7 Harsh Realities Of Playing Zelda: Breath Of The Wild In 2026

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an absolute classic. It's one of the best-reviewed games of all time, and it sold exceedingly well for Nintendo. Plus, new fans are still pouring into the game daily, and folks are discovering new tricks and secrets all the time.

It's even beating out Tears of the Kingdom wholesale still, and it's even above Mario Odyssey in terms of sales. Only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are above it. It's a bona fide classic, and nothing can take that away.

With all that in mind, Nintendo did acknowledge some of Breath of the Wild's shortcomings in Tears of the Kingdom, especially when it comes to two key aspects. Let's take a look at what playing Breath of the Wild is like in 2026.

Tears Of The Kingdom Spoiled Us

While it's certainly up for debate which is the better game (many would say Breath of the Wild overall), Tears of the Kingdom is still a fantastic Zelda adventure. It does some things better than its predecessor and offers the player more tools.

If you're into the creative element of Tears of the Kingdom, the limitations are very small. You can craft a vehicle to do pretty much anything and deploy it pretty much anywhere. The tools are also arguably more useful, since you can ingeniously craft your own solutions to the game's puzzles.

Even just having a few quality-of-life additions from Tears of the Kingdom would be a big plus. That said, it's still very much worth playing on its own, especially if you want to experience them both.

Acclimating To Weapon Durability

When I first played Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it was for a pre-release review session. I went into it completely blind, and ended up having an incredible time, even with the weapon durability system. I was swapping weapons so often that it never really felt like most of the items I was wielding were breaking, and I always had a full inventory of weapons. For good measure, I also upgraded weapon slots using Korok Seeds whenever possible.

As a result, I had a completely different experience than many other people by the time the game officially launched. Not even a day into its run, many fans took to message boards to voice their issues with the tediousness of the durability system, and it remains in place to this day.

All those experiences are valid, and dealing with weapon durability can be a tough hurdle to overcome in Breath of the Wild​​​​​​. My advice is to grab as many durable weapons as possible and hold onto them.

Shrines Feel Less Essential

When Zelda: Breath of the Wild first came out, Shrines were a blast. They really felt like you could be walking into anything, and some of the puzzles took advantage of the Switch hardware in an interesting way. But in 2026, Shrines feel a little less exciting and unknown.

That is partially due to the fact that there are full guide workups on the most advantageous Shrines to get first, which provide useful gear beyond the typical Spirit Orb reward. Now, the game is so "solved" that there's a path of least resistance you could take.

You could always not use guides for your playthrough, but by the time you've beaten the game and are in the cleanup phase, there are a few key Shrines you'll want to check out, as some rewards are better than others.

The Tutorial Can Still Be A Drag

The tutorial island, also known as Eventide Island, can be a drag. While it was useful at the time for learning some of Breath of the Wild's ins and outs, it hasn't aged particularly well.

New players often struggle to do exactly what the game wants, and they end up frustrated by how much time they spend on Eventide. Even thinking about it right now, I'd rather replay the aerial-bound Tears of the Kingdom opening instead, which is a little more exciting and offers up something other games haven't really done in the past (even Skyward Sword, which took place in the air).

At this point, there should have been a post-launch update that let people skip the tutorial and go straight into the open world. The fact that this isn't even possible on Master Mode (an additional difficulty level) is baffling.

Exploring Can Be Overwhelming

It sounds weird to say, because a lot of people (myself included) love the fact that Breath of the Wild can feel overwhelming at times; but it's something I've heard a lot from fellow Zelda players all over the world. After finishing that pesky tutorial island, you'll be free to roam Hyrule and do as you please.

That's catnip for open-world adventure game fans, but for others, it can be intimidating. While Breath of the Wild does provide general hints as to where to go next (from a regional standpoint), it's easy to stray off the beaten path and do your own thing. I've known people who have spent 50 hours playing the game before finishing one Divine Beast.

If you're having a blast doing that on your own, power to you. But just know that Breath of the Wild could end up taking you a long time to finish if you end up taking a bunch of detours and getting lost.

The "Dungeons" Could Be Better

This is easily the biggest sticking point for Breath of the Wild, and pretty much every classic Zelda fan and newcomer agrees. The Divine Beasts had their moments, and some rooms offered up select unique puzzles, but the Divine Beast "dungeons," from top to bottom, need work.

For classic Zelda fans, they didn't offer up the same sense of discovery and challenge as some dungeons in the past. For new fans, they were generally underwhelming, from the moment you walked in all the way to the boss encounter. The bosses were a standout complaint from the original, as they tend to blend together, and don't provide that classic Zelda satisfaction of "figuring out" how to beat them.

Tears of the Kingdom changed things up a bit and made the dungeons more distinct. In Breath of the Wild it wasn't even clear which Divine Beast you were in much of the time. But Tears of the Kingdom, like other games in the mainline Zelda series, ensures you know where you are, and remember that dungeon long after clearing it.

The Korok Seed Collection Reward Is Cursed Knowledge

The 100% completion reward for Korok Seed collection is infamous at this point, but if you don't know what it is yet, suffice it to say that it's not worth the trouble. At launch, fans tried to locate every last seed without guides, and it was a painstaking effort that took a ton of community knowledge to solve.

Once that was done, the first person in the world grabbed all the seeds, and posted the reward, much to the chagrin of the community. While some laughed it off as a funny troll, others who had put in the effort were disappointed. Now, you have the full knowledge of what any quest in the game provides as a reward, which is both a gift and a curse.

Even if you do end up getting all the Korok Seeds and are still having a blast with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild​​​​​​, more power to you. Sometimes the real reward is the journey.