Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Best Console Exclusive of 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild often feels overwhelming. Over the next hill, you may be faced with an enemy camp to clear out, several shrines to beat, a world boss staggering around, Korok Seeds tucked away, a few NPCs with side quests, treasure chests filled with useful gear, and probably a few hundred other things. Nintendo has packed so much into this sprawling rendition of Hyrule that you’ll rarely know where to start. But once you do, you’ll keep wanting to do “just one more thing” before you turn your Switch off. This may sound somewhat negative, but it’s quite the contrary. Hyrule is the most captivating and immersive world you can explore in 2017.
After a very short tutorial, Breath of the Wild opens up and lets you tackle its thousands of different points of interest in whatever way you see fit. Want to go on a quest to complete all 100+ of the puzzle-like Shrines before doing anything else? Go ahead (though it might be tricky). Rather just take in the sights and sounds of Hyrule on the back of a horse instead? Go tame one and get exploring! Breath of the Wild’s freedom and seemingly endless amount of opportunities for the player blend together to create a fantasy sandbox that’s very difficult to grow tired of.
Breath of the Wild truly revolutionized the Legend of Zelda series. Be it the cooking mechanic, the fact you can climb just about any cliff you saw, the open-world design, or the weapon degradation system, every decision was made for a reason. Breath of the Wild is a truly special game and serves as an ode to the series thus far for long-term fans, while also providing a perfect entry point for newcomers.
It’s because of all this (and more), that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was far and away the best console exclusive of 2017.
