Divine Beasts is because I don't like how solving them didn't affect the world or the people much. They DBs seem inconsequential to the world and lacks a sense of urgency in needing to be solved apart from being in a main story chain. I'm mostly hiking around and mapping shrines to make travel easier later on. If I know my Zelda games, there will be an eventual necessary retread through the entire map before the final battle so I'm making things easier for myself. I also am having fun just dicking around and cooking. I explored a lot this week and need a good break before jumping back in. Maybe an indie game.

You mean the Gaurdian robots? I can't even get near them yet let alone try to hunt them.