I bought and played it the day of release, because of the hype and since I loved BotW. Yeah, they added some new mechanics and items and overall the gameplay seems more refined, but it definitely feels like a sequel with a lot of familiarity. If TotK was a standalone game, it'd be a masterpiece. But in comparison to BotW, it's just more and a little better.

Admittedly, some of my disappointment comes from chasing the thrill of playing BotW for the first time. Maybe those were unrealistic expectations, but for the same price and more hype, TotK just didn't have nearly the same impact for me.

TOTK originated as a DLC for BOTW that quickly outgrew it rather than originating as a truly separate game. The amount of new content absolutely justifies it being its own title, but you might find it less disappointing if you pretend it's BOTW part 2.

>TOTK originated as a DLC for BOTW

Do you have a source? I don't remember any official word saying this

Yes, it came from an interview Kotaku did with Aonuma: https://kotaku.com/breath-of-the-wild-is-getting-a-sequel-be...

Thanks, that was an interesting read.

I love Link's Awakening (it was my very first Zelda, and the remake is just lovely).