The Legend of Zelda BOTW has ruined Open World Games for me

Who else here thinks the Story is perfect for a non-linear experience?

Problems I've had in past open-world games: I'm threaded along main quests, and while I get distracted by a side mission, it has little to no substance to the main quest and it will in fact disjoint the flow of the main narrative, making the fluidity choppy and unappealing.

I know the story in BotW isn't the messiah of storylines, but it might just be one of the most perfect setups for an open-world game I've played and it lends itself perfectly to the non-linear setup and I think part of the beauty is it never loses focus no matter how much you choose to explore off the beaten path and choose your adventure. For the first time, I'm playing a game where the side quests don't feel so much like a burden to the main story as much as they are the story that you choose to create.

So...Spoilers...

The story starts up with Link waking up a hundred years into the future from last he faced Ganon, and then he embarks on his journey for it's told he'll only wake up from his eternal sleep when the evil of Ganon is on the rise again. I know it doesn't sound awfully unconventional for a Zelda game, because it is NOT. But playing the game, it really occurred to me it might be one of the most perfectly implemented Zelda stories yet.

As Link travels across Hyrule, he will run into many many characters, and many of them will remember him from the past, and many will recall his legend and react in astounding energy that they're seeing him at all. Characters that knew him before his hundred year tragedy will react "oh my god you're back! We got lots of catching up to do!" Whereas some character that may have neither known nor had a clue of his legend will simply say "nice to meet ya."

I think that this game's story does perfectly, is no matter which direction you walk in, you're bound to run into characters that are ready a big welcome back party or ask for your autograph (not really, or Idk?).

I think it's genius that part of Nintendo's storytelling efforts in this game makes it so that most characters are close to on the same page with the main narrative, so that traveling off the beaten path is never quite a mistake or a break from the story at all.

Has anyone else realized this and feel the same way?

Exactly what I was thinking

There is barely any story at all. So, having other characters say they knew you before or have heard of your legend is not a big deal. There is very little substance to any of the side quests and NPCs in the game. Go play The Witcher 3 and watch how it shits on Zelda in that aspect. Also, you can focus on the main storyline in the other games if you like. You don't have to do the side missions in a game like TW3, but they are so damn good that you can't help but want to do them.

It's a lie to say there's no story, because there is:

Link awakens after a hundred year tragedy, as the prophecy told he will wake up once the danger of Ganon is on the rise again.

He is remembered in legend by most of the kingdom and many date back to his time as well. Hyrule developed a technologically advanced society which consisted of the Guardians and Divine Beasts, which Ganon ultimately corrupted them to turn on their creators.

One of the main plot conflicts involves:

Link having no recollections of his past, so he therefore sets out to gain his memories back which tell the story of what happened long before the game took place,

his duty to seek and travel to the different corners which the Divine Beasts reside so that he can gain back their control for Hyrule order in the preparation of offense towards Ganon's rise to power.

I dunno. Sounds like there's a good amount of story in there, but it's not hammered down your face like a lot of scripted games will do.

Like I said originally, I'm not saying it's a messiah of storylines, but it's solid enough and the best part is how it's implemented into the game's design, both main and side quests. It never actually loses focus of anything and flow is never busted.

I've played enough open-world games where I might go from one main story quest where a character says "meet me at my house in ten minutes" but then I end up getting distracted by three hours worth of side quests before hopping back onto the main, and literally when I get to that person's house the game picks up as if there was no hiccup whatsoever. So many open world games break their own pacing this way with disjointed narrative exposition.

It's virtually nonexistent in BotW because the entire game was more or less designed as a whole ready to be tackled any way a player likes rather than a stringed mission design with shoehorned side missions that serve no significance than experience points.

Again, the framework of BotW that you are describing only works because the Story is so minimal. It is just a basic premise for the game... a hollow shell with insignificant plot points throughout the game. There are very few epic things that actually happen throughout the main adventure. You can have fun making your own stories because of the gameplay and exploration is fun, but there are not many scripted or designed scenarios that are noteworthy. The game is a great sandbox with solid systems/mechanics, but it lacks punch when it comes to story and tailored level design.

It is very similar to the Assassin's Creed games except in Zelda there are less restrictions on what you can climb.