I essentially played BotW blind, but I remember frequent talks about a place called "Eventide Island." I figured I would eventually find the place and see what people were talking about. Time passed, I beat the game, and found the majority of the shrines. I forgot all about it.

It came up again and I finally decided to just look up what it was. It turns out it's something I had already done with very little fanfare. I didn't know it was a "thing" in the game. I thought it was just another shrine. Did I miss something while completing it?

A lot of people felt that the island encapsulates what’s great about Breath of the Wild, which is using the tools the game provides to solve a puzzle. I thought it was cool, but like you I didn’t think it was even a highlight, just one of the cool things you do.

because it's really cool

It sort of comes out of nowhere. "Oh look and island, I'll check it.... why did it go to black? Wait where's all my stuff???".

The island loses its impact post game when you already have lots of hearts and stamina.

Try it again on Master Mode!

Speaking of going all black there was Thyphlo Ruins. That Island was inside of a black void and looked striking against the rest of the landscape.

I suppose Eventide Island wasn't a big deal because I didn't fight the Hinox. I just stole the orb and ran. I remember there was a lot of dodging and running.

I thought that island suuuuucked. You go through all this trouble and spend so much time doing all the stuff for like one fucking orb. It just felt like a giant waste of time.

While Eventide Island was pretty cool, the reward doesn't justify the patience that is needed. It is actually one of my main criticism of BoTW that challenging shrines does not match the reward at the end versus a shrine that is simply out in the open. You still get the same reward regardless.

Eventide Island was tedious as hell and made me like this game less. It puts you at a severe combat disadvantage when combat is already the worst aspect of BotW. It highlighted the few frustrations I had with this game. For what it's worth, I came to it in the very late game when I had a bunch of hearts (and enough stamina to fly there). Even with a nice health cushion, it still feels cheap.

I just finished Eventide Island and loved it. I thought it was was exactly what @ungodly stated before: an encapsulation of the game's general exploration and combat mechanics (though I haven't finished BotW). I can see why people might have a different reaction, I died on my initial attempt and finding that I had to start all over again was definitely a bummer, but getting to the point where you feel like you have scouted the island thoroughly, know what needs to be done and have enough resources to finish the encounters before you is extremely satisfying. In addition, during my run through the island I spent a good amount of time perched above the largest Bokoblin camp, watching their behavior and slowing picking them off while rain and lightning came down around me. It was a very cool feeling and something that is among my highs in this game so far.

There sure is a lot of "it's the destination, not the journey" folks up in this thread.

It was a unique little side thing that I had a good time with. I was surprised with how much it stood out for people, but it was still a fun half hour of Breath of the Wild for me.

Based on what I've seen/heard this was most people's first "world event" shrine, where the game pauses, words pop up on the screen and you're given a unique task. That is such an unexpected thing that it makes a lasting impression.

I thought it was fantastic and really enjoyed gathering whatever I could to use. I also didn't have many hearts or that much stamina when I got there.

Though I did spend like 10ish minutes dropping bombs onto the Hinox until it died. That was kinda boring but I also love cheesing bosses in games whenever possible. And I didn't want to die.

@capum15: I'm conflicted about whether to say the way I killed the Hinox was better or worse. I ran around dropping bombs and avoiding it's attacks but it didn't occur to me that I could just get above him and throw bombs down and he couldn't get to me. My way was probably more exciting but also needlessly risky.

I think the impact it has depends on when you found it. I thought it was a super cool idea but I only got there after I had done all the divine beasts and absolutely tore through it. I just found one of the slightly good swords and killed everything without a problem. I would have loved to do it with 4 hearts but the exploration aspect of the game meant I never got to have a very memorable experience with it.

@constantk: The best part of my strategy is that right before I started cheesing it, I had cleared the ruins camp on that plateau area (under where the Shrine pops up). I stood on the edge of the hill and threw bombs until it was close to dying...and then a blood moon happened. Respawned the camp (I ended up climbing part way down and finding a tiny non-slide area to stand on, instead of fighting all those jerks again) and refilled the Hinox's health bar to full. It was probably about...25% ish left? Maybe 30%, not sure, but it was low and oh man that was...

I stood there and contemplated existence for a few minutes before going back to the bomb dropping. Thinking about it, it was probably more like 15 or 20 minutes to kill it from full. Not exactly sure, but I know a chunk of the bombs would barely miss it due to how they bounced down the hill. Honestly doing it your way is probably faster since it's almost a guarantee that each bomb hits.

Edit: I will say I felt like an idiot and subsequently a genius when I did the ball on the water lock part. I kept trying to get it on a raft and then I realized oh right I have ice powers. I just put them close together and walked along an ice wall to the tiny island.

@capum15: A blood moon happened for me too! Luckily mine occurred right after I finished the island and went up to the shrine. I was already done and was leaving when I saw the camp respawn and thought, some poor bastard probably had this hit at just the wrong moment.

I also initially forgot about the ice powers for the water lock. I don't know why but of all the runes, that's the one I forget about the most.

I came to it pretty late game, so I found it kind of boring. It was trivial to just slowly gather up gear and then kill everything.