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. NintendoGamer1
    Oct 6, 2017
    9
    One of the best games for the Switch. With extremely deep game-play and super impressive presentation as well as challenging. The game has over 40 hours of story.
  2. MannWithNoEyes
    Oct 30, 2017
    9
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite open world game, and as of right now is tied with Hollow Knight for 2017 game of the year. Due to the enormous amount of freedom the player is given, the game is an extremely organic experience, and one that has set the standard for open-world games I hope to play in the future. From the very beginning, this game establishes itsThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite open world game, and as of right now is tied with Hollow Knight for 2017 game of the year. Due to the enormous amount of freedom the player is given, the game is an extremely organic experience, and one that has set the standard for open-world games I hope to play in the future. From the very beginning, this game establishes its hands-off approach both in story and in gameplay. The Great Plateau gives very little instruction or direction, and just says: go, and lets the player figure out every mechanic for themselves, which is much more rewarding than any tutorial. Granted, there are way-point markers to guide direction, but because the world is designed so well, with paths being marked with signposts, NPCs giving direction to the player by telling them important locations and their general direction, and mountains and hills adding organic structure to the world, there is very little need for the way-points. Luckily, on pro-hud mode, everything is deactivated except Link's hearts, which delivers an extremely nonlinear experience. By making every area accessible from the very beginning, and by providing many different environments in its tutorial, Breath of the Wild naturally teaches the player the extensive amount of systems in place, each important in its own way. Enemies will be lured away from their camps by boars and other meat. Fire not only hurts the player but also creates an updraft the player can exploit using their glider. Lightning will strike the player during a thunderstorm if they have metal weapons or armor equipped. Rain forces the player to stay on the paths, and pushes the player into more encounters with enemies. The different environments have different temperatures and types of enemies, which forces the player to use different weapons in order to be the most effective in every scenario. These extensive systems allow for so much variation in terms of combat that every single encounter with each enemy feels unique. Nearly every quest area and self-contained level uses a combination of all the systems in the game in order to keep itself unique and distinguished. There are so many options for movement across the world that every journey and voyage feels different, and just as exciting as the last. On the other hand, all but a few of the sidequests are repetitive, but the shrine quests are so varied in terms of gameplay that the flaws with the sidequests are negated. Eventide Island, the Spring of Wisdom, and many of the quests with environmental puzzles are some of my favorite sidequests in any games. The main quests for all intents and purposes, are more extensive sidequests, but all were unique and interesting, offering up new environments with unique obstacles to tackle in every one. The only quest I didn't enjoy was Divine Beast: Vah Medoh. It was too short in my opinion, so when the Divine Beast was eventually brought back under Link's control, it was underwhelming. The Zora area had amazing characters and quite a few touching moments, and the Goron area probably had the most variety in terms of mechanics, but the highlight of the main quest in my opinion was Divine Beast: Vah Naboris. Riju in particular was given quite a bit of depth as a character, mainly due to her diary. The Yiga Clan Hideout section was fun, and did a good job adding humor into an otherwise basic stealth mission. The Divine Beast chase segment was probably the most challenging in the game, but because the game does such a good job introducing the sand-seals to the player on their first trip into Gerudo City, the mechanics used are familiar to the player. The Divine