Mario Bautista
The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally arrived, and call me crazy but I’ve opted to celebrate its launch by playing the same game I played day one on the original Switch: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is of course an enhanced version with visual upgrades, faster loading times, and support for the Zelda Notes service via the Nintendo Switch App on your mobile device. It’s admittedly a fairly modest upgrade in terms of actual new features or content, but a welcome one, and it makes this undoubtedly the best way to play a sprawling epic that still stands tall as one of the greatest achievements in Nintendo’s iconic adventure series.
Before we get to what’s new, here’s what IGN said about Breath of the Wild in our original review:
Yes, Breath of the Wild is a 10 out of 10 game. It was a 10 out of 10 eight years ago, it’s a 10 out of 10 today, and it will probably remain a 10 out of 10 until the end of time. It’s just one of those milestone games that will be remembered as being hugely influential upon so many great games that were released in its wake, from Ghost of Tsushima to Halo Infinite and Elden Ring. Those incredible open worlds and many more have clearly been inspired by Breath of the Wild’s groundbreaking approach to experimental and emergent gameplay, and I’ve got no doubt that it will continue to influence game developers for many years to come.
Therefore, this is not a re-review of Breath of the Wild. Instead, it’s some early observations based on my first few hours back in Hyrule in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
This is Breath of the Wild as It Should Have Always Been
Gaming landmark that it was, Breath of the Wild almost seemed too ambitious for the original Switch – in fact it ran so poorly in parts that I really pity the poor folks who were somehow playing the Wii U version at the time. At any rate, the Switch 2 version has finally delivered Breath of the Wild as I assume the developers intended. It runs at 4K when docked and 1080p in handheld mode, and both look as sharp as a Master Sword’s edge. HDR is now supported also, and the kingdom of Hyrule really pops as a result – particularly once the blood moon is hanging in the sky above or the blue glow of a shrine can be glimpsed in the distance.
Of course, that resolution jump does have some downsides – the clarity it brings only makes it more obvious how basic a lot of the texture work on things like rocks and logs is when viewed up close, and it also doesn’t really clear up the jagged edges on blades of grass and the like. Still, the character models look fantastic, and more importantly it’s all so much smoother in motion than it was before thanks to the consistently 60fps framerate.
That Means You Can Now Explore Korok Forest Without Your Switch 2 Suffering a Nervous Breakdown
Pretty much the first thing I did when I hopped back into Breath of the Wild on Switch 2 was to beam myself directly into the Korok Forest, since that seemed like the best way to stress test this version’s improved framerate. Setting foot into the Korok Forest in Breath of the Wild on the original Switch forced the system to stutter like a shy Goron on a first date, but here in the Switch 2 it runs as smooth as goat butter.
In fact, no matter where I’ve roamed in this enhanced Breath of the Wild, the framerate has stayed locked at 60fps, whether I was shield-surfing down the slopes of the Hebra Mountains or scrapping with large groups of moblins in Hyrule Field. No matter what I do or where I go, Breath of the Wild on Switch 2 has been more stable than a barn full of Hyrulian horses. It really is a big step up.
While the Framerate Now Holds Firm, the Weapons Still Break
Breath of the Wild on Switch 2 might look and load to the modern standards we’ve come to expect in 2025, but it otherwise plays in almost the exact same way that it did back on the original Switch. That’s either a really good thing, if, like me, you were a big fan of the sandbox structure, shrine-hunting, and unprecedented sense of freedom. However, if you tried Breath of the Wild on the original Switch and you bounced off it because the weapon degradation system ticked you off – and I know quite a number of people did – or perhaps you simply prefer an old-fashioned Assassin’s Creed style of open-world that leads you around by the nose instead of giving you the freedom to find your own fun, then you’re unlikely to change your mind with this Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
The core Breath of the Wild adventure has been preserved, nothing has been tinkered with – at least nothing that’s been obvious to me in my first few hours with this Switch 2 port. If this style of Zelda game wasn’t your cup of tea before, then this is still that same flavour of tea. It’s just been poured into a noticeably prettier cup.
