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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. naiper
    Jun 24, 2020
    8
    The battle is not so good and the weapon system is awful. The short temple can't make me dive into the game, I really don't have feelings running around without a specific goal.
  2. XWhiteWO1fX
    Jan 22, 2018
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros:
    - One of the best LoZ experiences since OoT. Truly feels like an epic LoZ filled with an meaningful final battle and a silent but realatable protagonist
    -Never feels boring even after multiple plays. Will keep coming back regardless of the amount of times I play this game
    -Open-World aspect and combat system is perfected from the previous games and honed by Nintendo's greatest minds.
    -Characters are well designed and graphics capture an uplifting but dramatic feel.
    -Portability is perfected and the multiple wells to play feel like an epic well tuned adventure.
    -Story is one of the best and the lore is one of the most honed in any LoT game.
    -Can say with 95 percent certainly comparable to OoT!
    -Starting area and ending zone are well designed.
    Cons
    -Lack of meaningful characters,dialogue, and actions the main protagonist performs. LoZ boasts a plot happening spoilers 100 years after evils's attack. Characters you meet(NPCs) offer virtually no backstory to the events in the kingdom and the overall timeline this is taking place. LoZ fans know three alt realities were created with the aftermath of OoT. This game doesn't offer any clear cut which is a pro but a con to the timeline established in Hyrule Historia.
    -With the lack of meaningful characters come a relative lack of importance of completing the game. No point in completing a game with the big evil not moving anywhere or affecting the landcape.

    Verdict
    LoT is a proud addition to the series! It rivals the dominion established by OoT and TP on it's open world ecosystem! The protagonist is relatable and impactful. Characters lack true meaning to the story.
    Recommendations
    I would wait till the DLC expansions drop. I would buy a Nintendo Switch around later this year as this game still has several bugs and issues.
    This game deserves a solid 8.5/10!
    Any questions or concerns please leave comments and enjoy your day.    … Expand
  3. brendo214
    May 21, 2019
    8
    This is easily the most refined Legend of Zelda game of all time, and probably the one that will stand up the best over time.
  4. JoseAngel47
    Feb 23, 2018
    8
    Taking The cel-shaded art-style of Wind waker and combining it with the style of modern Zelda gives this game a unique art-style which I adore. As well as giving you an open world in which you can experiment with almost anything makes this the best Zelda game and I hope we get another Zelda game like this in the future
  5. guilleGR
    Jun 17, 2020
    8
    Gran videojuego aunque creo que tenía las expectativas quizás un poco altas. Me decepcionó bastante que cuando terminas el juego, no puedes continuar jugando tal y como acaba todo, si no que si vuelves a cargar la partida, automáticamente te carga justo antes del último boss... y si quieres seguir jugando puedes hacerlo, pero nunca después del último boss.
    No obstante, me parece un    Gran videojuego aunque creo que tenía las expectativas quizás un poco altas. Me decepcionó bastante que cuando terminas el juego, no puedes continuar jugando tal y como acaba todo, si no que si vuelves a cargar la partida, automáticamente te carga justo antes del último boss... y si quieres seguir jugando puedes hacerlo, pero nunca después del último boss.
    No obstante, me parece un videojuego bastante recomendable en el que puedes descubrir un gran mundo abierto en el cuál hay misiones secundarias, etc.    … Expand
  6. Cefezsig
    Mar 16, 2018
    8
    As a game, it's a masterpiece.
    But it does lack a lot of things that make Zelda games, well, Zelda games.
    If you are a Zelda fan, I think you are going to be a little disappointed with the lack of such iconic Zelda things.
    If you are a newcomer, you're going to love it.
  7. Revoltado
    Jul 20, 2020
    8
    Jogo muito bom, graficamente excelente melhor de que muitos jogos atuais (vide pokemon s&s)
    O que não gostei:
    - O efeito da chuva e o excesso de dias chuvosos - Durabilidade das armas, pior que em DS2 - Missões secundárias e suas terríveis recompensas - Senti falta de templos - Trilha sonora quase inexistente - Trial Master Sword, extremamente difícil no modo normal e beira a    Jogo muito bom, graficamente excelente melhor de que muitos jogos atuais (vide pokemon s&s)
    O que não gostei:
    - O efeito da chuva e o excesso de dias chuvosos
    - Durabilidade das armas, pior que em DS2
    - Missões secundárias e suas terríveis recompensas
    - Senti falta de templos
    - Trilha sonora quase inexistente
    - Trial Master Sword, extremamente difícil no modo normal e beira a impossibilidade no master mode.    … Expand
  8. Grunty
    May 5, 2018
    8
    It is indeed a very good game and the reason I bought the switch from the start. Not disappointed but a bit lost by the open world and the difficulty of the fights (which is not what I'm fond of). I like exploring / discovering things, and I still have a lot to do.
