Zelda: Breath of the Wild's cooking system looks very Monster Hunter
What's in your pouch?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild certainly shakes things up a lot by making the classic franchise open-world, but the new terrain isn't the only radical change to the formula. Instead of cutting grass to replenish lost HP, Breath of the Wild will make players hunt, gather and cook in order to survive the Hylian wilderness.
But it turns out cooking does a lot more than refill Link's health. As explained by YouTuber Arekkz Gaming, Breath of the Wild's new cooking system will be an instrumental feature in combing the depth of Hyrule.
Much like Monster Hunter before it, Breath of the Wild will contain certain areas where the temperature is too hot or cold for Link to withstand on his own. As such, he'll have to craft cooling or warming potions to give him temporary immunity to the climate.
Beyond that, this new version of Hyrule will contain areas only accessible by scaling huge walls, which takes more stamina than Link possesses by default.
It's unclear if cooking is the only way to access all of Hyrule - I wouldn't be surprised if there are forms of armour and gear that will buff Link's stats as well - but it looks like preparatory cooking is going to be a major component in withstanding Breath of the Wild's more dangerous corners.
For more on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, our Tom Phillips played the demo four times. Here's what he discovered.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is due in early 2017 on Wii U and NX.
