I think cooking (and eating) could be greatly enhanced if they added a quick access button for each, like Monster Hunter does with potions or the grill (or the already existing weapon/magic/shield hot swap mechanic). I'd also prefer if the game allowed for cooking multiple meals at once.
I do not want to go into a lengthy trip through the menu in the middle of a fight to eat something, and I also do not want to cook three dozen mushroom skewers, one at a time, while mashing the skip button and cursing like a sailor. Maybe allow identical meals to stack instead of taking up a slot each, if only for optics (so the max item limit stays the same, you just see a more concise presentation).
Bonus: A "learning" cookbook with recipes would be swell. Just choose a (researched) recipe, and the game offers a filtered list of possible ingredients. To fill your cookbook, you have to experiment - once you successfully cook something in "free form mode", the result is recorded in the cookbook. And yes, more recipes and better under the hood mechanics for more varied output (no more crit-success random stuff, use the quality and quantity and consider bonus/boosting ingredients and maybe even cooking pot location/weather).
Ideally, I'd like to access all these features without ever having to enter the inventory. Let me research new food using the full featured inventory interface (URGH) at home, but let me cook with ease from the cookbook at the press of a button everywhere else.
Also, ferchrissake, give me a chest at home where I can dump all the crap I won't need for my spelunking. Fucking hell, why do I have to lug around all my stuff everywhere. So much clutter. So much useless stuff. So much time wasted scrolling. As if I'd ever want vanilla armour when I have armour with special effects. If I have a bunch of meals with me, allow me to store unused or exotic ingredients at home.
One thing that flummoxed me was the horse stuff. Rejoice, gamer, you get a billion different mounts with different stats and vastly different looks, so have fun hunting for the perfect mount out there! ....but wait, here's a quest that immediately afterwards gives you pretty much the best horse for free. Yay?! Talk about self-sabotage.
...it's still deaf though, and it hates you with a passion. You must now pet it like a furry in heat and fill with apples for ten minutes before it stops being suicidal. Such depth. Much wow.
...I rage because I care. They better refine the shit out of BOTW for their next Zelda.
