BOTW’s Zelda: Eventide Island Is One Of Nintendo’s Best Pranks -Tc

Eventide Island is a showcase of Nintendo’s ingenious design.

• By
  
  cameron faulkner
  

• in March 31, 2023 9:16 a.m.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild it contains 120 shrines scattered throughout each section of Hyrule, many of which are in the open, exposed to the elements on hilltops or dormant in a peaceful valley. But some are completely hidden, waiting for you to complete a quest or puzzle before they emerge from the ground.

In 2023, Polygon embarks on a Zeldathon. Join us on our journey through The Legend of Zelda series, from the original 1986 game to the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and beyond.

while playing breath of the wild while waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomI recently took another run at the Korgu Chideh shrine. To access it, I had to travel to Eventide Island and go through one of the most grueling quest lines in the open-world game. It’s commendable in terms of level design, but it also showcases Nintendo’s sometimes twisted sense of humor, and can be downright annoying to deal with if you don’t go prepared. It’s a booby-trapped Hitman-esque level where the odds are heavily stacked against you, and it’s unbelievable.

It’s far enough away to seem impossible to reach.

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

It is not easy to get to Eventide Island. It’s an empty spot along the southeast coast of the game’s giant map, and unless you’ve heard about it by word of mouth, you might not have stumbled across it unless you’re just exploring out of curiosity. You can fly there via Link’s glider (although this requires a lot of energy) or use a raft. You can’t escape easily either; the only way to leave is to swim all the way back to the mainland, that is, unless you’re very creative.

Upon landing on the island, the mission rules will be displayed on the screen: Move three orbs to various locations to win. Simple enough. But there are some tough conditions: the game takes away your weapons, shields, armor, food, and all other stat-boosting supplements. You will have to find new equipment on the island. To make things more difficult, the mission disables the ability to save your game, so you’ll lose everything (again) if you die.

You will definitely feel the breath of the wild on Eventide Island without clothes on.

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

It seems unfair initially, even though you have your Sheikah Slate and its runes, the bag of tricks you get early in the game. Thus, he can blow things up with bombs, make ice platforms out of water with Cryonis, temporarily lock enemies and obstacles in place with Stasis, and telekinetically move magnetic objects with Magnesis. That means this could be a particularly difficult quest if you’re more comfortable fighting with degradable weapons than Link’s reusable runes.

Defeating each group of enemies requires a solid understanding of each of them. breath of the wildGame mechanics, especially stealth, luring enemies into traps, and being brutally precise with bows and bombs. You need to know how to get the most damage with bad weapons that will break quickly, backstab the few unassuming enemies you can, land critical headshots, cause distractions, and on top of all that, use the environment to your advantage. .

Depending on your skill level, traversing Eventide Island can take several hours and reset. With each new attempt at this quasi-roguelike experience, your equipment will disappear, but your knowledge of the island’s layout will remain. I’m not claiming that knowledge alone will help you win; You’re likely to have at least one heated gameplay moment when faced with restless physics, or when an overwhelming onslaught of enemies gets in the way of an orb. However, finally arriving at the sanctuary is one of the most rewarding moments that breath of the wild has to offer.

I admit it: I tricked this Hinox by dropping bombs on it from a hanger. You have to do what you have to do!

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

It’s been about six years since I first arrived on Eventide Island, and my appreciation for its design continues to grow. It’s a fun but twisty sandbox where breath of the wildMany of the game systems work in symphony. Most of all, I love how this quest plays into the game’s relationship with the player, almost as if to say, “If you fly here, acting independently and curiously, we’ll let you do that. Just know that you may get your ass kicked in the process, until you succeed.”

Read more