The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 Switch
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20981 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17,830 out of 20981
  2. Mixed: 1,176 out of 20981
  3. Negative: 1,975 out of 20981
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  1. seokoon
    Jan 23, 2020
    10
    인생게임 한마디로 모든게 설명된다. 죽기전에 해봐야 할 게임이란 말이 처음엔 오버라고 생각했지만 게임을 접한 순간 일상 생활을 하면서도 자꾸 생각이 날 정도로 너무 재미있다. 차기작이 너무 기대됩니다.
  2. Daevio
    Jan 23, 2020
    10
    A true masterpiece. It was the first game I have played on the Nintendo Switch. Can't wait for the sequel!
  3. Mr_diggaer
    Jan 23, 2020
    1
    I really wanted to like this game like (almost) everyone else. But I can't. I grew up with the series. "Links Awakening" was my very first Video game. But "Breath of the Wild", in my opinion, has nothing to do with The Legend of Zelda. I can understand why people love this game and I'm really happy for everyone who does. For me, it's the most boring game I've ever played. It feels likeI really wanted to like this game like (almost) everyone else. But I can't. I grew up with the series. "Links Awakening" was my very first Video game. But "Breath of the Wild", in my opinion, has nothing to do with The Legend of Zelda. I can understand why people love this game and I'm really happy for everyone who does. For me, it's the most boring game I've ever played. It feels like it's a giant sandbox with no true purpose. After about 25 hours into the game, I had to stop.… Expand
  4. Wurzel1
    Jan 22, 2020
    10
    Fantastic sound,
    Perfect story,
    Excellent gameplay,
    A lot to do,
    The best side quests.
    A wonderful game.
  5. SleepNot
    Jan 21, 2020
    9
    Very interesting experience of gameplay! Great optimization! Love to explore the world!
  6. Jarsh
    Jan 20, 2020
    7
    Here we have what will probably be the new template for future Zeldas to come. For an era, we had 3D Zeldas using Ocarina of Time as a template, and Nintendo finally saw fit to try something different. However, "different" doesn't automatically mean "good" and Breath of the Wild, for all of the interesting ideas it has, also has a lot of missteps. I'll start with my biggest problem theHere we have what will probably be the new template for future Zeldas to come. For an era, we had 3D Zeldas using Ocarina of Time as a template, and Nintendo finally saw fit to try something different. However, "different" doesn't automatically mean "good" and Breath of the Wild, for all of the interesting ideas it has, also has a lot of missteps. I'll start with my biggest problem the game has: the lack of variety. You will spend a lot of time climbing and traversing, and you won't get that much out of it except for the journey itself. For some, this is enough. To deviate for a moment, Nintendo has brought back an idea that existed since The Wind Waker, the ability to use enemy weapons; this time, you can keep the weapon and add it to your inventory. Only, all the weapons in the game are breakable (some a lot more than others). So to reward your exploration, the game doles out these breakable weapons and Korok seeds for solving minor puzzles. Only, there are so many weapons to find in the game, you'll soon have seen all of them after playing just for several hours, and, when the time comes to be rewarded, you'll be given a weapon that's likely worse than eight others you have on you already. Now, the Korok seeds are used mainly to increase inventory limits, but there are a bunch of them in the game. It sounds useful, but in practice, it really isn't. BotW throws so much stuff at you that it doesn't really matter how many arrow you can carry at a given time since there's probably a bundle of them waiting for you a short jaunt away. The best rewards you are given via shrines are Spirit Orbs, used to upgrade your hearts and stamina.

    So, I've covered that the general gameplay reward loop isn't the most satisfying thing, is "the journey" itself at least fun enough to justify playing through it? Sometimes, but not always. This is the first Zelda in a while where dungeons aren't really the focus, and to me, it's a major detriment. Gone are the themed temples such as the Forest Temple, City in the Sky, etc; instead, there are four dungeons inside the Divine Beasts. This by itself isn't bad, after all, Majora's Mask had a measly four dungeons as well and was an excellent game. The problem is that all these dunegons look the same. They all have the same brown walls, and to boot, they're pretty short and easy, even by Zelda standards. The only things that really stand out regarding each dungeon is the location they're in, which you can see from the inside, which is kind of neat, but not enough to make up for the overall lacking atmosphere.

    Then, another big part of the game are the shrines in the overworld. These are a bit better than the Divine Beasts but not by a lot. The puzzles are more clever, probably because they're optional content, so that most players don't have to use their heads if they don't want to; however, the same problem with the temples rears its ugly head yet again: they all look the same. That leaves the locales themselves, and they genuinely look great and different from each other. The overworld clearly had some effort put into making each area look unique.

