The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, even after all of these years, remains one of the greatest open-world games ever made, if not the greatest. It continues to show just how important exploration is to the entire genre, and how much Nintendo is the master at leveraging it successfully as a mechanic and experience. Its puzzle shrines continue to delight, combat remains simple yet complex enough, and its plethora of side quests provides plenty of entertainment as players continue to discover places they’d never seen before, even after a third, fourth, or fifth playthrough.
However, while there may be so manygreat reasons to replayBOTW, there is one feature, one significant issue with the game that has prevented me from returning to it time after time. I had hoped that its Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade would rectify the issue, but it persists like a parasite.Breath of the Wild’sabsolute worst part remains in the game, and it is unbelievably frustrating. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there is an end in sight for this terrible feature beyond Nintendo, hopefully, omitting it from future titles.
BOTW’s Gyroscope Shrines Are Still Tough In Handheld Mode
They’re Nearly Impossible To Complete With The Intended Controls
There are a lot ofrevolutionary features inBOTW, but its implementation of gyro controls is simply not one of them. I know I am not alone in thinking that the gyro-based Shrine puzzles inBreath of the Wildthat see you tilt and wobble your Nintendo Switch as you spin around wildly, trying desperately to get a ball to roll into a hole before giving up and throwing your Switch at a wall, are one of the worst parts of the game, as everyone and their dog complains about them onReddit.
In fact,these gyro-based puzzles are easily the worst part ofBreath of the Wild, and Nintendo should have removed them entirely. The key frustration with these puzzles comes from playing in handheld mode. No matter how much I try to keep my Switch flat, the ball seems to roll. When I try and tilt it correctly, it falls off the platform, and I’m forced to start again.
I am ashamed to say that after beatingBreath of the Wildnumerous times, and enjoying every playthrough,there are several of these Shrines that I just haven’t beaten. I just can’t put myself through the torment of trying to wrestle with the, at best, inconsistent gyroscope controls. It’s just not worth the tears and the cost of repairing the Switch-sized hole in my wall.
Of course, I’m being a tad dramatic and hyperbolic, but these really are the mostunfair feature ofBOTW. They’re too fiddly and cumbersome, annoyingly fun, and, at times, seem purposefully designed to irritate me, especially. It is as if the puzzle was designed with gyro controls in mind, so platforms are extremely narrow and not catered towards the slight jiggle of the Switch if you have shaky hands or if the wind gently brushes by you.The design and execution of these puzzles are at odds with one another, which is a huge shame.
I Hoped Switch 2’s Improved Tech Would Make These Shrines Easier
Unfortunately, It Isn’t Enough
I had hoped that the Nintendo Switch 2’s improved tech would have allowed Nintendo to tweak these gyro-based puzzlesand make them at least a little less frustrating. After all, the Switch 2 version ofBOTWfixed a controversial featurethrough the poor implementation of the Zelda Notes app, so it was clearly thinking about some minor quality of life changes when developing these expensive ports. However, I suppose no one at Nintendo HQ thought it would be worth revisiting these Shrines, or the Switch 2’s gryo controls are not up to the job, as these puzzles are still broken.
To be absolutely clear,the Nintendo Switch 2’s motion controls are leaps and bounds ahead of the original Switch’s, as evidenced by the YouTube channelGVG’sbreakdown of them. However, even despite the Switch 2’s motion controls being an improvement, it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on these puzzles inBOTW. It isn’t clear why this is the case, but it does feel like yet anothermistake withBOTW’sSwitch 2 port, as these were a well-documented issue with the game, and something a large portion of fans had a problem with.
Unfortunately, that meansif you were planning on replayingBreath of the Wildin the hopes that these puzzles will be fixed, you shouldn’t bother.BOTW’sexpensive Switch 2 upgradedoes improve several other features, but it in no way addresses these, meaning that they remain unfinished in my umpteenth playthrough. Fortunately, there is a workaround, although it does mean ostensibly switching off the entire point of these puzzles, and playing them in a way Nintendo likely never intended for you to do.
The Best Way To Beat Gyroscope Shrines Is With Joy-Cons
It Makes Things Infinitely Easier
If you want to beatBreath of the Wild’sannoying gyroscope Shrines, then you’ll need to disconnect your Joy-Consand either dock your Switch or play with it propped up on the stand. While in handheld mode, the motion controls seem to be especially sensitive, which is what leads to the ball you need to fit into a specific hole falling off the platform, and then said platform not resetting, and the ball endlessly falling into the abyss below. However, the Joy-Cons don’t have as much of an issue, which makes solving these puzzles easier.
Some users have reported onRedditthat putting the separated Joy-Cons in the grip also helps make solving these puzzles easier. Alternatively, if you have a Pro Controller, this is far more efficient at completing these motion-control-based puzzles inBreath of the Wild.
It feels antithetical to the way Nintendo obviously wants you to do it, but it is a necessary evil. Once you’ve done it this way,you may go back to playing in true handheld mode. This works for both the Switch 2 and original Switch, so it’s a helpful tip to keep under your belt. It certainly helped me out with several of them, and is encouraging me to go back and beat the rest. Additionally, while I do findBOTW’sSwitch 2 port worseoverall, these puzzles are ever so slightly more bearable, especially thanks to the wider screen.
I can absolutely see what Nintendo was trying to do with these Shrines, especially asBOTWwas one of the first games on the console, and thus an early adopter of this technology. It has improved drastically in later games, includingTears of the Kingdom, but it is a shame that Nintendo didn’t properly leverage the Switch 2’s improved technology to rectify these abominable puzzles. Naturally,Breath of the Wildisn’t ruined by a handful of gyro-centric puzzles, but, unfortunately, even on the Switch 2, they remain a pain.
