The Legend
of Zelda: Breath of The Wild’s first expansion, appropriately titled “The
Master Trials” is now available. Despite being out for nearly a week at the
time of writing this, I have unfortunately only been able to spend about 6-7
hours with the new content. However, even with my limited time with this DLC, I
still feel like I have plenty to say about it, so let’s just jump into it.
Warning: Minor SPOILERS for The Master Trials DLC will be discussed, so if you
want to avoid any details about it then save this page and come back after
playing!
Just to recap for those of you who may not know, Breath of the Wild got a $20 (USD) expansion pass that includes two separate packs. The meat of this expansion will come in the form of story DLC later this year. On June 30th, we got what will likely become known as the weaker of the two packs in the form of The Master Trials. However, there is nothing weak about The Master trials at all, not in difficulty nor in content. This first DLC pack primarily adds content for gamers seeking a greater challenge than the base game had to offer (which was not walk in the park itself). This peek in difficulty is offered up in two forms: The Trial of the Sword, and Master Mode. Both of these experiences are sure to challenge any gamer, and has already given me a few controller twisting rage fits.
First of all, Trial of the Sword is a series of 45 levels, each of which offers up new challenges in the form of varying layout, increasingly powerful enemies, minibosses, and environmental changes (such as darkness and weather). Scattered throughout these 45 levels are very limited safe rooms, where you can collect a fairy, stock up on essential items, and take time to cook meals in preparation of the next wave of challenges. One important detail I failed to mention, Trial of the Sword also strips you of all weapons, clothing, and Champion powers upon entering. That being said, Trial of the Sword is similar to Eventide Island (one of my favorite parts of the base game), but on a much larger and significantly more difficult scale. Since Link is stripped of most of his abilities, protection, and weapons, it is up to you as the player to use more than just brute force to navigate him through the 45 levels. In that lies the key to what is so special about Trial of the Sword. This side quest forces you to use all the skills that you learned throughout your original playthrough. You must utilize stealth to take out enemies one at a time, so as not to get overrun. Weapons and inventory must be rationed and used sparingly so you don’t find yourself facing a Stone Talus with only a 5 damage sword. Even cooking makes a critical return, as food items must be appropriately combined and cooked in order to get the greatest benefit out of each meal. It really is as if the developers intended Trial of the Sword to be a final exam of sorts for everything you learned throughout playing Breath of the Wild. It is a final exam that I have yet to pass, as I am still attempting to battle my way through the second set (out of 3 sets) of trials, and quite honestly failing miserably. Despite the difficulty, it is a wonderful and very rewarding addition to the game.
Aside from Trial of the Sword, DLC pack 1 offers another challenging, even more difficult addition to Breath of the Wild in the form of Master Mode. Master Mode is exactly what it sounds like. A hard mode created for players who have mastered the gameplay required to beat Breath of the Wild. This unique hard mode throws players into the same exact story as is played through in the base game, but this time with more challenging foes, including golden enemies and a daunting lynel in the tutorial area (Great Plateau). Enemy spawns are changed up in master mode as well, so players who think they have an enemy base memorized will have to think again, and may be surprised at what they find upon exploring it. Speaking of enemy spawns, one of the more odd additions to the game is that enemies can now spawn in the air and be seen floating around, wreaking havoc from a platform powered by octoroks. Enemies are also far more observant and not nearly as careless this time around. Sneaking up on a camp of Bokoblins requires a higher level of stealth in Master mode, and since all enemies are powered up, getting caught waltzing into a pack of foes is far less forgiving. All of this makes for a brutal gaming experience, one in which, in my opinion, hasn’t been seen in Zelda since The Adventure of Link or Ocarina of Time: Master Quest. Even though there is no denying the difficulty of Master Mode, I don’t think anyone will be complaining about it as it gives players another opportunity to explore this beautiful iteration of Hyrule in a whole new way.
The Master Trials Expansion is not all about creating a more difficult gaming experience, however. There is also a lot to be found for less masochistic gamers who don’t enjoy the constant frustration of getting destroyed by a band of Bokoblins. Included in this first DLC bundle is a slew of new Armor and masks, all of which are likely to invoke nostalgia in the hearts of those who seek it out. Fan favorite clothing items such as Majora’s mask, Midna’s helmet and Tingle’s tights (Don’t worry, Link wears them better than Tingle) make a glorious, HD appearance. There are even features of this DLC pack that actually make some aspects of the game EASIER as well. One way the DLC accomplishes this is by giving players access to the Korok mask. When worn, the Korok mask begins to shake if a hidden Korok is nearby. This makes those very illusive 900 Korok seeds much easier to hunt down. The Master Trials also adds a new map feature to the game called Hero’s Path. This clever feature allows players to see exactly where they have been for their past 200 hours of game play. While this may at first just sound like a nostalgic walk down memory lane, it should actually be used for much more than that. My favorite thing about having access to Hero’s Path is that it can be used to see where you HAVEN’T been. This has been vital for me tracking down even more pesky Korok seeds. When Hero’s Path is combined with the Korok mask, hidden Koroks are infinitely easier to find. Even after collecting just over 300 seeds during my original playthrough, I was able to track down an additional 7 korok seeds in approximately 10 minutes when trying out this tactic.
There really
is something for everyone with this first wave of Breath of the Wild DLC, and
the amount of time you spend with it can also greatly vary. Someone could put a
few hours into the game, just collecting all the new gear and beating Trial of
the Sword, or spend a little more time finishing up the hunt for all 900 Korok
seeds using the Korok mask. If you really wanted to maximize your time with the
DLC, you could put in another 150+ hours doing everything over again in Master
Mode. The Master Trials was a great addition to an already epic gaming
adventure. If this is any taste of what the story DLC coming later this year
has to offer, then I think we can all rest assured knowing that we got way more
than our 20 dollars worth!
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