    The combat is perhaps one of the better things about the game, as you do have a few more options compared to the past Zelda games; you could plant bombs, for instance, to explode as an enemy approaches them instead of hacking them up. Or shoot them from above, the game has plenty of moments that give you multiple ways to approach a situation. Another issue here is that most of these enemies will be brainless fodder, like bokoblins that the game reuses all over the map. You won't have a problem outsmarting them the first time, nor any time thereafter. Luckily, there are harder enemies like Lynels and Hinox, but the variety of enemies, like with many aspects of this game, is lesser than it should have been.

    Zelda is a series often known for its score, and here we have another area where BotW lacks, there's hardly any overworld music aside from a couple piano notes here and there; this might be a positive for some people since I see where the lack of sound would add to a sense of solitude. So this is where I've seen a trend: BotW is a game with good bones, even great bones, but it's lacking in variety in many, many ways. Recalling the game in broad strokes, I can remember some fun I had in puzzles, a few enemy encounters and an island in which you lose everything in your inventory and have to use your wits more than any other part of the game. These moments are what makes the game worthwhile, but we just need more in the sequel. I'm honestly a bit surprised this game is rated by critics as highly as it is since I see many areas that improvements are needed. When BotW 2 comes out, or perhaps a few Zeldas from now that fix this game's mistakes all around, will people still look back on this game as fondly?    … Expand
  7. dennisonmeta
    Jan 20, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Zelda game that doesn't really feel like a Zelda game.

    Don't get me wrong: I really dig this game. The freedom you get to quite literally do whatever the hell you want is (in my humble gaming experience) unparalleled. You get to choose whether or not you pursue the main bad guy in this game, which is a form of Ganon, unsurprisingly. You could also just help out NPCs, collect Korok seeds, raid Bokoblin settlements or whatever combination of the above. The thing is that I don't really see Breath of the Wild as a Zelda game. It just happens to kinda sorta actually really look like a Zelda game. Perhaps that's because I haven't progressed the main story enough to actually get to Zelda (I don't even know if you can actually meet her) but I guess my thought process says more about what I think a Zelda game usually is.

    So then, what is a Zelda game usually? Link is the chosen one, he meets a wise entity, gets his main item (some would say gimmick), gets an assistant, has to collect 4/6/8 of a certain kind of item (sometimes twice), the assistant nags him to no end, Link can't jump, there's an atrocious water level, the music is iconic, some iteration of Impa/Princess Zelda/Deku Tree, we are reminded Ganon, Link and Zelda all have a triangle that emits light on their hand (and is normally invisible except for during *the* cutscene) and Ganon dies. That's usually the gist of it. Does the deviation from the formula make Breath of the Wild a bad game? Not in the slightest. I mean yes, you could make it so the Luminescent Triangle Hand Gang never meets 100 years after the Calamity (the details escape me) but that doesn't restrict you in the way that older (Zelda) games would have: "Haven't gotten a certain item? Sorry, no Light temple for you." This makes the likelihood of you getting the absolute sh!t beaten out of you greater, but there are usually ways around that, either through sneaking or avoiding an area altogether.

    One problem- or rather, annoyance- that I do have with this game is the inventory. It's not hearing the same two sounds for the map and the inventory over and over and over and over again, but the slots available. Many times I've made it to the 'Bonus Chest' in a Shrine only to have the game tell me my inventory is full and spending the next five minutes deciding whether or not the Flame Rod is really worth keeping for the *one* instance where it would be helpful. I haven't had much of an issue with the durability of items, though.
    So if I had to nitpick and find something bad in this game, that would be it. If you own a Switch and don't have this game, think about what our old pal Reggie once said: "What's wrong with you?"    … Expand
  8. Wargears
    Jan 18, 2020
    8
    Not going to lie but I bought a switch simply for this game and also I'm not a loz fanboy so I can give this game a fair review without the fanboy glasses clouding my judgment. I also finished the game with over a hundred of hours of playtime. Here are my pros and cons about the game.

    The Good 1. The world is huge, beautiful, alive, and brimful of stuffs to discover. 2. Play the game    Not going to lie but I bought a switch simply for this game and also I'm not a loz fanboy so I can give this game a fair review without the fanboy glasses clouding my judgment. I also finished the game with over a hundred of hours of playtime. Here are my pros and cons about the game.

    The Good
    1. The world is huge, beautiful, alive, and brimful of stuffs to discover.
    2. Play the game however and whatever you want, you can even go to the final boss immediately.
    3. Lots of unique and lovely characters to interact with.
    4. Love how they incorporate physics in gameplay.
    5. For an open world game it surely is minimal in the bugs and glitches which is always a plus for me.

