I feel like my dozens of hours in Farcry 2 prepared me for enjoying this game a little more than most. The fun in that game came from your ability to approach combat scenarios in a huge variety of ways. You can cook up a plan, execute on it, and when it inevitably fails, you improvise. That formula never really gets old for me, so long as the actual combat has a heightening skill ceiling (and so far, it does).
Opening
The game does a good job of easing you in, but I was honestly getting a bit bored of the plateau shortly before they allow you to leave. Then of course the massive world opens up and BOOM, I was playing another 2 hours. I'd still be playing if I didn't have real life stuff to do.
Off the Plateau
I feel like everyone will have their own story to tell about their first moments off the Plateau. I recognized how special that moment was about a minute upon landing. The world is huge, surprisingly so, and immaculately designed with tons to see and explore. For me, I headed east in the direction of Kakariko, but diverged when I saw the massive bridge spanning (what I assume is) Lake Hylia. After making my way past the relatively tougher enemies and finding some fresh, more powerful weapons (soldier broadsword, I'll miss you...), I made it through an army to the tower just beyond the bridge using a variety of techniques involving stealth, headshots and running for my fucking life from a mob. That's all I had time for so far...
Weapon Degradation
I like it! It's jarring at first, and introduces an added element of panic when your weapon breaks mid-combat. But overall, I appreciate how the system forces you to learn to adapt to a variety of weapons, dissuading you from leaning on a comfortable crutch. It also has the added effect of making you CARE about the weapons you truly like, and hastening the cycle of getting excited about the next weapon around the corner you'll be getting (which heretofore in Zelda consisted of a single weapon -- though admittedly one of the most iconic video game weapons). This only felt like a problem on the Plateau, where the variety of weapons was pretty thin. Now that I'm in the wide world, I've gotten at least 12 different types or variations of weapons, so I'm pretty okay with the degradation, so long as it encourages you to approach combat slightly differently each time.
Story
Eh... I've admittedly seen only the top layer of it, but it's not really blowing my skirt up. I do appreciate the "doomed world" setup, but the explanation for how it arrived at this state felt poorly conceived. Still, I welcome surprises in this department. It seems to me the meat of this game will come in exploration, discovery and inventive combat -- and honestly, that's A-OK with me.
Controls
Is anyone else thrown by these, so far? Switching between weapons still doesn't feel natural, and neither does switching powers. I've never successfully done it on the first try mid-combat, when it counts. I've accidentally blown myself up with bombs after getting L+R's functions confused, and I'm sure it won't be the last time. I spent a good long time up on the Plateau just trying to familiarize myself with the controls, how to maneuver myself in combat, but I still haven't attained what I'd call a comfort level in combat yet. Every encounter feels slightly hectic, a little clumsy, and I'm hoping that's me still getting a hang of the buttons.
Switch Experience
My TV setup at home literally has no room for additional devices. We're full-up. So I was hoping I could play the Switch in portable mode 100% of the time, but as Aaz mentioned, it feels too small for Zelda. I jerry-rigged the Switch up to my TV by robbing my family's other entertainment devices of their HDMI and coveted power outlets, sitting on the floor, just to see how BotW compared on the big screen -- and it was a HUGE experiential difference. Your mileage may vary, but for me, the portable mode just isn't conducive to the atmosphere of a massive, open-world game, where there's tons to see, and so many details to pour over in every little landscape. I felt like I was missing out on half the game with the small screen.