    My only complaint : I properly hate the rain system which is pointless and make you wait for nothing.
  9. Kreiv
    May 9, 2018
    8
    Decent open-world game, absolutely beautiful at times but the world feels a bit empty and with non-inspiring monsters. Would also like to have seen a bit more depth to the NPCs and a bit more of these NPCs, the cities often doesn't feel alive in the same way the empty world doesn't either. With that said, there is lots of good in here and the game still had me coming back for lots of hoursDecent open-world game, absolutely beautiful at times but the world feels a bit empty and with non-inspiring monsters. Would also like to have seen a bit more depth to the NPCs and a bit more of these NPCs, the cities often doesn't feel alive in the same way the empty world doesn't either. With that said, there is lots of good in here and the game still had me coming back for lots of hours before finally finishing it. Up close the graphics often aren't that good given today's standard in games, however the views of this game are sometimes amazing.… Expand
  10. SliceNDiceXD
    May 26, 2018
    8
    Hype is powerful. Put an ungodly amount of hype behind a beloved franchise, that does a lot of things extremely well, and you get a bit of a hype monster. BotW is a wonderful game. Its open world is fantastic. It has a simple, yet engaging, combat system. There are a ton of excellent secrets hidden inside the world that gives an extended playthrough a little extra kick intermittently.Hype is powerful. Put an ungodly amount of hype behind a beloved franchise, that does a lot of things extremely well, and you get a bit of a hype monster. BotW is a wonderful game. Its open world is fantastic. It has a simple, yet engaging, combat system. There are a ton of excellent secrets hidden inside the world that gives an extended playthrough a little extra kick intermittently. However, a large number of shrines feel samey, some of them are painfully simple, and some of them are solved in the exact same way as other shrines. Moreover, there are no real dungeons, the rain mechanic gets in the way of climbing (which is otherwise excellent), and forces you to just stop and wait for it to pass, the world starts to feel extremely empty once you have cleared all the towers and gotten around 60 shrines in, the story is bad, and the stealth missions are worse (thankfully they are few and far between). Ultimately, you have a great game, but one with a lot of problems. In a few years, this will be a Zelda title many people still think fondly of, but I think it will also receive a whole lot less single-minded worship.… Expand
  11. ktjayhawk77
    Jan 1, 2020
    8
    I was very skeptic of this game at first because I generally prefer the more linear Zelda titles, and also because the game lacks good dungeons and that is my favorite part of Zelda games. This game also seems to lack a decent story and it kinda of sucks you have to collect optional memories through the land to get the full story. Boss fights were also very easy and not very memorable atI was very skeptic of this game at first because I generally prefer the more linear Zelda titles, and also because the game lacks good dungeons and that is my favorite part of Zelda games. This game also seems to lack a decent story and it kinda of sucks you have to collect optional memories through the land to get the full story. Boss fights were also very easy and not very memorable at all. I do like the challenge this game brings, as there hasn’t been a hard Zelda in ages. Nintendo, please please please put back in traditional dungeons in the sequel. This is definitely my least favorite 3D Zelda, but was still a fun ride worthy of no more than an 8 out of 10.… Expand
  12. Jargentium15
    Jun 2, 2018
    8
    of the best games of 2017
    good story mode, good playability, good soundtrack and very caristic characters.
