20 tips and tricks for conquering the fantastic and surprisingly challenging new 'Zelda' game

"Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is a rare treat that comes along every decade or so - a game that moves the entire medium forward.

Nintendo

It's receiving near-universal praise from critics - reviews aggregation site Metacritic lists the game with a 98/100 average score, based on 67 reviews. It's being hailed as a "new classic," and rightfully so: It's a tremendously good game.

Nintendo

"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" launched on March 3, 2017 for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

Beyond just being really good, "Breath of the Wild" is a truly difficult game. It's also wide open - you can go virtually anywhere in the massive open-world of Hyrule. And that combination of difficulty and openness means that you're likely to want some guidance as you venture into the wild.

We've got just that guidance below, based on my own experience and that of many other reviewers across the world. Let's begin.