The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild contains 120 shrines scattered throughout every part of Hyrule, many of which are out in the open, exposed to the elements on hilltops or lying dormant in a peaceful valley. But some are completely hidden and waiting for you to complete a quest or a puzzle before they emerge from the ground.
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While repeating Breath of the Wild while waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I recently did another run at Korgu Chideh Shrine. To access it, I had to travel to Eventide Island and undergo one of the open-world game’s most grueling quests. It’s commendable in terms of level design, but it also showcases Nintendo’s sometimes twisted sense of humor – and can be downright annoying to deal with if you’re not prepared. It’s a booby-trapped, Hitman-esque level where the odds are stacked heavily against you, and it’s amazing.
Eventide Island is not easy to get to. It’s an empty spot along the southeast coast of the game’s giant map, and unless you’ve heard of it through word of mouth, you might not have stumbled upon it unless you’re just exploring it out of curiosity. You can fly there with Link’s glider (although this requires a lot of stamina) or use a raft. You can’t escape easily either; the only way to leave is to swim all the way back to the mainland – that is, unless you are terribly creatively.
When landing on the island, the rules of the quest are displayed on the screen: Move three orbs to different locations to win. Simple enough. But there are some harsh conditions: the game takes away your weapons, shields, armor, food and all other stat-buffing supplements. You will have to find new stuff on the island. To make things even more difficult, the quest disables the ability to save your game so you lose everything (again) when you die.
It seems unfair at first, even though you have your Sheikah Slate and his runes – the bag of tricks you get in the early game. So you can blow things up with bombs, create ice platforms in the water with Cryonis, temporarily trap enemies and obstacles with Stasis and telekinetically pull magnetic objects around with Magnesis. That means this could be a particularly difficult quest if you’re more comfortable fighting with degradable weapons than Link’s reusable runes.
Defeating each group of enemies requires a firm grip from each of them Breath of the Wild‘s game mechanics – mainly stealth, luring enemies into traps and being brutally accurate with bows and bombs. You’ll need to know how to do the most damage with worthless weapons that break down quickly, how to stab the few humble enemies in the back, land critical headshots, create a distraction, and also use the environment to your advantage.
Depending on your skill level, it could take several hours to get through Eventide Island and have to start over. With each new attempt at this quasi-roguelike experience, your gear is gone, but your knowledge of the island’s layout remains. I won’t pretend that knowledge alone will help you win; you’re likely to have at least one heated gamer moment when dealing with some troubled physics, or when an overwhelming stream of enemies gets in the way of an orb. Nevertheless, finally reaching the shrine is one of the most rewarding moments Breath of the Wild has to offer.
It’s been about six years since I first went to Eventide Island, and my appreciation for the design is only growing. It’s a fun but torturous sandbox true Breath of the Wild‘s many game systems work in symphony. I especially love how this quest plays with the game’s relationship with the player, almost as if to say, “If you fly here and act totally independent and curious, we’ll let you do that.” Just know that you can get your ass kicked in the process – right up to the point where you triumph.