  13. asbloom
    Jun 5, 2018
    8
    Nintendo sin duda se ha puesto las pilas pero no en el desarrollo del nuevo zelda si no en la innovaciòn, creo yo que ponerle la palabra "Zelda" a este tìtulo es por puro marketing, ya que carece en un 70% de la esencìa de la franquicìa, Nintendo se dejò llevar por la fiebre de los RPG y mundo abierto que estàn reformando a los videojuegos. Y es que ese no es el èstilo de TLOZ, si bien laNintendo sin duda se ha puesto las pilas pero no en el desarrollo del nuevo zelda si no en la innovaciòn, creo yo que ponerle la palabra "Zelda" a este tìtulo es por puro marketing, ya que carece en un 70% de la esencìa de la franquicìa, Nintendo se dejò llevar por la fiebre de los RPG y mundo abierto que estàn reformando a los videojuegos. Y es que ese no es el èstilo de TLOZ, si bien la naturaleza engañosa del universo de la franquicìa pedìa que se le diera su propio mundo abierto, lo que hacìa TLOZ un franquicia de exito, era su mitologìa, historìa y sus personajes, y aquì se deja todo eso en segundo plano. Por ello digo que se merece dos calificaciones, como Zelda un 7 porque innova en elementos de la franquicia, y como Juego un 10 (dejando de lado los aspectos tècnico) porque cumple con la misiòn de un videojuego la cuàl es entretener y vale por completo el precìo del cartucho. Entonces tenemos un promedio de 8.5.… Expand
  14. TheSaltyPilgrim
    Jun 10, 2018
    8
    Story and Writing: 8
    Game Play: 10
    Music: 10
    User Interface: 6
    Optimization: 7
    Graphics: 10
    Replay Value: 5
    Would Recommend: Yes
  15. phoamsw0rd13
    Jul 5, 2018
    8
    This game strays a bit too far from what made Zelda great in the past to be truly great itself. The addition of a couple really frustrating mechanics, such as your weapons constantly breaking, and an incredibly lackluster story almost push this game into "suck" territory. Yet I found I couldn't put this game down. There's just something so addictive about the way this game has beenThis game strays a bit too far from what made Zelda great in the past to be truly great itself. The addition of a couple really frustrating mechanics, such as your weapons constantly breaking, and an incredibly lackluster story almost push this game into "suck" territory. Yet I found I couldn't put this game down. There's just something so addictive about the way this game has been designed. It knows how to entice you while still keeping you from ever feeling truly satisfied, thus you'll find yourself continually coming back for more as I did.… Expand
  16. michaelb1928
    Apr 21, 2020
    8
    Great Game, The World is designed beautifully. There is a real sense of discovery and the divine beats for the most part are a blast to play. The shrines are very hit or miss with honestly a majority of them forgettable. The Shrines that require the gyro controls are a nightmare. Theres a missed opportunity i think here aswell for an amazing story with fleshed out characters but theyGreat Game, The World is designed beautifully. There is a real sense of discovery and the divine beats for the most part are a blast to play. The shrines are very hit or miss with honestly a majority of them forgettable. The Shrines that require the gyro controls are a nightmare. Theres a missed opportunity i think here aswell for an amazing story with fleshed out characters but they decided to play it safe with a very basic plot. The combat can get a bit repetitive as there isn't much enemy variety. The sidequest are terrible aswell with no incentive to do any of them as the rewards are never worth it. Not a massive fan of crafting in video games so the cooking mechanic didnt stand out to me. Overall a good game with some flaws.Hopefully the sequel will improve on all aspects of this and we can get a more realised vision of what this game can be… Expand
  17. 6oni
    Oct 14, 2018
    8
    d bst zelda in years ,
    gud fisics!!, but it lacks a variety of scenarios nd enemies, d wepons r broken if you look at them
    nd d amiibos make me cry
  18. Stonewallish
    Oct 22, 2018
    8
    Zelda BOTW is a magical game. It expects a certain level of intelligence from its players and does little in the way of hand holding. The world and its beautiful physics are completely at your disposal to use and abuse; its a true sandbox open world game that stimulates players imagination without ever forcing certain situations to play out in a set way, and this is so, so rare nowadays.Zelda BOTW is a magical game. It expects a certain level of intelligence from its players and does little in the way of hand holding. The world and its beautiful physics are completely at your disposal to use and abuse; its a true sandbox open world game that stimulates players imagination without ever forcing certain situations to play out in a set way, and this is so, so rare nowadays.

    The game is packed with dozens of well crafted puzzles, including the main ones which are extremely well thought out and crafted. It doesn’t matter that it offers a weak storyline and a truly annoying weapon breaking mechanic. Nearly every issue pales when confronted with the big, colorful and majestic world the player will be exploring. And how beautiful it is to explore in this game. There’s an immense sense of satisfaction in doing so, and the beautiful ambient sounds create almost a private setting between the game and the player, creating a beautiful sense of immersion and wonder.

    This game has been praised as being an absolute masterpiece, and in all honesty, I fully disagree. There are many things that could have been done differently and better, starting with the infamous weapon breaking mechanic (and all the annoyances that it brings with it). Despite that, there is a weird sense of magic you can feel while playing BOTW. A sense of magic that nowadays, is very hard -if not impossible- to find elsewhere. It’s not a perfect game, by any means, but it is, indeed, a perfect experience.    … Expand
  19. zzzxggg
    Nov 1, 2018
    8
    'bout the visual? Totally THE work of art. The others? Well, if I might say, nothing special 'bout them.
