Breath of the Wild takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline in the kingdom of Hyrule. In ancient times, the ancient Sheikah race had developed Hyrule into an advanced civilization, protected by four enormous animalistic machines called the Divine Beasts and an army of autonomous weapons called Guardians. When an ancient evil known as Calamity Ganon appeared and threatened Hyrule, four great warriors were given the title of Champion, and each piloted one of the Divine Beasts to weaken Ganon while the princess with the blood of the goddess and her appointed knight fought and defeated him by sealing him away. Ten millennia later, the kingdom of Hyrule had since regressed to a medieval state. Reading their ancestors' prophecies, Hyrule's peoples recognized the signs of Ganon's return and excavated surrounding areas to uncover the Divine Beasts and Guardians.
Breath of the Wild encourages nonlinear gameplay, which is illustrated by the game's lack of defined entrances or exits to areas, scant instruction given to the player, and encouragement to explore freely. Breath of the Wild introduces a consistent physics engine to the Zelda series, letting players approach problems in different ways rather than trying to find a single solution. The game also integrates a "chemistry engine" that defines the physical properties of most objects and governs how they interact with the player and one another. As Link, players can perform actions such as running, climbing, swimming, and gliding with a paraglider, although Link is limited by his stamina.
Source: Wikipedia, "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," available under the CC-BY-SA License.
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