Since 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has remained the benchmark that all open-world games have been measured up against. However, in the five years that have followed since Breath of the Wild's launch, the genre has exploded with some incredibly beautiful, difficult, and massive open-world titles that have improved on the formula.
While the new heights that the open-world genre has reached in no way diminishes the success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it does show exactly how much developers have continued to push these in-game worlds. Even if these games don't specifically draw inspiration from the latest Legend of Zelda title, it can't be overstated how much Nintendo pushed the genre forward since Skyrim.
Breath of the Wild as the Standard of Open-World
Before Breath of the Wild's release, Skyrim was easily the title that had the largest influence on the open-world genre. From 2011 until 2017, most developers looking to create a wide, freely explorable world used Skyrim as the foundation for these games. However, the modern state of the genre is now filled with Breath of the Wild imitators like Genshin Impact or Tower of Fantasy, often focusing on aesthetics more than anything.
That being said, the genre isn't only filled with clones and rehashes of the Breath of the Wild formula. Some open-worlds with unique styles like Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077, have kept the genre fresh in the last five years. Then there are the fair few titles that each define their own types of open-worlds, spreading the genre out into a plethora of sub-genres.
Titles that Have Since Taken the Top Position
An easy choice that many open-world fans might point to would have to be FromSoftware's first real step into the genre. While Elden Ring may suffer from endgame balance issues, the massive world offers the best parts of Soulslike exploration in a giant map that is more satisfying to traverse in the developer's history. However, while Elden Ring might be the new benchmark for a Soulslike open-world, it isn't the only game that has since surpassed Breath of the Wild.
One divisive title that looked at the world as the obstacle to be overcome is Death Stranding from Kojima Productions. This unique title also introduced a new way for players to interact online, indirectly influencing each other's worlds by building structures and leaving behind vehicles. Between these unique titles and the more formulaic open-world games, the genre has been strong for the last five years.
Tears of the Kingdom's Potential to Push the Genre Forward Again
With the current state of the open-world genre, Nintendo's next title in the Legend of Zelda series has a lot to live up to. However, the changes coming to Tears of the Kingdom could push the genre forward in the same way that Breath of the Wild did. This resetting of the benchmark could come from how the floating islands will be utilized in the newly updated version of Hyrule.
In the same way that Breath of the Wild took the open-world genre and made every area traversable, Tears of the Kingdom can further revolutionize the Z-axis. Up until now, most vertical areas are either just at the top of a mountain, or separate floors in some random building. By including two open-worlds that stack on top of each other, Nintendo has the opportunity to spice up the formula of Zelda's dungeons and open map in a way fans have never seen before. This might not turn out to be as unique as Elden Ring or Death Stranding, by defining a new sub-genre of open-world, but it could propel the genre as a whole forward in an impressive way.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Switch and Wii U.