You wake up in a dark, watery cave. No sword. No pants. Just a glowing tablet and a voice telling you to open your eyes. This is how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild begins, and honestly, the Breath of the Wild Great Plateau might be the single best piece of tutorial design in the history of video games. It doesn't hold your hand. It doesn't give you a thirty-minute cutscene about the politics of Hyrule. It just lets you walk out onto a cliff, look at a massive, ruined world, and figure it out.
Most games treat tutorials like a chore. You spend an hour hitting straw dummies while a pop-up tells you to press 'A' to jump. Breath of the Wild does something different. It treats the Great Plateau as a microcosm of the entire experience. If you can survive here, you can survive anywhere. But if you rush it, you're gonna have a bad time.
The Isolated Genius of the Plateau’s Design
The Great Plateau is literally a "tutorial plateau." It’s an elevated island in the middle of Hyrule, surrounded by massive walls that you can’t climb down from without a paraglider. Nintendo designer Hidemaro Fujibayashi basically built a sandbox inside a sandbox. You’re trapped. But it never feels like a prison because there is so much to do.
You meet the Old Man. He’s cryptic. He wants you to trade your soul—or at least some spirit orbs—for a way off the mountain. This is where the game introduces its core loop: explore, solve, grow. The beauty of the Breath of the Wild Great Plateau is that it teaches you through failure. You try to swim across a cold river? You drown. You try to run into a snowy field without a coat? You freeze. The game isn't being mean; it’s setting the rules of the world.
Why the Shrines Matter More Than You Think
People think the first four shrines are just about getting the runes. They aren't. They are about teaching you how to break the game.
Take the Oman Au Shrine (Magnesis). It teaches you that the world is physical. You can pick up metal slabs. You can drop them on enemies. Then you go to the Ja Baij Shrine and learn about bombs. Not just "blow up this wall," but "how does wind affect where this bomb rolls?" By the time you hit the Owa Daim Shrine and get Stasis, you realize that momentum is a weapon. You aren't just playing a Zelda game; you’re playing a physics engine.
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Survival is the First Real Lesson
I remember the first time I tried to get to the Keh Namut Shrine. It’s high up in the mountains. It’s freezing. I didn't have the Warm Doubler yet because I hadn't figured out the recipe for Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. I tried to make a run for it, eating apples every ten seconds to stay alive. I died. Obviously.
This is the "Aha!" moment of the Breath of the Wild Great Plateau. The game is telling you: "Stop. Think. Use your environment."
You have options. You can cook spicy peppers to get cold resistance. You can carry a lit torch to keep your body temperature up. You can even find the Old Man’s hut and read his diary to learn that recipe I mentioned earlier (it’s Raw Meat, Hyrule Bass, and Spicy Peppers, by the way). This isn't just "content." It’s the game teaching you that preparation is the difference between a hero and a corpse.
The Old Man and the Narrative Breadcrumbs
The Old Man is the only NPC you interact with for the first few hours. He’s a tether to the past. While most players focus on the gameplay mechanics, the environmental storytelling on the plateau is incredible. Look at the Temple of Time. It’s a literal ruin of the Ocarina of Time era. It’s a gut punch for long-time fans. It tells you exactly how much has been lost without saying a single word.
Breaking the "Correct" Path
There is no "right" way to finish the plateau. Most people go to the Magnesis shrine first because it’s right there. But you don't have to. You can wander off into the woods, find a Stone Talus, and get absolutely crushed by a giant rock monster within ten minutes of starting the game.
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That’s a deliberate choice.
The Breath of the Wild Great Plateau includes a world boss (the Talus) and a Decayed Guardian right near the Ja Baij Shrine. These aren't meant to be easy. They are there to teach you that some fights are better left for later. Or, if you’re brave enough, they teach you how to parry and dodge early. This level of freedom is why the game feels so alive. You aren't following a script. You're surviving a world.
The Physics of Fire and Wood
One thing people often overlook is how the plateau teaches chemistry. You find a Boko Camp. You see a red barrel. You shoot a fire arrow, or maybe you just swing a torch near some dry grass. The fire spreads. The updraft lets you jump higher. This isn't a scripted event. It’s just how fire works in Hyrule.
By the time you leave the Breath of the Wild Great Plateau, you aren't just better at the game; you understand its logic. You know that metal attracts lightning. You know that wood floats. You know that if you’re creative enough, you can launch a log across a canyon and ride it like a rocket.
Common Mistakes New Players Make on the Plateau
Honestly, it's easy to get frustrated if you treat this like a linear game.
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- Ignoring the trees. You need wood. You need acorns. You need to climb. If you stay on the path, you miss half the resources.
- Fighting everything. Your weapons are made of brittle sticks and rusted iron. They will break. Sometimes, sneaking into a camp and stealing the weapons is smarter than a head-on assault.
- Forgetting the scope. Use the pins on your Sheikah Slate. If you see something weird from a high point, mark it. The plateau is dense with Korok seeds that most people walk right past.
Beyond the Paraglider
Once you finish the four shrines and meet the Old Man at the top of the Temple of Time, the game finally gives you the Paraglider. This is the "graduation" ceremony. The moment you leap off the side of the plateau and glide down into the vastness of Hyrule is one of the most iconic moments in modern gaming.
But notice what happens: the plateau doesn't disappear. It stays there, a silent monument to your first steps. You can go back later with high-end gear and realize just how small that "massive" area actually was. It’s a benchmark for your progress.
The Breath of the Wild Great Plateau works because it respects the player's intelligence. It assumes you can learn. It assumes you can fail. And it assumes that the joy of discovery is more valuable than a waypoint marker on a map.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
- Find the Forest of Spirits: Hunt the boar here. It’s the best way to practice stealth and get the raw meat needed for the Warm Doubler.
- Check under the bridge: There’s a chest in the water near the Magnesis shrine. Use Magnesis to pull it up. Most people miss it.
- The Temple of Time Roof: There is a Korok seed at the very top spire. It’s a tough climb early on, but worth the effort for the view alone.
- Cook early: Don't wait until you're at the snowy mountains to experiment with peppers. Get a head start so you aren't panic-cooking in the cold.
- Steal the Old Man's Baked Apple: He won't mind. It’s sitting by his fire near the beginning. It's a free heal.
By focusing on these small details, you turn a standard tutorial into a masterclass in survival. The Great Plateau isn't just a place you leave behind; it’s the foundation for everything that makes Breath of the Wild a masterpiece. Whether it’s your first time waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection or your tenth, the plateau always has something new to show you if you're willing to look.