  20. caronte69
    Aug 30, 2019
    8
    todos los zeldas sin excepción nunca me han decepcionado y este zelda tampoco lo ha hecho
  21. Genius73
    Dec 9, 2018
    8
    Es muy buen juego le he dedicado un numero incesantes de horas y he de decir que me encanta aunque en algunos aspectos flojea como en el tema de la curación que la encuentro que es esta muy Bien excepto a la hora de enfrentarse a Jefes ya que lo único que debes hacer si eres malo es coger un montón de comida para poder ganar con mas facilidad y encuentro que esto arruina un poco laEs muy buen juego le he dedicado un numero incesantes de horas y he de decir que me encanta aunque en algunos aspectos flojea como en el tema de la curación que la encuentro que es esta muy Bien excepto a la hora de enfrentarse a Jefes ya que lo único que debes hacer si eres malo es coger un montón de comida para poder ganar con mas facilidad y encuentro que esto arruina un poco la experiencia aunque puedes hacer-lo como quieras por eso digo que es un gran juego si quieres enfrentarte a un boss con menos comida pues puedes hace-lo o también puedes pasarte 2 meses farmenado comido XD. y la libertad del juego es algo que hace que la experiencia de juego sea completamente diferente para cada jugado algo genial pero el problema que me encontrado yo es que si durante un par de meses no has podido jugar al retomarlo no sabes bien que hacer si misiones secundarias que dejaste para mas tarde o seguir con la principal, aunque al cavo de un par de horas ya te reenganchas al juego a la dinámica de juegos que llevabas o a otra nueva.… Expand
  22. Cidiust
    Dec 27, 2022
    8
    I think I came by it a little late. Its an awesome story and I love how they took everything we knew in past games and use that as base for the lore.

    Beautiful graphics, and as a flag launch title for the switch it shows how Nintendo's different approach to videogames does work on this new generation. That said. End game kinda sucks. I mean, Side story missions are all just the same,    I think I came by it a little late. Its an awesome story and I love how they took everything we knew in past games and use that as base for the lore.

    Beautiful graphics, and as a flag launch title for the switch it shows how Nintendo's different approach to videogames does work on this new generation.

    That said. End game kinda sucks. I mean, Side story missions are all just the same, go fetch this for no real purpose and bring it back.    … Expand
  23. saddikmila
    Jul 26, 2019
    8
    the game is divided into 5 parts the first 4 parts fighting the 4 divine beasts, and the final part fighting calamity ganon, when playing the first part the game looks fabulous, i my self said: this is the best game ever, but after the game keeps repeating itself, it is basically the same, and this is why i bored so fast after the second divine beast, also the bosses are the same i enjoyedthe game is divided into 5 parts the first 4 parts fighting the 4 divine beasts, and the final part fighting calamity ganon, when playing the first part the game looks fabulous, i my self said: this is the best game ever, but after the game keeps repeating itself, it is basically the same, and this is why i bored so fast after the second divine beast, also the bosses are the same i enjoyed fighting the guardians more than bosses, and the dungeons are simple not as fun as the previous zelda titles.… Expand
  24. cvg
    Jan 30, 2019
    8
    Very good game with some lacking mechanisms including weapon weariness. Story lacking a bit when compared to the very top RPG tier. Still, I highly recommend this game for game play alone.
  25. RGScompany
    Feb 10, 2019
    8
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a pleasurable experience. It provides many hours of immersive fun and a sense of discovery that is hard to find in other games. It returns the series to its roots of discovery and exploration.
    The main goal the developers kept in mind during development was to give the player a sense of childlike wonder and discovery. Eiji Aonuma, the head    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a pleasurable experience. It provides many hours of immersive fun and a sense of discovery that is hard to find in other games. It returns the series to its roots of discovery and exploration.
    The main goal the developers kept in mind during development was to give the player a sense of childlike wonder and discovery. Eiji Aonuma, the head director, wanted players to explore and discover the world at their own pace and play it how they want to. This game appeals to everyone because of the game’s goal, which was kept in mind throughout its development. The only alienating aspect of this design is that the beginning is tough relative to the rest of the game. There is a noticeable learning curve at first, and the game doesn’t do too much to help you through it. As a result, this game can alienate people that aren’t used to playing video games, but the learning curve isn’t so unfair that it pushes players away from the game.