    The Bad
    1. Although the map is huge it's full of boring empty spaces.
    2. Weapons breaking immediately and no way to repair them so once your fav weapon breaks that pretty much it.
    3. There are tons of towers and mini dungeons to complete but they can be repetitive after a while and the rewards aren't really great.
    4. Climbing and rain nuff said.
    5. Enemy variety are pretty small and some harder enemies are usually just color swapped with weaker ones.
    6. The horses in this game sucks and you're better off just walking.
    7. Combat is pretty average to be honest.

    My grade for this game is an 8/10, it's a great game but still far from being a masterpiece and there are still a lots of areas to improve upon which I hope botw 2 will address. Still this is a must buy game for the switch and I highly recommended it even if you're not a fan of the zelda franchise.    … Expand
  9. HeroKid
    Jan 17, 2020
    10
    Breath of the Wild is a game that was made with love. It is a wholesome experience, there doesn’t seem to be a single aspect of this game that didn’t have time and consideration poured into it. There are certain things that I wish were aspects of the game such as full scale dungeons and a few other small things, but if I’m being honest they are easy to get past when you look into literallyBreath of the Wild is a game that was made with love. It is a wholesome experience, there doesn’t seem to be a single aspect of this game that didn’t have time and consideration poured into it. There are certain things that I wish were aspects of the game such as full scale dungeons and a few other small things, but if I’m being honest they are easy to get past when you look into literally every other facet of this game that is beautiful. And all of the cutscenes left me truly moved. If you haven’t gotten the chance the play this game please do, it is an utter delight.… Expand
  10. Spagh8tti
    Jan 16, 2020
    10
    It's probably the best game on the Switch right now, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of some of the changes because it doesn't feel like a Zelda game, but on its own, it's one of the greatest games ever created.
  11. Doggy
    Jan 15, 2020
    10
    Rarely do the modern video-games provide such non-patronizing and truly open gaming experience as the Breath Of The Wild. Seldom these days do games truly focus and run on nothing more than the players' own curiosity; their desire to explore the world and have a wild adventure.

    Big words, huh? Well, I don't talk big without a good reason. Having watched numerous, once quintessential    Rarely do the modern video-games provide such non-patronizing and truly open gaming experience as the Breath Of The Wild. Seldom these days do games truly focus and run on nothing more than the players' own curiosity; their desire to explore the world and have a wild adventure.

    Big words, huh? Well, I don't talk big without a good reason.
    Having watched numerous, once quintessential series decline in the past decade or two, Legend Of Zelda included, I can't say I was exactly ecstatic when I first saw how this latest installment would play in practice. Too often nowadays can an experienced veteran gamer make some pretty accurate and safe predictions out of given pre-release information or the first few minutes into the game, simply because how often modern titles tend to play it "safe" by rehashing the popular designs. In BotW's case, the term "Ubisoft open-world game", down to the climbable towers and all, was the common slur people hastily used to describe the newcomer title... and at first I thought they were right.

    "WRONG!", yelled Lex Luthor. At mere hour or two into the game, I started to realize my mistake. At most, this is a wolf in a sheep's clothing. Something that merely LOOKS familiar and same-y on the surface. The freedom to truly explore ANY nook and corner, scale any wall you come across, all while having to come up with solutions for how to deal with the numerous deadly hazards of this new version of the Hyrule... this is what "engaging" truly means!
    Then, a couple hours later, I came to realize that the first few hours were nothing more than an elaborate "tutorial". That beyond this already reasonably sized piece of the world map lied an even larger world. One with MORE dangers, more wonders and more exciting fun to be found.

    I cannot think too many other (mainstream / AAA) games, at least from the past several years, that would strip away all artificial obstacles and walls the same way as BotW. Literally nothing else than your own lack of skill (or sufficient gear) can stop you from waltzing straight from the starting area, to the very final boss, and maybe even defeat it. At no point will the game try to stop you from exploring deadly and exotic areas, for dozens of hours, before tackling some story -missions. And very rarely is the answer to your own "I wonder if this silly plan could work?" a big fat "No!".
    There's simply a ton of things to do in the BotW's ruined Hyrule, and more elaborate, simulated "systems" that not only keep the world feel "living", but that can also be exploited in numerous, even some hilarious ways.

    I can totally see Breath Of The Wild being a divisive game.
    However, one thing is for sure: no two playthroughs will ever play the same!
    Even after hundreds of hours, I am still learning something brand new of the game, and it seems like I too keep surprising some old vets with my tales of some tricks and experiences of my own.

