Even after 100 years in the Slumber of Restoration, Breath of the Wild's Link is a little too stiff. Other Nintendo titles, like Super Mario Odyssey, give their characters expressive idle animations that let the player know it's time to get moving, but Link seems content with standing still for hours on end. BOTW does have a few subtle idle animations that make Link feel a little more human than robot, but it wouldn't be surprising to see ancient machinery underneath Link's boyish exterior. BOTW 2's Link has a chance to fix things.
During E3 2019, BOTW 2 was announced via a cinematic teaser trailer. Link and Zelda were shown exploring the depths of Hyrule Castle and stumbling upon a mysterious ancient corpse. The corpse awakens, Hyrule Castle begins to ascend, and - all the while - Link probably has a blank expression on his face.
With the amount of life that flows through BOTW's version of Kingdom of Hyrule, it's perplexing that some of it couldn't be spared to make Link a little more energetic. He's the 17-year-old hero of Hyrule, after all, and should have plenty of pent-up energy from his 100-year sleep. With a few extra idle animations, BOTW 2 has the opportunity to fix Link's animation problem.
Outside of his pained expressions while subject to environmental hazards, Link only has four idle animations. One of these only occurs if Link is shirtless, and another only happens at night. The other two consist of a small stretch when standing still and, when crouched, he wipes something off his hand. Other than that, Link is lifeless. BOTW 2 needs to give him more expressive idle animations to make players feel like Link is a real person. He's been asleep for 100 years, and the most players get is a little shoulder roll. Link should touching his toes, stretching his arms into the air, and jogging in place to keep his blood flowing.
There's a huge amount of detail poured into Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, but that depth is lacking when it comes to Link. The game has specific music for certain times and specific locations, but Link doesn't have a proper set of idle animations. Link should yawn when the sun is setting or after the player hasn't rested in a while. He should sit down when standing next to a campfire. He should kick the mud off his shoes after walking through swampy areas. And, at the very least, he should have been able to pet the dogs found at stables.
That's not to say developing these animations would be easy. Coding, modeling, and all the inner workings of game development need to go into something as simple as a few-second animation. But with the attention to detail BOTW's developers already displayed, making Link so stiff feels like a missed opportunity. He doesn't have to turn around and look at the camera or do a goofy jig out of boredom like other video game characters, but he could at least sway to move out of NPCs' way or take a second to admire his weapon. It's too late to fix Link's boring behavior in Breath of the Wild, but it's not too late to breathe a little more life into him in BOTW 2.
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