Favorite and Best Game: BOTW vs RDR2 vs TW3

[bambamcam4ever]

In terms of game play and game design, BOTW is on another level than the other two poll options.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

BOTW is a masterpiece, but it isn't perfect.

The biggest issue, IMO, are that the dungeons (or legendary machines, whatever) are really quite weak compared to the grand, intricate dungeons of previous Zelda games.

Smaller, more annoying issues are the rate at which weapons degrade and the rate at which the stamina meter drops. The latter isnt too much of a problem after leveling up a few times, but I do really wish that they had just made the bloody Master Sword immune to degradation of any kind. Even if that meant that they blocked you off from getting it til midway or 2/3rds of the way through the game (instead of being able to get it almost immediately if you know how and where).

Everything else about the games design is spectacular.

You need 14 hearts to get the Master Sword, so you definitely can't get it almost immediately, even if you go to the right area.

And if you beat the three trials, it is nearly unbreakable.

 

[JaegerDice]

You need 14 hearts to get the Master Sword, so you definitely can't get it almost immediately, even if you go to the right area.

And if you beat the three trials, it is nearly unbreakable.

Fair.

The point remains, the weapon degration in BOTW is way too extreme. Weapons bust up far too fast.

I get Nintendo wants to force you to use any and all weapons at your disposal, but in practice, it just led to me keeping my favorite weapons unused just in case a major fight occured.

 

[CartographerNo611]

Delete

 

[ArGarBarGar]

BOTW is better as an open world. You can pretty much go wherever you want and there are tons of little things to explore that aren't necessarily tied to quests or experience or anything. Plus I enjoyed the weapon mechanics and the combat was really rewarding.

The Witcher 3 is an interesting case for me. I don't think it has the best open world, or the best story, or the best combat mechanics, but the world that was created and the characters that you are involved with really creates one of the most engaging experiences I have had while gaming. The armor/weapons are fantastic to look at, the way the characters interact immersed me, and every single aspect of it was the right amount of polished to keep me interested in what I was doing and not get bored.

I think between the two I give a slight edge to The Witcher 3, because I have played through it five times in a row (working on a sixth) and it keeps bringing me back.

And the reason I didn't include RDR2 is because I have not played it.

 

[Unholy Diver]

From those 3 I will say it is a tie for both BOTW and Witcher 3, Both had me totally hooked and dialed in when I was playing them, and they were the only game I was focusing on at that time. RD2 was a beautiful and well made game, but to me it just was not as fun or engaging as the other two, and felt like it dragged a bit

 

[The Nuge]

RDR2 for me. I own all 3, but it’s the only one I got even remotely far into. The game plays well, and the story is phenomenal. RDR is one of the most overrated games out there, but 2 absolutely blew me away.

I haven’t been able to make much progress in the Witcher 3. It’s a game that was basically ruined for me from people overhyping it. I went in expecting to be immediately hooked by the story and gameplay, and I just wasn’t. I hated the controls, character, and combat, and every time I played it, I just kept thinking about how I’d much rather be playing Elder Scrolls. So I just went and played Elder Scrolls for the millionth time. Maybe one day I’ll actually be able to play it and get hooked...

I haven’t been able to give BOTW fair shot at all because of the fact the switch is probably the least comfortable controller I’ve ever held, and I haven’t felt like spending $100 to buy a pro controller in the hopes that it’s not such a mess. I’m much more tempted to just sell my switch considering the whole point of me getting it was for playing on the go, and I’d rather game on my phone than hold the god awful switch. The weapons breaking so damn fast really didn’t help either

 

[twotonfrankie1]

RDR2 is definitely last for me, by a large margin. I just became very bored of the game quickly.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

RDR2 here, hands down. TW3 is also a great game, but not as good. BoTW ... tried many times to play it and bounced off it HARD. Just found it incredibly boring.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I found myself googling this very question a few minutes ago, lo and behold a mother ducking HF BOARDS link was second from the top. DOUBLE lo and behold, it was MY thread behind the link. Crazy stuff.

I’m about 95% through all of TW3 and the two DLCs and am totally floored with this experience. It’s still tough to rank them and I wonder if any of your votes have changed. TW3 in particular got a major graphics update in 2022 and IMO feels like a current gen masterpiece because of it.

BOTW is phenomenal, its biggest asset is its map and navigating it. The map is the main character of the game and that’s honestly something really special. Climbing and gliding through the map makes an intimate experience you don’t get from the other two games.

It’s still real tough to pick between the three so I’ll just highlight each games best asset/feature…

BOTW: open world experience
TW3: immersion
RDR2: Narrative/Story

 

[Blitzkrug]

BOTW both for me. I will admit i'm a bit bias given Zelda is probably my favorite series in all of pop culture, but that game was so desperately needed to give that series a jolt in the arm.

Series went down a shitty path post Wind Waker after that game did significant damage to the brand because of art style. Twilight Princess was horrendous and it should be buried at the bottom of the sea with all the other cringey edgelord mid 2000s media. The next three games fell into the late 2000s/early 2010s Nintendo trap of "idk what it is, but this shit needs gimmicks!" with the two DS games and Skyward Sword.

Breath of The Wild basically completely undid all of that in one swing. A return back to the series' formative years with the dumping you into a huge, untouched world and telling you "idk here's a couple tools, go figure it out" outside of the tutorial plateau. No gimmicks, no bullshit, no barriers. Just classic-ish Zelda but on a much larger scale than ever done before with every inch of being explorable. In an age of shitty open worlds, Nintendo found a way to actually make you want to interact with theirs without using the checklist philosophy.

RDR2 annoys me. Not because i'm some contrarian or snob. I absolutely adore the first game to the point i picked up the PS4/5 port last year just to play it again. RDR2 however, i've bounced off multiple times. That's why i'm annoyed. The best way i can describe it is while RDR was an experience, it was still a video game at its core. RDR2 to me feels it veers hard in the "this is something to experience" rather than something to be played, if that makes sense. A lot of little kinks and quirks that make the gameplay tedious rather than the more run and gun style of the first one.

Witcher 3 i did play and finish in full years ago. Fantastic writing, but i was so ready for the game to be over halfway in. I don't have a short attention span, but if you're going to make your game that long please give me some meat to chew on gameplay wise.

 

[aleshemsky83]

I never see anybody mention this but I feel like the Witcher 3 was a bit of a Mass Effect/Bioware copycat. BotW really did its own thing and made its own sub genre of open world kinda like dark souls.

RDR2 I’ve never got past the intro so I can’t comment.