CURRENT NINTENDO SWITCH METASCORE: 97
The result, for all the longevity of its series and the familiarity of the open-world genre, is a game that evokes feelings we haven’t known for 20 years. Not since Ocarina Of Time have we set foot in a world that seems so mind-bogglingly vast, that feels so unerringly magical, that proves so relentlessly intriguing. Plenty of games promise to let us go anywhere and do anything; few, if any, ever deliver on it so irresistibly. Nineteen years on, Ocarina is still held up as the high-water mark of one of gaming’s best-loved – and greatest – series. Now it may have to settle for second place.
-Edge Magazine, 10/10
No matter how gorgeous its environments are, how clever its enemies are, and how tricky its puzzles get, the fact that Breath of the Wild continues to surprise you with newfound rules and possibilities after dozens of hours is by far its most valuable quality. It's a game that allows you to feel gradually more and more empowered yet simultaneously manages to retain a sense of challenge and mystery--which, together, creates a steady, consistent feeling of gratification throughout the entire experience. Breath of the Wild is a defining moment for The Legend of Zelda series, and the most impressive game Nintendo has ever created.
-GameSpot, 10/10
I guess, in the end, it’s not just that Breath of the Wild signals that Zelda has finally evolved and moved beyond the structure it’s leaned on for so long. It’s that the evolution in question has required Nintendo to finally treat its audience like intelligent people. That newfound respect has led to something big, and different, and exciting. But in an open world full of big changes, Breath of the Wild also almost always feels like a Zelda game — and establishes itself as the first current, vital-feeling Zelda in almost 20 years.
-Polygon, 10/10
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterclass in open-world design and a watershed game that reinvents a 30-year-old franchise. It presents a wonderful sandbox full of mystery, dangling dozens upon dozens of tantalizing things in front of you that just beg to be explored. I’ve had so many adventures in Breath of the Wild, and each one has a unique story behind what led me to them, making them stories on top of stories. And even after I’ve spent more than 50 hours searching the far reaches of Hyrule, I still manage to come across things I haven’t seen before. I’ll easily spend 50 to 100 more trying to track down its fascinating moments.
-IGN, 10/10
Breath of the Wild delivers the adventure of a lifetime, and it is exciting that it will thrive on shared experiences around the way that everyone chose to interact with the world before them. We have long awaited the day that Ocarina of Time was dethroned, and here we have a renewed blueprint that will similarly have a momentous impact on where the series is steered next. How appropriate it is, then, that Breath of the Wild will be remembered as a legend in its own right and, perhaps, the greatest game that Nintendo has ever created. Never has a world impressed me so much.
-Nintendo Insider, 10/10
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild draws from many sources of inspiration, including older Zelda games and titles like Skyrim and The Witcher 3, to create something wholly unique. Nintendo has crafted a wide, beautiful world to explore, underpinned with some interesting emergent mechanics. Breath of the Wild stands as one of the best in the series and a great opener for Nintendo's newest console.
-USgamer, 5/5
This isn't your typical boiler plate open world cash grab, rife with to-do lists and busywork. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an evolution of the formula for both eastern and western philosophies alike, and a new blueprint.
-Destructoid, 10/10
Nintendo may have changed so many long-standing traditions of the Zelda franchise, but the spirit of discovery is as strong as it’s ever been no matter your age. I didn’t think I’d feel the Zelda magic this strongly ever again, but I couldn't be happier to be proven wrong.
-Giant Bomb, 5/5
It's one of the best video games I've ever played, and is sure to keep you busy for many hours, days and weeks, exploring this vast, beautiful, unexpected world. I can't speak to the Wii U version, but I'm sure either version will delight and inspire. Don't miss this one, even if you're not a fan of older Zelda games. New fans and old fans alike will find so much to love in this game.
-Forbes, 10/10
But the shrine is a fast travel point, offering you the ability to divert from the trek and easily resume it at a later date. And now you’ve got a hundred rupees, you can entice a Great Fairy out of her hiding place. So you head over there, and chat to her, discovering that she’ll enhance your armour. But you need a few more Hightail Lizards to do so – and so you put the trip to Zora’s Domain on hold again, just for a few more minutes … You look up, and it’s five hours later, and you don’t care.
-The Guardian, 5/5
Though in the end, most of what drives Breath of Wild to soar the highest this series ever has, comes down to quintessential Nintendo: daring to zig where others zag, crafting a sublime experience that's also a virtuoso commentary on the yin-yang of freedom and constraint. That an odyssey this beguiling and capacious happens to also be playable on planes, trains and, yes, the toilet, is almost beside the point.
-Time, 5/5
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is no mere Zelda game — it is a return to form for the decades-old series, showing that Nintendo still very much understands how to handle their property. Breath of the Wild may not only be the best Zelda game ever produced, but it rivals Super Mario 64 and Halo: Combat Evolved for the best launch game ever shipped with any console. With no exception, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a masterclass in game design and creativity, unprecedented from even Nintendo.
-DualShockers, 10/10
And while I don’t know if I ever felt like a genius while playing Breath of the Wild, I did feel like I was 11 years old and unlocking the magical secrets of all over again.