Loading Times Have Been Sped Up Significantly
It’s also a cup of tea that is served substantially faster, as this Switch 2 version of Breath of the Wild has had its loading times cut dramatically. Of course, that might not sound like the most sexy of features. You probably won’t want to invite your friends over to marvel at how quickly your game boots up, and you’re not going to buy a brand new TV to show off the rapid-fire rate at which Breath of the Wild now gets in and out of fast travel. But it becomes a meaningful difference the further you get into the main quest, because so much of Breath of the Wild involves hopping back and forth from one side of the sprawling map to the other searching for shrines or returning to quest givers and so on, and cutting down the time spent staring at the loading screen becomes hugely important after a while. In fact, you barely have enough time to watch the little animated silhouettes anymore, and you virtually have to speed read the loading screen pro tips!
There Is Some New Content, it’s Just on Your Phone Instead of Your Switch 2
Along with the performance upgrades, there is some new content to be found in Breath of the Wild on Switch 2, but you’re going to have to keep a phone or tablet handy in order to access it. By pairing your game with the Nintendo Switch App on your mobile device, you can get access to the Zelda Notes suite of tools. One enables voice directions much like Google Maps, which is handy for tracking down shrines, enemies, or even those hundreds of Korok seeds that are scattered across the map. It works as advertised, and will automatically adjust even when you beam in and out of fast travel. Since I’ve already completed Breath of the Wild I was fine with map spoilers, but I like that there’s a toggle to disable them if you’re a newcomer.
125 audio logs have been spread around the map as well, which are essentially recordings of Princess Zelda making observations on certain places and characters. These are signalled by a pinging proximity sensor in the phone app, and when you find the sweet spot they’re added to a collection of recordings that you can playback on your phone whenever you like. Theoretically, that is, because I can’t really see myself listening to any of these more than once. While I’ve only found a few so far, they’ve been pretty inessential anecdotes like Zelda describing the hospitality she was once treated to by Lurelin villagers, or explaining why the mayor of Hateno village had trouble selling Purah’s house. If you’re a completionist then these small scraps of backstory are yet another collectible to search for, but I doubt I’ll bother seeking them all out myself.
There’s also detailed stat tracking of your travels and enemy kills, the ability to share an item with a friend via the generation of a QR code if you’re particularly proud of that hearty meal you just made, as well as a daily bonus which is like a wheel of fortune you can trigger once a day to give you a prize like replenishing your hearts on the spot. One of them even allows you to repair a broken weapon! Most of these are welcome and useful additions, my only wish is that they were just added in-game rather than accessed through my phone. Sure, I do have my phone beside me at all times, even when I sleep at night. I’m not proud of that. However, I don’t really want to drain my phone battery if I don’t have to, and I feel like things like voice directions and audio logs could have easily been added into Zelda itself, saving me from playing through with both hands on the controller and my phone balanced on my knees.
You Can Now Add a Second Save File
Now, I had planned on spending the $10, or in my case, $20 AUD to upgrade my existing copy of Breath of the Wild to the Nintendo Switch 2 edition, mainly because it seemed like a relatively small asking price to be able to finally play at a higher resolution and stable framerate. In my mind, I was only going to play my existing save game for a few hours of fun before I got stuck into some of the other Switch 2 launch games. However, as it turns out eight years is quite a long time, and at least in my case it’s long enough for me to have forgotten large parts of the Breath of the Wild story and its various shrines and quests, and I’ve found myself sucked back in and eager for another full playthrough. Luckily, this Switch 2 version adds a second save game, and I fully intend on starting the story over again – so it’s nice that I can do so without having to write over my original completed save and lose the hundreds of hours I invested in Breath of the Wild back in 2017.
So there you have it, that’s a very quick look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. If you’re yet to try this masterpiece then this is the best place to jump in, and if you’ve already got a copy of the original then the performance upgrades alone make the upgrade price worth it. We’ve got plenty more Nintendo Switch 2 launch coverage to come in the days and weeks ahead, so be sure to keep checking IGN for updates.
Tristan Ogilvie is a Senior Video Editor at IGN’s Sydney office.
Source: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Review Update
