I found exploration very rewarding. I had a lot of fun finding my way on the island where I lost all my items. I remember seeing a Dragon flying through the sky which I thought was delightful. I found certain vistas to be rewarding as well. It's not rewarding in the sense that you're not going to be finding permanent upgrades to your character much, but it's definitely rewarding.

> Weapon durability is literal cancer.

This is a common sentiment but i feel like it's because it challenge's peoples normal expectations, not because it's a bad mechanic. Weapon durability in the game lead to a lot of interesting gameplay scenarios for me, where I lost a weapon and had to look for creative solutions. Altering the environment, using unideal weapons, or finding another way were all options rather than just trying to brute force it with weapons in every situation.

To me the weapon durability was a core mechanic to Breath of the Wild and it wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without it. There's too many memorable moments for me where a weapon broke and I had to scramble to think of another solution. I think for people that like hoarding items and collecting better and better weapons it's obviously going to be frustrating when you're forced to be creative in the moment. Elden Ring's creativity comes with how you build out your character, while Breath of the Wild's systems encourage/force you to think of solutions to problems on the fly.

I couldn't disagree more about the soundtrack, though. Breath of the Wild's soundtrack is a masterclass in how to best take advantage of the medium. It blends in with the foley sounds and perfectly encapsulates the mood of the world. It can be at times desolate, but that's the point. It matches the themes of the game itself.

I didn't care about the bosses or dungeons because I was, well, exploring. I didn't care about the story because I was, well, exploring. The mobs were really only there for me to find new and inventive ways to interact with the world.

The original Zelda was open-world.

I will agree that the game world felt sparse and underpopulated, but given the minimalist tone (as evidenced by so many other game elements, like the music or lack of hand-holding) it felt on-brand.

> Weapon durability is literal cancer.

They did this to discourage player min-maxing and to force some variety. I didn't like it either but appreciate the additional layer of dynamism it added to the game.

> Contrast that with Elden Ring

Hardly a good comparison, for one there are several years between the two releases and for two, you are comparing a soulslike with a more 'traditional' open-world game. I for one am sick of roguelike/soulslike mechanics infiltrating everything, this idea that you have to zerg everything over and over again to progress is cancer. And slow ass movement. And bosses that are massive difficulty ramps up from the rest of the level. Ninja Gaiden does 'hardcore' or whatever much better.

The height of BoTW was the 4 tiny animal fortresses. And even they felt kinda shallow.