Earlier this year I finally had the funds and wherewithal to get Breath of the Wild and thus ending a long period of avoiding spoilers and discussions about the game. Now, a month or two down the line, I can't put off the fact that I am going to have to 'finish' the game in some way shape of form as I get to the point that almost all that's left on the to do list is deal with Calamity Ganon.

And it is here that I find myself at a bit of a challenging decision, what to I go to next? My putting off getting to the end of the game is obviously due to my enjoyment playing it, but also down to knowing the gaping void in my gaming life that will appear once I do.

So, before I even start my assault on Hyrule Castle, I am looking to see what I can fill the upcoming gap with. I came off playing AC: Origins to play this, and while I'll go back to it eventually I can't help but feel that there might just be a little too much overlap and overt "I like this more in Zelda..." that AC: Origins doesn't really deserve. Part of me thinks I should look at another LoZ game, but again, I think it might create too many comparisons in my head. Also, having tried to replay OoT recently(ish), it really isn't the game my memory seems to think it was and I have a feeling Majora's Mask will be the same. I've not played Wind Waker since release so that might be a good one, Twilight Princess I brought on release but have never gotten around to playing. But I'm not sure playin the Gamecube version and the muddy visuals won't be a bit of a come down. I've also got few Zelda-like games I've not got around to, Darksiders, Hob, Rime that also might be a good place to hop to.

Basically, I want more BotW, but there isn't any (yet). I will probably end up cleansing my palette with a couple of short things and either get back to Origins or set up the Gamecube and get on the high seas but I'm interested to hear what other peeps moved onto.

I realise not everyone is as into this game, but for those of you that got completely caught up in it, what did you follow it up with? Was it a good transition or one of those difficult to ween yourself the last thing moments?

I can understand your urge to get more of the feeling of BotW, but there are no other game that can perfectly fill that hole, as you already hinted about. And I don't think you need to, even if it feels like the best idea right now.

Most of the games I played after BotW are unrelated, but some similar ones are. Some of these I played before, but you mentioned it so I will comment on them:

Subnautica - A very good game where exploring is fun, generally, you can do it in your own pace.
Rime - It is a rather short story driven puzzle adventure where the minimalistic storytelling over shines the gameplay. Sure, some puzzles were starting to get good, similar to Zelda, but never got there. Also much more linear, and not really an open world. But a good game never the less. Maybe better as an
Darksiders - I don't agree with it being like Zelda. The general feel and rythm is closer to devil may cry and similar.
Wind Waker - Get the Wii U version if you can. Not only for the HD but the improvements like a better sail and the less grindy end game stuff.
Twilight Princess - Not the best Zelda in my book. But has some very good temples and ideas. Overall I feel that some of the mechanics are really boring. Like collecting tears, shadow creatures locking down the world and so on.
My Time at Portia - Take a break in Portia and live the life, build some stuff in your workshop, go mine, fish and/or go spelunking.

Sorry for not answering your question.

You ever played Dragon's Dogma? It has a lot of the Breath of the Wild sensibilities, but they make travel more arduous. It's also on just about everything at this point.

I really liked doing Horizon: Zero Dawn around the same time as Zelda, but it can be tough to go back and forth since you can't climb up mountains in HZD. Died a bunch trying to scale a hill only to find that it didn't work. But great game regardless!

After 100 hours of BOTW the last thing I wanted to play was another open world game. I jump around to different genres for a palette cleanser.

This year I played Horizon: Zero Dawn and that was pretty great.

Recently though started a master run of BOTW and uh... there's a lynel in the starting zone.

Thanks for all the input, it's good to hear I wasn't the only one a little unsure of where to go next! I've had Horizon: Zero Dawn on my radar since it's release but not having a PS4 is the barrier to entry for me on that one. I am that person that hopes all the major console makers start their own "you can stream onto anything so long as you subscribe" model as I am the numpty who'd have all of them.

After last night's BotW mopping up of tasks, I definitely have stronger feelings of having an open world break (eff Lynels, eff major tests of strength and eff my old man reactions). So I have Ape Out, Unheard and Mutant Year Zero in my recent unplayed list that I'll use as a between open worlds sorbet course.

Next open world? From this (H:ZD aside) I might have another bash at Dragon's Dogma. Tried it on the 360 but got distracted by other things so drifted away early on. I now have the PC version with all the added bits so that might be worth a dive in. I do love to create a honkingly weird looking dude to run around saving the day everywhere.

I intentionally played Horizon Zero Dawn after completing BOTW because I wanted to play the superior game 2nd & personally speaking I was right.

My Top 10 games of 2017

	1. Horizon Zero Dawn
	2. Persona 5
	3. Tekken 7: Fated Retribution
	4. Super Mario Odyssey
	5. Splatoon 2
	6. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
	7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
	8. Sonic Mania
	9. Cuphead
	10. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

My recommendations are all complete opposite of Open World games. Also these are on switch too, if you are wanting to stay there.

Dead Cells

Into the Breach

Mega Man 11

Mega Man Legacy Collection (if you want to go back and do 1 - 10, i LOVE mega man, so i do runs of some of these every few months, especially 2 and 3)

@dpedal1: Nice! You have recommended (apart from Dead Cells which I play and return to quite a bit despite being terrible at it) all games I have on a systems that I have not got gotten around to playing. I missed all the Mega Man games at release, mostly down to having a Master System rather than an NES. Maybe popping on a bit of Blue Bombin' and firing up the legacy collection could be a pretty good open world tonic!

That also made me think, there are many, many occurrences of me putting on a game and then simultaneously popping a relevant Giant Bomb video to have on at the same time. Hitman being a prime example. In fact, GB Infinite has helped me decide what to play more often than idly scrolling down my Steam list. Deciding is not a strength of mine, I'm like Mr Burns looking at ketchup and catsup.

Thanks to the joy of Backloggery I can tell you exactly what I played Breath of the Wild;

Westerado: Double Barreled followed by Force Unleashed 2.

I often find when I've just finished something huge I'll settle on a smaller game and/or a throwaway B game)blockbuster from yesteryear. Interestingly after this I dived straight into Mass Effect Andromeda a game I sunk 80 hours into.

@flameboy84: (awesome profile pic btw - I miss workbench) Westerado and Force Unleashed 1 & 2 are also in my unplayed backlog - it just got bumped up. I used the Lorenzo Stanco Steam Filter thing and have now discovered I might have an unplayed list so long it broke my brain a bit. Still, with all these recommendations, I won't be spending any money on games soon.

Didn't play it since I don't own a Switch yet. But after playing a game that has its similar scale, I find myself either going to one indie title or another, or just not play anything for a few days.

I don't know what game I played directly after or directly before, but I know it was around the time I was also playing Nioh and Horizon Zero Dawn, and then AC: Origins. I was super excited to get a Switch and Zelda, but in the end, I didn't love BotW. I like it, but it's pretty repetitive to me. It is, however, a game I would love to play more of if it ever came out in 4k (with HDR and some kind of surround sound). I can't really recommend playing a game that's like Breath of the Wild; maybe just look for something else that has swords and perhaps an open world. Maybe try out a Souls-borne game if you haven't already. I say this only because Breath of the Wild itself can be challenging at times too (albeit, not Souls challenging mind you), and you know, the whole sword thing. They also have worlds that I loved exploring.