I’ve always considered Breath of the Wild to be a comfortable game. Even though plenty of encounters and surprises are sure to bring your heart rate up (Guardians and Lynels, anyone?), the natural beauty and serene stillness of the game’s overworld will always stick with me the most. My first exposure to the game was the autumnal Akkala region, jumping into a save file started by my brothers and being swept away by the brilliant, colorful vistas.
Breath of the Wild is now six years old (no, I can’t believe it either), and in those six years, the game’s characters and environments have been adopted by untold numbers of artists who endeavor to place their handprint on the Zelda community through their work. Much of the art we see manifests in drawings and paintings created on a 2D plane, but it is a special treat when their handiwork incorporates the third dimension, as Reddit user Dima has shown with their voxel-art depiction of a peaceful training session at sunset.
Entitled “Link While Training,” we see exactly that, but we also see much more. It almost escapes description (though I’ll still try my best).
To start, the entire picture is warm — that might be the best word for it. From the vibrant, autumnal trees, to the soft orange backdrop, to the long shadows cast by a setting sun, there’s an impeccable serenity portrayed, creating an environment that wraps itself around you in a warm hug. The depth-of-field blurring gives the piece a lifelike quality, as if it was a diorama on someone’s shelf. The use of lighting and color is masterful; nothing feels jarring or out of place.
Next, we should examine the subjects nestled in this comfy scene, Link and Zelda. Link wields the Master Sword, performing familiar movements to keep his mind and body sharp, while Zelda sits nearby and watches. It’s a scene very similar to one of the memories Link collects in Breath of the Wild, except instead of taking place under a tree in the rain, they are atop a small, crumbling outpost, of which there are many dotted around modern-day Hyrule.
It’s possible that this takes place in the same time period as that flashback, one of many such restful stops in Link and Zelda’s travels. However, if the ruined structure is anything to go by, it’s just as possible that this is a scene from after Hyrule’s salvation; Link and Zelda are reunited after 100 years, returning to the familiar ways of the past, but with much better understanding between them. Speculation like this is not crucial to the piece, but it might lend a little more warmth and endearment to a work of art already brimming with it.
