Climbed Hebra and completed the Wind Temple.
Getting through Hebra was easier than expected. NPCs made it clear this was intended as the first major quest, and it showed with a far lower count of dangerous enemies along the way. Caves have failed to excite me; they’re visually drab and a bit annoying to navigate.
Climbing up to the Wind Temple was a decent experience. A trampoline mechanic was the last thing I’d expect and unusually freeing in movement options. Went on for a bit too long, though, and it was ultimately just scrambling up basic objects.
The Wind Temple touts itself as a dungeon, but it’s a Divine Beast in all but name. Five objectives with puzzles divorced from each other, music that evolves with each objective completed, enemies placed meaninglessly throughout an environment far too big for them, the works. Tulin’s ability served no purpose other than effectively a button pusher. There were some great Ultrahand puzzles, but the dungeon itself is basically a box with holes on the sides. A lot of wasted opportunity with the theming of a flying ship and lack of actual wind challenges. It’s weird that ice is getting lumped in with other elements; water in BotW, now wind here. It’s one of the game system’s three core elements, why does it get sidelined?
Coldera was a great reveal. Awesome visual design and a touching callback to a fan-iconic boss. These “die when weak spots are gone” bosses always feel weird in BotW’s system, though. The game’s built around damage numbers and high HP bars, and having better stuff is no advantage here. Hitting it in the first place isn’t even hard. Again, though, great visuals with the snowflake substructure being made to look organic.
The conceit of the game’s progression is then revealed: awakening the new Sages. I’m glad that we’re exploring the idea of them again. What I’m not glad about is the continued obsession with telling stories from the past, and Zelda being the “Sage of Time” is eyerolling. Time travel plots are never compelling; they inevitably break suspension of disbelief by creating paradoxes. I don’t plan to use Tulin’s avatar. Looks creepy and would trivialize aerial movement.
Gonna fully explore Hebra before heading back, since I plan to keep warping to an absolute minimum.
