Breath of the Wild’s Eventide Island is one of Nintendo’s best pranks

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Each section of Hyrule has 120 temples, many of which are out in the open, exposed to the elements on hilltops or lying dormant in a peaceful valley. But some are completely hidden, waiting for you to complete a quest or puzzle before emerging from the ground.

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while replaying breath of the wild while waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I recently took another run at Korgu Chideh Temple. To access it, I had to travel to Eventide Island and go through one of the most grueling quest lines in an open-world game. It’s praiseworthy in terms of level design, but it also demonstrates Nintendo’s sometimes twisted sense of humor – and it can be outright annoying to deal with if you don’t come prepared. It’s a booby-trapped, Hitman-esque level where the odds are heavily stacked against you, and it’s amazing.

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Image: Nintendo via Play Gamez

It is not easy to reach the island in the evening. It’s an empty spot along the southeast coast of the game’s massive map, and you’re unlikely to stumble upon it unless you’ve heard about it from word of mouth, let alone searching out of curiosity. . You can fly there via Link’s glider (although this requires a lot of stamina) or use a raft. You cannot escape easily either; The only way to leave is to swim back to the mainland – that is, unless you’re Very creative.

Upon landing on the island, the rules of the quest will appear on the screen: move three orbs to different locations to win. Simple enough. But there are some harsh conditions: The game strips you of weapons, shields, armor, food, and all other stat-buffing supplements. You have to find new gear on the island. To make things difficult, the quest disables your ability to save your game, so if you die you’ll lose everything (again).

Image: Nintendo via Play Gamez

This initially seems unfair, even if you have your Sheikah slate and her runes – the bag of tricks you get in the early game. So, you can blow things up with bombs, create ice platforms in water with cryonis, temporarily seal off enemies and obstacles with stasis, and telekinetically magnetize objects around you with magnesis. can draw. That means it can be an especially difficult quest if you’re more comfortable fighting with outrageous weapons than Link’s reusable runes.

Killing each group of enemies requires a solid grip on each breath of the wildgame mechanics – specifically stealth, luring enemies into traps, and being brutally accurate with bows and bombs. You need to know how to inflict the most damage with clunky weapons that will break quickly, how to backstab simple enemies you can kill, pull off critical headshots, create distractions, and above all, keep your Use the environment to your advantage.

Depending on your skill level, it may take several hours to get through Eventide Island and start again. With each new attempt at this quasi-roguelike experience, your equipment will be gone, but your knowledge of the island’s layout will remain. I won’t pretend that knowledge alone will help you win; You’ll have at least one hot gamer moment when you tackle some physics, or when massive hordes of enemies get in the way of an orb. Still, finally making it to the temple is one of the most rewarding moments breath of the wild has to offer.

Image: Nintendo via Play Gamez

It’s been nearly six years since I first made my way to Eventide Island, and my admiration for its design only grows. It’s a fun yet annoying sandbox breath of the wildMany of the game systems work in Symphony. Most of all, I like how this quest toys with the game’s relationship with the player, almost to say, “If you fly here, acting all free and curious, we’re going to make you do that.” Just know that you can get your ass kicked in the process — right up until the moment you win.