The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is ranked in the 100th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Mar 2, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild exceeds lofty expectations on the Nintendo Switch, cementing it as one of the best installments in the beloved series to-date.

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IGN
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
10 / 10
Mar 2, 2017

The best Zelda there’s ever been, and very possibly the best video game ever made.

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Mar 2, 2017

The most freeform Zelda yet, without sacrificing the charm, fun or quality you expect from the series. Nintendo’s finest work since Super Mario Galaxy.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

Breath of the Wild is a feat of design and polish. Hyrule feels like a real place, and the journey Link and Zelda undertake to defeat Ganon is compelling

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Polygon
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

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.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
10 / 10
Mar 2, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo's most ambitious and impressive game to date.

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Mar 2, 2017

Link's most ambitious adventure is one of Nintendo's crowning achievements.

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Mar 2, 2017

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.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

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.

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Mar 1, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn't just good, it's the best launch title I've ever played. It will single-handedly validate the purchase of the Switch for many people, and given the device's $299 price tag that's a huge accomplishment.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 12, 2017

There is no other way to put this: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is brilliant. It is magnificent. It is marvelous, amazing, fantastic, and every other synonym for the word wonderful that can be found in the thesaurus. If The Legend of Zelda was the flint that ignited the passion I have for video gaming, Breath of the Wild is the 500lb bag of charcoal that will keep that fire burning for decades to come.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 9, 2017

A wonderful experience is what awaits for the player of this piece of art. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a must.have and it represents a new era for the saga.

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Erik Kain
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

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.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

Breath of the Wild is an absolute masterpiece, and may well be the best The Legend of Zelda game ever made. Despite a few minor technical issues, this a truly unforgettable experience.

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Mar 2, 2017

The simple fact is that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the best games ever made. It marks a turning point for the medium that will be learned from for some time. It is a system seller in every sense of the word, and if you don't already have a way to play it, you owe it to yourself to find one.

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10 / 10
Mar 2, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a landmark release for its franchise and Nintendo. It's the first time that Nintendo has truly taken on the open-world genre in a current-generation sense; in arriving late to the party, though, it embraces some strengths from top-of-the-class games while also forging its own identity. This game is a revolution for the franchise, but the Legend of Zelda essence is still there - its soul remains.The end result, then, is a captivating experience. This will be in the running as the best game in the IP's history, and it will likely be discussed as a leading contender in the broader open-world genre. Nintendo has bravely taken one of its biggest franchises in a new direction, and it's delivered a triumph.

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Nintendo Life
Thomas Whitehead
Top Critic
10 / 10
Aug 5, 2021

Some will say, not unreasonably, that as the Wii U iteration can't fully match the Switch version in visuals and performance it should be docked a point. We understand and appreciate that perspective, but this is nevertheless a fully functional and still entrancing iteration of one of Nintendo's greatest ever games. Across dozens of hours it blends innovative ideas with established tropes, and unfolds in a manner different for everyone. The freedom, the spontaneity, and the outstanding charm and craft of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn't lost on Wii U.The best version of the game is on Nintendo Switch, but Wii U owners need not despair - this incredible game still has a worthy home on Nintendo's 'last-gen' system.

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GamesBeat
Top Critic
100 / 100
Mar 2, 2017

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 Zelda all over again.

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10 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

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.

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