Daily Debate: How Many Different and Unique Runs of Breath of The Wild have you played?

Any mainline Zelda game that follows Breath of the Wild has its work cut out. I’m hard pressed to imagine many games that have been as able to deliver the holy trinity of Open World, Free Reign, and Emergent Narrative. Naturally, with such a dense setting to escape to, fans have created myriad speedrun categories, ways to play, and goals to achieve in Hyrule. Lack of an official trophy system notwithstanding.

On the speedrun front we have the usual 100%, any%, all shrines, glitch-free, and so on. All of which you could just as well play without worrying about speed. Then there are focuses you might choose from file to file. In one stretch, maybe you were obsessed with Tarry Town. In another, maybe you’re like my daughter and cared only how good the next horse you could find might be. And then giving it the perfect name! Or perhaps you’re a trickshot artist looking to record your best effort or stream it live.

To a certain way of thinking, Breath of The Wild has become more platform than game. And the different ways of approaching its content are a library of games unto themselves.

So, how many times have you played Breath of the Wild, going in with a new play style in mind? Are you a speedrunner or have you focused on any of the niches mentioned above? Do you have your own preferred themes, goals, or limitations? Send us rushing to create new files in the comments below!

Andrew Millard

Andrew is a writing teacher in the American Upper Midwest. He has been playing Zelda games since 1990.