I agree with
@Azure Sage (I know, Az, I'm scared too). I didn't like Shrines, but I don't think the issue I had with them was inherent to Shrines themselves. I think having fewer of them would have helped, and having at least some with more sizeable rewards would also have helped. The aesthetic of Shrines also became an issue for me after a while and introducing some variety in that regard would go a long way. I think of Halo and how a map like Blackout
feels entirely different to Lockout despite having identical geography. Aesthetic ubiquity was what ruined Reach's online for me, since so many maps were community made Forge maps that were all just grey, metal walls over and over and over. Aesthetic fatigue. If it's not a term then
coined it.
Shrines, to me, came across as individual rooms in a dungeon. Having a few of these one-and-done puzzle rooms would be fine in my view as long as they were a complement to more substantial dungeon content. Take four Shrines and connect them as one micro-dungeon. Take fifteen and make a mini-dungeon. Theme their look to the environment they're found in, with cave interiors in the mountains, viney, wooden interiors in forests, and glittering grottos along the coast. This diluting of dungeon content is my main issue with Shrines, and it connects to what
@DekuNut said:
Dungeons aren't just fun because of puzzles and combat, they're fun for theming. This is why Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess is one of my all time favourites. I love the idea of an old mansion in the frozen mountains that served as some kind of armoury which is now home to two adorable yetis. I love that Arbiter's Grounds was a prison and now it's full of ghosts. There are implicit stories there, ideas the game doesn't need to spend time developing because the theme and aesthetic of the dungeon itself allows you the space to write it all yourself. This is why I love the Zeldas with lots of dungeons. They make me feel like I'm on an adventure more than most other elements in Zelda.
Shrines don't preclude that, but their implementation in BotW does. Combining some into bigger areas and spicing up the look of the things would work wonders. Honestly, doing that would make finding Shrines a reward in itself for me. This is another point about Shrines several people have brought up, that they do or don't feel rewarding. I did not find Shrines rewarding. They were too bland and insignificant to be worthwhile on their own, and the rewards were always too slight. A few hours in, I stopped getting excited when I found a Shrine. I started getting annoyed. And it reminded me of a point Matthewmatosis raised in his excellent video about BotW. Some players are extrinsically motivated, others intrinsically.
@Deus is extrinsically motivated. He likes rewards for having done something, whether tangible or intangible.
@Zero_Origin is intrinsically motivated. They like having done something for its own sake and are satisfied with that alone.
It was a really good point for Matthewmatosis to bring up, but I think people are a little bit more complex than the simple description makes out. I think all, or most, of us are a mix of the two, leaning more to one side than the other. I was extrinsically motivated with regard to Shrines because I wanted something from them. A good, long-lasting weapon, a new ability, some new gear. However, if Shrines were longer, if they had some theming, if some combined puzzle rooms with combat challenges, then I would find myself being pleased just with having gone through the place alone. Ocarina's Bottom of the Well (the one true BotW ) and Majora's Ikana Castle do this for me. Beating those mini-dungeons and experiencing the implicit stories they tell is enough for me to be satisfied without receiving a 'prize' at the end. The prizes are nice, but even if they weren't there, I'd have been happy.
Shrines could be like that. They just need some alterations in how they're implemented and what they are for. Generally, I like designers to try and improve or fix elements that don't work rather than say "Well, we tried," and scrap them outright. I wouldn't be against Shrines returning, just don't have as many, make some larger, and vary the themes of them. It'd go a long way for a player like me.