The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has done a lot for the franchise. Most Zelda games of the past were enjoyed until the mostly linear story was beaten, then they would solidify into the months in the time when it came out. But Breath of the Wild is different with its open-world design, and Nintendo seems to be doubling down on it with the latest patch.
Among many bugs and other performance fixes, the latest patch adds something interesting that's rather Nintendo-like. Nintendo has added a new Zelda channel on the Nintendo Switch's News page. It's called 'Tips from the Wild' and it's essentially a guide and 'What's new' page for Breath of the Wild. The innovative part of the channel is when you read it, you get a free item in-game.
New post on 'Tips from the Wild'? Go read it and enjoy a new sword! Nintendo hasn't expanded on what types of free items can be expected, but considering weapons break left and right in the game, this would be a nice addition.
Off the top of our heads, we can't think of another game that does this. 'Tips from the Wild' seems like a way to extend the buzz around the game, which depending on the DLC planned, could extend the life of the game even further than the simple fact that its open world. So how do you get people to read things that may spark firing back up their save file? Offer free items!
Beyond this feature, here's a list of patch notes:
- We have fixed the issue in Pack 1: The Master Trials of the Expansion Pass, in which defeating certain enemies for Kilton was not counted toward completion when playing in Master Mode.
- In-game items can now be obtained from launching the software from certain articles distributed through a new News channel (“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Tips from the Wild”) which can be accessed through News on the Home menu.
- This channel is expected to open on 8/9/2017.
- Depending on your game progress and location, certain items may not be obtainable.
- Various fixes to improve gameplay.