    For 20+ years, I was certain that nothing could come close to the magnificence of the Ocarina Of Time and the Majora's Mask. Now, however, I am pleased to admit that I was wrong. Breath Of The Wild finishes this tri-force of greatest games in the history of the industry.

    Hyperbole much? On the contrary!
    THIS is a game that needs not only be played by everyone, but also TAUGHT in schools.
    This is a video-game, all about what makes video-games so good in the first place: the gameplay.
    When just moving in the game feels good, you are on the right track.
    Add an absolutely gorgeous audio-design and pretty impressive visuals on top, and you got what people call a "masterpiece".    … Expand
  12. luaybbj
    Jan 15, 2020
    10
    The highest masterpiece in the game world Unparalleled gaming experience Must play
  13. Neo898
    Jan 14, 2020
    10
    One of the best games ever. I don't even have enough time on earth to explain why this game is so good in my opinion.
  14. LUCACHAIR
    Jan 12, 2020
    10
    BEST GAME IVE EVER PLAYED HANDS DOWN BUT I HATE THe RAIN 140 HOURS LATER IM STILL FINDING NEW THINGS
  15. Kaiyup44
    Jan 12, 2020
    10
    Probably one of the best video games i have ever played. There is so much to explore and do in this game it seems the game never ends!
  16. JanieGotAGun
    Jan 12, 2020
    10
    Breath Of The Wild A beatiful masterpiece in every aspect! Game of the decade. :)
  17. Okuplok11
    Jan 11, 2020
    10
    Love this masterpiece! Amazing experience from start to finish. :) Must play for any Zelda fans or just video game nerds
  18. LiveAndlEt
    Jan 11, 2020
    10
    Amazing and probably one of the best games of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
  19. Rashidoke
    Jan 11, 2020
    10
    one of if not the best game of all time this game has an amazing level of exploration and crafting and the game could be finished in an hour or a hundred
  20. MadBert91
    Jan 10, 2020
    10
    Obra maestra, hay poco más que añadir, un juego muy rico en contenido, muy bien pulido, una historia vibrante. Cualquiera que tenga una switch debe jugar a este juego.
  21. kholland65
    Jan 9, 2020
    0
    This could honestly be one of the worst games I’ve ever played. This game was probably fun for about 30min then it was all downhill from there. Had to stop playing after about 5-10hrs because it was so painfully bad. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished a game until this one.

    This game is literally just a giant sandbox with 0 purpose. You can face the final boss immediately, there is no    This could honestly be one of the worst games I’ve ever played. This game was probably fun for about 30min then it was all downhill from there. Had to stop playing after about 5-10hrs because it was so painfully bad. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished a game until this one.

    This game is literally just a giant sandbox with 0 purpose. You can face the final boss immediately, there is no leveling system, no equipment you get to keep, there is literally 0 reason to kill or do anything in this game. Everything feels completely pointless other than just so you can mess around and kill time. The weapon breaking system where everything breaks after 3 hits has got to be the dumbest **** I’ve ever seen put into a game. Who ever came up with this idea should be shot. There is no leveling system to help you get stronger other than finding shrines for hearts which is more work that it’s worth (which is a theme in this game) so every enemy literally one shots you (again meaning there is 0 reason to even fight anything)

    It’s really pretty dumbfounding how bad and flawed this game is. None of these devs should have jobs in the video game industry for approving this dumpster fire. The only idiots who like this game are Zelda fan boys, and Minecraft nerds who just want to frolick around a a sandbox with no real guiding purpose.    … Expand
  22. Erime
    Jan 9, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. An absolute beauty. This is an open world game that you can play for hours and hours without getting tired. Everything in the game is found for accident, as you really feel the sense of exploring and curiosity that the original Zelda intended, finding and collecting every material in your path. The graphics are amazing, the open world is beautiful, and the game-play and mechanics are better than anything seen before. The voice acting is not perfect but good for being the first time in the franchise.

    In my opinion, Game of the Year for sure and should definitely pick it up if you’re a Switch owner.    … Expand
  23. LoganMaz
    Jan 9, 2020
    10
    There is just one thing to say...

    Without even a close comparison, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the BEST Zelda game in the franchise. Period.
  24. Swirchc
    Jan 8, 2020
    10
    Better then Ocarina Of Time and that says alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!
  25. mijan
    Jan 8, 2020
    8
    Good game but I simply don't see what is so special about this game, it looks okayish, you can see it's Wii U port, framerate is very inconsistent and open worlds games of this scale are maybe novelty just for Nintendo users.
  26. jeremyMcAlli
    Jan 7, 2020
    9
    Ok, so I'm not just giving this a high score because Zelda is delivering some fan service... But it helps of course! Normally never care but the fact that he can be shirtless throughout the entire game, and the characters react to it ("Oh you're so... in tune with nature!") makes me giggle.

