Today was spent making it up to Hebra.
First major event was my first geoglyph. I was dying to know about these after the glimpses in the trailers. I’m somewhat dumbfounded that they’re telling story through location-specific flashbacks again. That was one of BotW’s biggest story critiques. Getting them seems like it will be even easier and less interesting than before; you’re given a map of their locations. Between this, Shrines, and Koroks being executed the exact same, I’m unconvinced as ever that this sequel was worth the wait.
Speaking of Shrines, I do think they’re an improvement. Each one’s been built around a meaningful mechanic, and I love the music. Feels like Bejeweled, that 00s web puzzle game vibe. No combat tests yet, though I wonder if I’m just lucky.
Starting to get annoyed with being so underpowered early. Getting one-hit killed if you’re not at full was novel and fun the first time. Now it’s just an annoyance, having to eat every time a somewhat threatening monster taps you. No idea where substantial armor is this time, and gaining hearts will be slow.
My path up to Hebra was relatively barren in that open world fashion. As I’ve feared, the new mechanics only shine in the very specific spots the designers chose them to be, and a sprinkling of monsters isn’t worth bothering with. The weapons are weak and the enemies are tanky. The game’s taught me about building horse-drawn vehicles, but I have no reason to bother yet.
With how many times NPCs warned me of the cold, I was surprised to only deal with the first tier of it. I was just fine with the armor I got from the Garden of Time. What I didn’t like dealing with was all the extra snow. Walking sluggishly through it serves no meaningful purpose, it’s just annoying. Don’t think it was a worthwhile change to the region. The spooky, icy Rito Village arrangement was a nice reward, though. Gonna see tomorrow if I can take on the story here with five hearts.