Beast distinguishes itself through its use of electrical currents, and often used one part of the Divine Beast to influence puzzle-solving in a different part, which made the whole area feel cohesive. As a whole, the story on its own is pretty weak, but the item descriptions and ancient ruins add history and depth to the world. Also in my opinion the game implements the best incarnation of Zelda thus far. Skipping the story may seem like a bit of a cop-out, but I love the way it compliments the rest of the game. In other open world games the stories are often far removed from the player's actions. For example in the Witcher 3 there is a serious sense of urgency and necessity from the story, which resulted in me either running past all side quests or breaking the pacing and tone of the story in order to do them, which sort of stopped me from enjoying the game as much as I would have had the tone not been so urgent. Breath of the Wild manages to get around these flaws in a very clever way, however. By allowing the player to skip the story entirely, it removes the barrier between the story and the gameplay, which made the game feel more focused than its companions in the open-world genre. I hope this game is imitated for years to come, so the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is gets a 9 out of 10… Expand
  3. OneYoutubeFan
    Oct 7, 2017
    9
    Alright, I'll say one thing off the bat: This game is not perfect, but it's certainly amazing. I've had this game since March 15th, have played for over 65 hours, and am still nowhere near beating the game entirely. The graphics are amazing, with no frame drops and quick load times for what it's loading. The familiar process has been ditched for an open world adventure, with small puzzlesAlright, I'll say one thing off the bat: This game is not perfect, but it's certainly amazing. I've had this game since March 15th, have played for over 65 hours, and am still nowhere near beating the game entirely. The graphics are amazing, with no frame drops and quick load times for what it's loading. The familiar process has been ditched for an open world adventure, with small puzzles here and there that are a good replacement. Though they're not long, there's a lot of them. This and the divine beasts were a GREAT way to try something new, but still make it the Zelda we all know and love. The massive Hyrule you explore, while not very interesting, is very beautiful. Every little detail can be seen, in each blade of grass, or the reflections off wet rocks. The combat is also very fun, and very quick. You can dodge and do a flurry of attacks if you dodge at the right time. You can also have multiple weapons, and a full load out consists of a sword, shield, and bow. However, they all break, and don't usually have enough durability. This is a bit of a problem, but doesn't get in the way too much unless you run out of weapons in the middle of a boss battle. You are also able to help yourself take less damage and get special boosts using armor, a full set having a helmet, chest clothing, and leg defense. Sets of armor can get boosts, but you can also mix and match. The story is very captivating, but doesn't get told if you don't choose to see it. This is a great compromise for people like me, who love games with a deep story and lore, and for people who just want to have fun exploring, fighting, and being a hero. But for a completionist, I feel bad for you. You need to take photos of every enemy, item, and weapon, find 900 Koroks by solving hard to find and easy to complete puzzles across Hyrule, find all the sub area tags (hello Xenoblade) and you don't get anything for it. Thankfully, the DLC has made finding Koroks a bit easier using the Korok Mask. Overall, I find The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to be a very fun and interesting experience, if a bit long. It's not for the faint of heart, but is certainly amazing for the hardcore gamer, the average Zelda fan, and gamers wanting to get into open world games without starting with Diablo or Skyrim.… Expand
  4. Thunder34212
    Nov 24, 2017
    10
    If you don't like this game, you're doing something wrong. I'm serious, play it again if you didn't like it. Oh. You still don't like it? Then play it again, it's worth it.
  5. TheAllJoeShow
    Oct 11, 2017
    9
    Its a good time;

