Led by director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma, Nintendo sought to rethink Zelda's conventions and introduced elements such as detailed chemistry and physics engines.

[2] Breath of the Wild introduces a consistent physics engine to the Zelda series, letting players approach problems in different ways rather than trying to find a single solution.

[5] These design approaches result in a generally unstructured and interactive world that rewards experimentation and allows for nonlinear completion of the story.

[5] Players can obtain food and materials for elixirs from hunting animals, gathering wild fruit, or collecting parts of defeated enemies.

[6] By cooking combinations of food or materials, the player can create meals and elixirs that can replenish Link's health and stamina, or provide temporary status bonuses such as increased strength or resistance to heat or cold.

[6] An important tool in Link's arsenal is the "Sheikah Slate", a magical stone tablet which can be used to mark waypoints on the in-game map and take pictures of materials, creatures, and enemies.

[8][9][10] In combat, players can lock onto targets for more precise attacks, while certain button combinations allow for advanced offensive and defensive moves.

[15] Scattered across Hyrule are small puzzles that reveal Korok Seeds, which can be traded to expand inventory size for weapons, shields, and bows.

[24][25] Reading their ancestors' prophecies, Hyrule's peoples recognized the signs of Ganon's return and excavated surrounding areas to uncover the Divine Beasts and Guardians.

[26] During this time, Princess Zelda trained vigorously to awaken the sealing magic needed to defeat Ganon while trying to maintain her personal research.

King Rhoam and the Champions were killed, much of the kingdom was laid to waste, and Link was gravely wounded protecting Zelda while on their way to Fort Hateno.

[30] Zelda had Link taken to safety for him to heal, hid the Master Sword in Korok Forest under the protection of the Great Deku Tree, and used her light magic to seal herself and Ganon in Hyrule Castle.

[32] Link reunites with Impa, a Sheikah elder who previously served the royal family, and she instructs him to free the Divine Beasts.

[33] In this endeavor, Link is assisted by Sidon, the Zora prince and Mipha's younger brother; Yunobo, Daruk's cowardly descendant; Teba, a Rito warrior; and Riju, the child chief of the Gerudo.

[34][35] As Link and Zelda survey Hyrule and embark to restore it to—and perhaps beyond—its former glory, the princess confides in him that although her powers may have dwindled over time, she has come to terms with it.

At E3 2014, Aonuma said he planned to reform dungeons and puzzles, two of the series' major gameplay elements,[42] and redesign the game to allow players to reach the end without progressing through the story.

[43] As Nintendo had never developed an open-world game on the scale of Breath of the Wild, they looked at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[44] and Shadow of the Colossus, the latter of which had some similar climbing mechanics and whose creator, Fumito Ueda, was friends with Aonuma.

Breath of the Wild was built and demonstrated with touchscreen features for the Wii U, but the developers found that "looking back and forth between the GamePad and the screen" was a distraction.

Breath of the Wild was the first main Zelda game to use voice acting in cutscenes, although Link remains a silent protagonist.

Aonuma was affected by the first time he heard a character with a human voice in-game, and wanted to leave a similar impression on players.

In the same year, Nintendo let attendees play the Wii U version at the E3 convention held in June,[81] where they also announced its subtitle, Breath of the Wild.

At the end of each trial the player's Master Sword has its attack power upgraded by ten points and the blue sheen of its blade grows slightly.

[5] Edge wrote that the world was "an absolute, and unremitting, pleasure to get lost in" and that "the magic of being given all the tools in the opening hour is the knowledge that the solution to any problem is already at your disposal, and you can always change tack".

[134] Digital Trends wrote that the level of experimentation allowed players to interact with and exploit the environment in creative ways, resulting in various "tricks" still discovered years after release.

[135][131] Kotaku recommended turning off UI elements in praise of the indirect cues that contextually indicate the same information, such as Link shivering in the cold or waypoints appearing when using the scope.

[135] Reviewers also commented on the unexpected permutations of interactions between Link, villagers, pets, and enemies,[131][132][133] many of which were shared widely on social media.

[144][145] In the United States, Breath of the Wild was the second-bestselling video game during its month of release behind Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.

I spent a good 10 hours playing Red Dead Redemption 2, hoping it was Breath of the Wild, then eventually gave up.

These include Genshin Impact,[206] Ghost of Tsushima,[207] Eternal Strands,[208] Immortals Fenyx Rising,[209] Telling Lies,[210] Halo Infinite,[211] Elden Ring,[212] and Forspoken.

[213] Similarities have also been noted between Breath of the Wild and other open-world games since its launch, including Pokémon Legends: Arceus,[214] Sonic Frontiers[215][216] and Horizon Forbidden West.