    Open-world games launch with bugs; these bugs can either break the game or have no effect at all. Breath of the Wild is an objectively well-made game because the bugs that exist don’t prevent any mechanics from functioning. The mechanics work as intended and can be pushed to extremes. The environment has little to no visual bugs and keeps you immersed. The menus aren’t hard to navigate, and the user interface isn’t intrusive. The only major issue is that the game will occasionally drop below thirty frames-per-second in certain areas.
    The game is so massive, and the mechanics have so much depth, that it’d be hard to find someone that doesn’t enjoy at least one aspect of it. This game gives a sense of freedom that not many games are able to match. The physics engine alone gives a lot more depth and variety to the game-play than one would think; it allows for creativity when handling any situation. This makes it intellectually stimulating to do simple tasks, such as traversing the world. And the game provides all the physics tools in the beginning for use throughout the entire game.
    The game has quests and one hundred twenty physics-based puzzles scattered throughout the world, but the game shines best when you are immersed in its exploration and discovery. The content is the reward for exploring the world. It strikes a great balance between exploration and content because of this.
    The game isn’t perfect though. The story is generic and leaves much to be desired, and much of its content is shallow. Despite these negatives though, the foundation of the game is so well-made, that it is still fun. When I go back to replay this game, I don’t play it for the story or the quests, I play it for the world and its mechanics. This game succeeds in its goal to give everyone that sense of discovery that the series was originally founded upon.    … Expand
  26. Nothsa1234
    Feb 23, 2019
    8
    Great game, wasn't for me. I missed the scores from previous titles. I also found that Breath of the Wild was very hard to pick up once you'd put it down and that it could be overwhelming at times. The slower paced gameplay is also not for everyone. In general it is a great game which i have a few personal gripes with
    .
  27. k3llist
    Apr 25, 2019
    8
    Just a cool game, but not the best game in the world, because she has too many flaws.
  28. svonton
    Aug 14, 2022
    8
    Expected much more from one of the highest rated game on switch, but reality is disappointing. A lot of copypasted enemies/animation/mechanics and big but empty world with great visual and music.
  29. RwolfBonerush
    May 28, 2020
    8
    The exploration in this game is easily it’s best part, the atmosphere and environmental interaction is simply way beyond anything else on the market. However, the games story and world take a massive hit due to this, there is little reason to interact with characters and the story is laughable. Still a great game though
  30. Skippy11
    May 31, 2020
    8
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be heralded as one of the greatest games of all time for generations. The exploration in this game has been masterfully crafted to feel like you can go anywhere, and you can. The average copy and paste empty buildings in every other open-world game are not present here. Another trick they used at Nintendo was to put interesting things in everyThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be heralded as one of the greatest games of all time for generations. The exploration in this game has been masterfully crafted to feel like you can go anywhere, and you can. The average copy and paste empty buildings in every other open-world game are not present here. Another trick they used at Nintendo was to put interesting things in every corner of the world, so no matter where you go you are progressing throughout the game. I believe that if you make an open-world game from now on you need to include climbing. The climbing mechanic and ability to glide have completely changed everything about this game. They are probably the 2 greatest mechanics ever put in a video game, and with your sheikah slate abilities, the world is your playground. I do have 2 critiques that do drag the score down slightly though. In the game, there are 2 types of dungeons. You have your mini-dungeons that are just one little puzzle called the shrines, and then you have the divine beasts. The big problem with these is that since Breath of the Wild is so non-linear the shrines and divine beasts must be designed with the idea that the player just got off the great plateau and has poor gear this, in turn, hinders the experience because the developers are too worried to scale the difficulty based on what gear the player enters the shrine or divine beast in. But, I do understand why they would be worried to do this, Eiji Aonuma and his team did not want to scale the difficulty because there are no different difficulty options, and turning off difficulty scaling would be weird. Another gripe I have with the shrines and dungeons would be their color palette, if you look at Dragon Roost island from Windwaker, the Ancient Cistern from Skyward Sword, or the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time. All of these dungeons are colorful and unique with one mechanic that carries the dungeon. On the other hand, in Breath of the Wild all the abilities that Link needs to open these dungeons are given to him from practically the very beginning of the game, so that means they can't scale them or make them more unique for different items. Now onto the story, The problem with this game's story is that it does not even take place during the game. All cutscenes and flashbacks take place 100 years before the game started which makes it seem like the world is not changing very much around you. Also, if the world changed at all after the divine beasts, or taking down Calamity Ganon I would be okay with it because you would be fixing what went wrong 100 years ago. Other than some permanent weather changes the world feels stagnant. Also, the champions are poorly written characters because they feel tacked on, and their interactions with Link are very akward because of the voice acting.… Expand
Page:

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 »