    yes it has flaws... oh no!

    yes it gets a little stale... after like 70 hours... again oh no!

    end of the day... its kinda a must have... nuff said.
  6. BJarms
    Apr 20, 2018
    10
    Best Zelda game.
    HD. Open-world.
    By gosh, any kid who gets told no to Skyrim by parents,
    they NEED to get this game.
  7. Mystery_Man_Bro
    Oct 24, 2017
    9
    Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has the most vibrant open-world game I've ever played; every where there is distractions to stray you off your course, which is good considering it doesn't feel like running around in a barren desert for an hour to get to your next main quest objective. The creatures and monsters you encounter can kill you in one swipe or fly off a cliff with one hit ofLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has the most vibrant open-world game I've ever played; every where there is distractions to stray you off your course, which is good considering it doesn't feel like running around in a barren desert for an hour to get to your next main quest objective. The creatures and monsters you encounter can kill you in one swipe or fly off a cliff with one hit of your weapon, there is so much freedom in how you fight making a complex fighting system that, even if you have all the hearts in the game, can surprise you and also satisfy you.
    The story is very simple, but is also very emotional, and this is finally a Zelda game that its story focuses almost entirely on Zelda. The relationship between Link and Zelda is so interesting that finding every memory is a reward in its self. Yet some of the bosses don't live up to some overworld enemies the farther you get in the game. The climax is up to interpretation, I felt it was very overwhelming but in the end, very easy.
    The Shrines are all very different and all very fun, some will teach you something new and others will have you experimenting for hours on what to do. The Korok seeds on the other hand are a little too much, there isn't much reason for them to be there and no reason at all for their to be 900 of them! Side quests take a while, but had a very unique personality and objective for every single one. All of these are great but after completing the story and shrines, completing the after game isn't very rewarding nor apparent for me; I want to complete the game but all that's left is the most boring collectibles and the whole ordeal is very appealing to me.
    The game is still great and my first and favorite Switch game by far, but not even close to perfect yet I don't think 8.4 is high enough either...    … Expand
  8. ZODUAC
    Oct 23, 2017
    9
    I am not a fan of Zelda games but this one is fantastic. This is not perfect though. I found myself just exploring the open woods of Hyrule. My main problem that made me go for a 9 not a 10 was the frame rate dropped every 15 minutes. It did not help when I was in a battle. But a solid game overall. 9/10
  9. alberttc
    Oct 30, 2017
    10
    Es el primer Zelda que juego y me ha sorprendido muy gratamente.
    Destacar sobretodo el increible tamaño del mapa y la cantidad de opciones que se te presentan, cojas la dirección que cojas.
    Aún teniendo una historia un pelin floja, es uno de los mejores juegos que he jugado junto con FFVII.
    Sólo por él, ya merece la pena comprarse una switch.
  10. eric210793
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    De los 3 mejores Zeldas sin duda, y uno de los mejores juegos de la actualidad que ha revolucionado su género. Decir que este juego se merece un 0 es que en primer lugar no tiene ni idea de videojuegos, y en segundo lugar, es porque el odio a la saga o consola misma le ciega. Para quien pone 0, por lo menos jugadlo sino shht.
  11. SonicSpeed320
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    Many People are calling this game the game of the year and for good reason, Great Graphics, Voice acting and sound check! Brutally fun game play check! Well Written Story check! and the list goes on and on. This is my favorite switch game of all time!
  12. Bananas0210
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    This is a great game on the go! Plus it will keep u for hours ........................................................................................................................
  13. Stidk
    Nov 4, 2017
    10
    lo mejor que e jugado en los últimos 12 años este vídeo juego es una obra de arte un mundo gigantesco,una historia maravillosa gráficos y estilo de arte preciosos simplemente perfecto
  14. AcriomanoBeatte
    Oct 26, 2017
    10
    Amazing, Endless things to do, never wanna leave it. The soundtrack turns you on hyrule, the enemies have a enormous variety, and you have the freedom of finish it in 1 hour or in 3 months, nothing is close and you can explore, fight, train, as long as you want
  15. Petrokas
    Oct 27, 2017
    10
    Excelente gráficos...jogabilidade perfeita...senti a falta dos templos igual OCARINA e TWILIGHT...mas sem duvidas um dos melhores jogos de todos os tempos...
  16. WingmakerPrime
    Nov 22, 2017
    10
    Well ... what can I say, it is a Zelda for the love of God ... the truth and being honest I would not know how to express the wonderful experience that this game has given me, it is a huge world full of beauty and art, the game mechanics , the physics, the music section. everything is a masterpiece. It really is a video game that new generations must play and all those who do not know whatWell ... what can I say, it is a Zelda for the love of God ... the truth and being honest I would not know how to express the wonderful experience that this game has given me, it is a huge world full of beauty and art, the game mechanics , the physics, the music section. everything is a masterpiece. It really is a video game that new generations must play and all those who do not know what the Zelda franchise is. either for Nintendo Wii U or Nintendo Switch. This game deserves to be the winner of the GOTY game of the year.

    SPANISH:
    Bueno.... que puedo decir, es un Zelda por amor de dios.. la verdad y siendo honesto no sabría expresar la maravillosa experiencia que este juego me ha otorgado, es un mundo henorme lleno de belleza y arte, las mecanicas de juego, la física, el apartado de música. todo es una obra maestra. realmente es un videojuego que deben jugar las nuevas generaciones y todos aquellos que no conoscan lo que es la franquicia de Zelda. ya sea para Nintendo Wii U o Nintendo Switch. este juego merece que sea el ganador de los GOTY al juego del año.    … Expand
  17. Batman307
    Dec 28, 2017
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Best Game of the year and the zelda

    I like too good and the best buy in my life but have a good story    … Expand
  18. DWFrozen
    Nov 9, 2017
    10
    Absolutely amazing! It isn't perfect, but it's AMAZING!