-GamesBeat, 100/100
User | Metascore Prediction |
2Quick | 91 |
Acevil | 92 |
Aerys | 91 |
Anfebious | 94 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
Angelv577 | 90 |
animegaming | 92 |
AnmolRed | 93 |
ARamdomGamer | 96 (Switch) |
areason | 94 |
Areym | 90 |
Ariakon | 92 |
Asriel | 94 |
Azuren | 89 |
AZWification | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Azzanation | 90 |
b00moscone | 94 |
Bajablo | 97 |
Bandorr | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
brainteeth | 91 |
BraLoD | 93 |
camilosanchez16 | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
Captain_Yuri | 92 |
celador | 93 |
cesarmgc | 95 |
CGI-Quality | 97 (Switch) 96 (Wii U) |
Chaimo | 95 (Switch) 96 (Wii U) |
Chris092 | 92 |
ClassicGamingWizzz | 96 |
Cloudman | 92 |
COKTOE | 90 |
d21lewis | 92 |
dahuman | 95 |
DanneSandin | 96 |
dante_mill21 | 95 |
daredevil.shark | 92 |
DaveTheMinion13 | 98 |
DJEVOLVE | 93 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
drbunnig | 94 |
DroidKnight | 89 (Switch) 87 (Wii U) |
Eagle367 | 93 |
Entropio | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
Eric2048 | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
etking | 85 (Switch) 83 (Wii U) |
Fededx | 96 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
flashfire926 | 95 |
fleischr | 94 (Switch) 86 (Wii U) |
Flilix | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
Flouff | 88 (Switch) 85 (Wii U) |
gabzjmm23 | 97 |
Gammalad | 91 |
GhetooBillGates | 94 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Goodnightmoon | 94 |
Green098 | 95 |
guiduc | 96 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Hakumawolf | 95 |
Helloplite | 94 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
Hiku | 93 (Switch) |
HylianYoshi | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Hynad | 97 |
irstupid | 92 |
IsawYoshi | 96 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
jason1637 | 98 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
JC317 | 95 |
John19 | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
John2290 | 86 |
Jpcc86 | 88 |
JRPGfan | 94 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Kai_Mao | 93 |
Keybladewielder | 95 |
kljesta64 | 92 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
KLXVER | 94 |
Kyuu | 92 |
Lastgengamer | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Lauster | 90 |
Leadified | 95 |
Lenny93 | 97 |
LipeJJ | 95 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
Ljink96 | 96 |
Luke888 | 95 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
Manlytears | 94 |
Mar1217 | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Mbolibombo | 94 |
Medisti | 94 |
Meret | 94 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
Metroid33slayer | 93 |
Miguel_Zorro | 97 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
Miyamotoo | 95 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
monocle_layton | 92 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
Mr_No | 90 |
Mummelmann | 92 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
mZuzek | 95 |
N00BYninja25 | 95 |
Namiirei | 95 |
NATO | 89 (Switch) 84 (Wii U) |
Nautilus | 97 |
ninjapirate42 | 95 |
Nintation360 | 100 |
NobleTeam360 | 94 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
Nogamez | 96 (Switch) |
Oneeee-Chan!!! | 95 |
onionberry | 97 |
Paatar | 94 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
Pachofilauri | 98 |
Pagan | 95 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
palou | 94 |
palitococo | 94 |
Panama | 89 |
pastro243 | 96 |
PEEPer0nni | 94 |
Peh | 96 |
Pinkie_pie | 87 |
Platina | 94 |
PrincessPeach | 89 |
QUAKECore89 | 98 |
Radek | 94 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
RolStoppable | 95 (Switch) 93 (Wii U) |
RJ_Sizzle | 95 |
sc94597 | 95 |
Shadow8 | 95 |
shikamaru317 | 93 (Switch) 91 (Wii U) |
Shikamo | 94 |
Shiken | 93 |
Slarvax | 91 |
spurgeonryan | 96 (Switch) 94 (Wii U) |
StarDoor | 96 (Switch) 97 (Wii U) |
StokedUp | 75 |
StreaK | 98 |
StuOhQ | 95 |
sub-zero-TM | 91 |
taus90 | 90 |
TheBlackNaruto | 90 (Switch) 89 (Wii U) |
the_dark_lewd | 93 |
think-man | 90 |
TK-Karma | 92 |
Torterraboy | 99 |
TreeTurtle | 95 |
Trunkin | 94 |
twintail | 86 |
Ultrashroomz | 95 |
VGPolyglot | 93 |
Vinther1991 | 95 (Switch) 100 (Wii U) |
VitaminZ | 86 |
vivster | 91 |
Volterra_90 | 95 |
Wildcard36qs | 99 |
wolflink | 97 (Switch) 92 (Wii U) |
wombat123 | 96 |
Wright | 89 (Switch) |
Wyrdness | 96 |
yoshidino | 84 |
zealen | 95 (Switch) 90 (Wii U) |
zehh25 | 99 (Switch) 98 (Wii U) |
zippy | 93 |
Zisbest | 92 |
Special thanks to Hynad for putting this table in alphabetical order.
bet: lost