I feel I often disagree with the popular consensus on video games. I think Uncharted 4 is a narrative wreck, I can't stand Skyrim for more than a couple of hours, and I thought Gears of War 4 was a good time. Every so often, though, I have no choice but to agree. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece.

I went into it really thinking it was going to be overblown hype, but now I can't stop talking about it to everyone I know. Once you get past the learning-intensive opening area and descend upon the greater Hyrule, the game shows its true form. A whole world awaiting your curiosity, and willing to reward it. Almost every single time I've thought to myself "I wonder if I can do that..." I have. Toss a metallic spear into an enemy camp to attract lightning during a storm, check. Snowboard on a shield to descend a mountain to quickly win a race, check. Climb to the top of a volcano, check. Cook food just by tossing it on said volcano, check. It's just smart, and the team at Nintendo seemingly thought of everything.

Even the towns feel lively, with characters that have connections to and acknowledge each other. The people living in towns all feel like they have a life outside of Link, and it makes doing side quests all the more compelling. We all hate fetch quests, but Breath of the Wild makes you want to do them. To help these people out; your neighbors of Hyrule. I usually get irritated when write-ups say something about how they just watch the sunrise in a game or something, it often feels pretentious and forced. Well, I am prepared to eat crow, because I frequently just walk around Hateno Village in casual gear to simply exist in this world.

I could go on and on about so many things in this game. That you have to prepare yourself for adventures depending on the environment, that the shrines are always clever and a beautiful way to condense dungeon puzzles into bite-sized excitement, or that the degradation of your combat items makes sure you'll always be on your toes. This isn't what I want to write about, however. This isn't a review, per se. This is a lapsed Zelda fan being sad he ever walked away, and being excited every time I get to turn on my Switch. I hate when an article talks about how a game changed them, but now I get it. Breath of the Wild has changed me. It's changed what I'll expect from games, it's made me realize I used to have even the slightest optimism in this world, and it has genuinely made me a happier person. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not only one of the best games I have ever played, it is also one of my favorite games I have ever played. Can't wait for Nintendo to fuck up the sequel.