    As soon as you start your new adventure with Link to save Zelda you already know it's gonna be great! The cut-scenes are always cinematic and interesting, the amount of content included is great, the story is good, the graphics are perfect for the game (no, not resolution) and certainly is a pleasant treat. Of course no game    Absolutely amazing! It isn't perfect, but it's AMAZING!

    As soon as you start your new adventure with Link to save Zelda you already know it's gonna be great! The cut-scenes are always cinematic and interesting, the amount of content included is great, the story is good, the graphics are perfect for the game (no, not resolution) and certainly is a pleasant treat.

    Of course no game comes without it's flaws, the Divine Beasts could've been better, more dungeons would've been nice and a bit more challenge. Some other controversial stuff includes brittle weapons, stamina wheel and more.

    Overall, it's my favourite game, it's god-like. Definitely recommend a purchase!    … Expand
  19. MichelRonaldo
    Oct 28, 2017
    10
    No tengo palabras para describir este juego porque es simplemente perfecto, decir que es el mejor juego de la historia se queda corto, personalmente me encanto y ya es mi juego favorito de la vida, un juego indispensable para cualquiera.
  20. chocapic
    Oct 28, 2017
    10
    Creía que ningún juego, y menos un zelda podría jamas superar a ocarina of time, pero no solo este juego lo supera, sino que le a una lección a todos los mundos abiertos y a todos los juegos de aventuras de como hacer una obra de arte en movimiento que te dejara los pelos de punta cada segundo que lo juegues.
  21. Darnok29
    Oct 28, 2017
    10
    I bought a switch just for this game and boy it was worht it. The best thing about BOTW is that you can do so many things after completing the game. like making a flying raft with octo balloons or just bully some bokoblins.
  22. aljirik1992
    Oct 29, 2017
    8
    Семки есть? А если найду?

    (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild) Последнее, старое-новое похождение остроухого в зелёном трико придерживается трём правилам. Не напрягать новичков хитросплетениями лора, давать им и фанатам делать всё, что вздумается и ловко втюхивать и тем, и другим мысль, что тут никому, ничего не навязывают. И игруле это откровенно удаётся с помощью, ну просто    Семки есть? А если найду?

    (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild)