    I had never played Zelda, and am always a bit wary of Japanese games with their respect to    Ok, so I'm not just giving this a high score because Zelda is delivering some fan service... But it helps of course! Normally never care but the fact that he can be shirtless throughout the entire game, and the characters react to it ("Oh you're so... in tune with nature!") makes me giggle.

    I had never played Zelda, and am always a bit wary of Japanese games with their respect to representation of women. I am barely into the game though and I'm hooked. Cannot put it down. And I love the way the piano comes in to say hello briefly and leave again whenever you're wondering around. The blood moon also scared the brollies out of me. Very very impressed.

    My bones of contention are that it is marked on the map where you died and the food. With the former, I understand it's to warn you of any big monsters who's path you crossed, but it feels like a stinking mark of shame. With the latter, it's a tired trope of Japanese media to make everything about food (apparently this started in the 90's). The original pokemon games never had it, the original Final Fantasies never had, now EVERYONE is cooking and eating yummy food, and oh how it is soooo yummy... I'm bored and frustrated by it. It's a societal distraction that is doing Japan no good. Food is a great way to understand the other, to experience life, etc... but well climate change may destroy that opportunity soon enough, so maybe the media in Japan could present the opportunity to think critically about some things?

    But apart from that rant, I'm happy with this game.    … Expand
  27. Crashloxx
    Jan 6, 2020
    10
    Muy weno, llore la verdad U.U
    Que gran juego weon por la cresta ojalá salga luego el 2
  28. Hypes11
    Jan 6, 2020
    10
    Was initially hesitant due to the drastic changes with dungeons and weapon degradation, but I'm glad I finally got around to playing this. Where Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess (my previous 2 favorite Zeldas) the dungeons felt like main attractions and the overworld an afterthought, in BotW it is the reverse. And the microdungeons aren't so bad. Some of them are pretty forgettable,Was initially hesitant due to the drastic changes with dungeons and weapon degradation, but I'm glad I finally got around to playing this. Where Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess (my previous 2 favorite Zeldas) the dungeons felt like main attractions and the overworld an afterthought, in BotW it is the reverse. And the microdungeons aren't so bad. Some of them are pretty forgettable, some of them are pretty great, and others are minibosses that serve to test skills you'll need to hone. Not since the Witcher 3 have I felt this much wonder from just walking place to place, observing the spectacular scenery and finding new optional sidequests and secret items. And traversing and interacting with the environment are way more fun in BotW than any game before it. Most freeing game I've ever played and this is going to be the hardest game to make a sequel for that anyone's ever tried.… Expand
  29. Ignan
    Jan 5, 2020
    8
    Não achei um absurdo. A dificuldade de alguns puzzles faz com que qualquer adulto com o mínimo de amor próprio e que tenha algo pra fazer da vida tenha que digitar no Google a solução 5 minutos depois de começar, e eu ODEIO jogos em que você precisa usar artifícios externos (pesquisa, detonado, etc), pra mim isso tira muito da proposta de imersão (fazer sua própria jornada e etc), sei queNão achei um absurdo. A dificuldade de alguns puzzles faz com que qualquer adulto com o mínimo de amor próprio e que tenha algo pra fazer da vida tenha que digitar no Google a solução 5 minutos depois de começar, e eu ODEIO jogos em que você precisa usar artifícios externos (pesquisa, detonado, etc), pra mim isso tira muito da proposta de imersão (fazer sua própria jornada e etc), sei que nada impede a pessoa de insistir infinitamente no puzzle e resolver ele "na raça", mas convenhamos, eu, gamer raiz, tinha tempo pra isso em 2005, estudando e voltando pra casa, não hoje, com faculdade, trabalho e namorada. Sinto muito.… Expand
  30. RoyJones321
    Jan 5, 2020
    10
    Great game. It is a bit different from previous Zelda games but I still love it!
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Switch Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
97

Universal acclaim - based on 109 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 106 out of 109
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 109
  3. Negative: 0 out of 109
  1. GameGrin
    Dec 12, 2017
    100
    Where it takes mechanics from others in the industry, it improves upon them; where it introduces new ones, you slap your forehead in amazement that it hasn’t been done before. Breath of the Wild is development done right, and damn near the best game you’ll play all year.
    Read full review
  2. Wired UK
    Aug 30, 2017
    100
    Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    May 19, 2017
    96
    Up there with the finest Zelda games, Breath of the Wild is bold, liberating, and utterly astonishing. [Apr 2017, p.60]
See all critic reviews »