Two years since its release, and about a year-and-a-half after I first completed it, I decided to dive back into Breath of the Wild over spring break. I never went back and played either of the DLC releases, despite having bought the season pass a few weeks after the game launched. I figured having a week to just relax with the game and play through it again would be the perfect opportunity to see what I had been missing. This time, however, I resolved to play the game with the HUD turned off. No minimap, no compass, nothing.

This was the best decision I could have made. Revisiting Breath of the Wild, without all the bells and whistles that made finding your way around Hyrule easier, allowed me to fully immerse myself in the game. I spent more time looking at the map screen, determining which direction I should go to reach a goal, only to be sidetracked by some sidequest or shrine that I had forgotten about since I finished the game. Breath of the Wild is easily one of my favorite games ever made, and experiencing it this way made me fall in love with it all over again.