    Последнее, старое-новое похождение остроухого в зелёном трико придерживается трём правилам. Не напрягать новичков хитросплетениями лора, давать им и фанатам делать всё, что вздумается и ловко втюхивать и тем, и другим мысль, что тут никому, ничего не навязывают. И игруле это откровенно удаётся с помощью, ну просто безукоризненного геймдизайна. К примеру вот Линк только краем глаза увидел как кто-то валит деревья, и бац! Ты уже сам, как оголтелый, вырубил пол Хайрула, попутно забравшись вон на ту возвышенность, на которой как-будто невзначай тебя ждала очередная пещера с испытанием. Но перед этим, напевая "Долби мой лёд, но не замерзай", замутил горяченького во вроде бы просто удачно расположившемся котле, для того чтобы не замёрзнуть пока будешь забираться на эту Ганонову гору. TLoZ:BoTW - игра механика от которой ожидаешь тошноты уже на первом десятке набежавших часов, но на третьем просто понимаешь, что она не может надоесть, при том, что дорога к титрам открыта уже на старте.    … Expand
  23. Boberobbo
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    Not one of the Pay to Win games out there, here you decide whether you need to go hunting, cooking doing sidequests or anything else. The game doesn't tell you what to do, and you're able to do anything that you can do in real life. that what makes it special.
  24. Fernandorubio
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    este es el mejor zelda ya llevo 100 horas jugadas y no me aburre este es un juego para pasar jugando todo el dia se merese un 10 es el mejor juego de mundo abierto
  25. Josefe
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    I'm 65 hours in and still haven't finished. I enjoy this game quite a lot, it truly feels like an adventure and exploring game. The bits of silence and subtle music make it also very enjoyable, and finding frighteningly strong enemies every now and then makes my blood run. An excellent game, by all regards. (Some people have criticized the story, even knowing that the Zelda franchiseI'm 65 hours in and still haven't finished. I enjoy this game quite a lot, it truly feels like an adventure and exploring game. The bits of silence and subtle music make it also very enjoyable, and finding frighteningly strong enemies every now and then makes my blood run. An excellent game, by all regards. (Some people have criticized the story, even knowing that the Zelda franchise always puts functionality and gameplay before story. i think the game has a very interesting storyline, taking that into account, but that is not the focus of the game. Which is fine, to be honest. Exploring, fighting, collecting loot, finding secrets, completing missions, that's what the game is about, and Nintendo has succeeded at it).… Expand
  26. Zenosama
    Oct 29, 2017
    8
    Sere sincero, al hacer esto me siento bastante mal porque soy fan de la saga, sin embargo y con todo y la gran libertad, pienso que es el 2do peor zelda que he jugado, dejando como ya es normal a Adventure of Link detras (no cuento CDi), me parece que la formula, no compenetra muy bien con la saga, con esto no digo que sea divertido, solo siento que lo es mas con el sistema de skywardSere sincero, al hacer esto me siento bastante mal porque soy fan de la saga, sin embargo y con todo y la gran libertad, pienso que es el 2do peor zelda que he jugado, dejando como ya es normal a Adventure of Link detras (no cuento CDi), me parece que la formula, no compenetra muy bien con la saga, con esto no digo que sea divertido, solo siento que lo es mas con el sistema de skyward sword, ocarina of time, majoras mask y twilight princess, ademas de eso solo tengo 1 queja mas, la historia no me parece de la calidad de la saga, no tiene un trasfondo o algun giro que aunque no sea tan impactante podria ser impresionante como es en los demas.… Expand
  27. elPiero
    Oct 31, 2017
    9
    If you want a big game to spend hours and hours on a big map, with lots of side quest, memorable characters, beautiful places and amazing gameplay mechanics, you have to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo really makes every detail feel so important on this game, from hearing your sword touching the grass or hear the birds and the nature to start a fire and use his windIf you want a big game to spend hours and hours on a big map, with lots of side quest, memorable characters, beautiful places and amazing gameplay mechanics, you have to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo really makes every detail feel so important on this game, from hearing your sword touching the grass or hear the birds and the nature to start a fire and use his wind to fly higher or shoot an electric arrow to the water to get some fish to cook.
    The only reason why I didn't give BOTW a 10 is that in some places or certain moments you can have some serious performance issues that really feel so annoying.    … Expand
  28. ZackaryK
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is amazing, it's vast and interesting world will suck you in as you explore. The game's controls are great they are the controls that everyone expects from a zelda which is great. This game almost feels like a sandbox filled with different things to do. This game houses 120 shrines 900 korok seeds tons of interesting enemies lore and characters fun side quests fun moves and a lot more. This is a must have for the switch and a game that will be played for hours on end. Short summary would be GET THIS GAME.… Expand
  29. andres90109010
    Sep 8, 2019
    10
    Increíble juego de mundo abierto, uno de los mejores juegos de la década y probablemente de las historia de los videojuegos. Genera gran nostalgia para los jugadores clásicos que crecimos con juegos como ocarina of time y majoras mask.
  30. LinkLannister
    Oct 29, 2017
    10
    simplemente el mejor juego que he jugado en mi vida...
    -gráficos bonitos (y no se necesitaba mas)
    -música que da entre melancolía y un vaivén de emociones -jugabilidad de 10, se lo he prestado a un amigo que ni le gustaba zelda y ya le da un 10/10 -se puede jugar y puede gustar fácilmente sin haber jugado títulos anteriores pero desde luego si has jugado los zeldas anteriores se    simplemente el mejor juego que he jugado en mi vida...
    -gráficos bonitos (y no se necesitaba mas)
    -música que da entre melancolía y un vaivén de emociones
    -jugabilidad de 10, se lo he prestado a un amigo que ni le gustaba zelda y ya le da un 10/10
    -se puede jugar y puede gustar fácilmente sin haber jugado títulos anteriores pero desde luego si has jugado los zeldas anteriores se disfruta mas
    -mas rpg que nunca, y con un mundo enoorme para explorar y perderse encontrando secretos    … Expand
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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 »