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. fabiomartinazz
    Mar 6, 2017
    7
    Ok so, how should I begin?

    First off, completely forget "extremes" scores. If the game would be a 10, it would not have so much negative reviews. The opposite is obviously true. You check that the review score of the "professionals" are a way different from the user scores. So, it's the main evidence of payed reviews. It's a modern way of marketing, so we must accept and deal with    Ok so, how should I begin?

    First off, completely forget "extremes" scores. If the game would be a 10, it would not have so much negative reviews. The opposite is obviously true.

    You check that the review score of the "professionals" are a way different from the user scores. So, it's the main evidence of payed reviews. It's a modern way of marketing, so we must accept and deal with it.

    Now, introductions done, let's off to the point:

    Zelda always had some characteristcs that went down in inheritance from the first game to the last (until now). These characteristics made fans and built up the game as we known it.

    BotW broke up the main characteristics of the serie in many ways. It was a very risky and ambitious move from Nintendo (not really surprised of that move from them, by the way).

    Now the game looks like much more as a survival game then the classic adventure/RPG.

    That's not that bad, when you're reaching a public that like this genre of game (survival/RPG). But not all the Zelda fans could like the same concept now adopted.

    That's being said, I will try to impersonate more a player and less a critic to say: I like survival like games. But, that's not the only stone on the road.

    Since the game tried to secure some of his characteristics, and to not made a completely genre change, it's not a survival game in all the main concepts. For example, the game lacks the weapon/armor crafts elements (still, you can upgrade your armor, but not as a basic craft system, but as a trade). Also, the main character does not have some basic needs, like hungry or sleep. Even with the game trying to counter-balance the needs of food, with battles that almost ensure you to eat something after (or during) them. But it's a immersion breaking anyway, one of the main characteristics of a survival like genre.

    One simple solution adopted by various actual developers to deal with the genres problem is the adoption of mods. The game can be completely modified so to better suits the playstyle of different kind of players. I do have a small hope for this, even it's being highly improbably to happen, since Big N delivered Mario Maker, as it's a kind of similar concept.

    Another problem of the game is when the marketing sold us the idea of a Skyrim like one. When we compare a modern game with a game not that new (even being an excelent game, still for nowadays) we expect a game that would be better in almost every concept. But BotW is not better then Skyrim. So, the comparison, used by the market, was a complete bad idea.

    Things that Skyrim is more than better than BotW:

    1) You have a highly density map in Skyrim.
    2) The dungeons are really dungeons. Not small puzzles like in BotW. And there are many. So many!
    3) You have a huge variety of enemys. And not the same, with different colors by almost all the times, like in BotW.
    4) Complete and rewarding questing system.
    5) Access to lots of mods.
    6) Character customization.
    7) Lots of side quests and not only one or another like in BotW.
    8) Side stories in some terms so well developed like the main story.
    9) Decisions does matter. You can choose to be a good or bad guy.

    Probably there should be much other points to enlist here. But I think that those are already enough to have an idea that these changes on Zelda genre/theme wasnt complete.

    Also, another thing to enlist. The concept of battle system. The weapons break very, very, very faster. Even being part of the strategy, it's another immersion breaking for the game (a concept, already told, crucial for a survival game).

    I think that this enlist well the bad points of the game. I'll try to not enlist in this critic the good ones, since they're already well broadcasted.

    I hope for some upgrades to better suits the Zelda game for both the Zelda classic fans, as for the new genre.    … Expand
  2. AKraftyBasterd
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    This game is an awesome return to open world exploration. You have a plethora of things you can do, and a huge world in which to do them, and generally you can choose any order in which to do them, even if that means you WILL die a lot. The game auto-saves often, so test your might, stretch your wings (or paraglider), and explore a world with loving detail. The negative reviews, from whatThis game is an awesome return to open world exploration. You have a plethora of things you can do, and a huge world in which to do them, and generally you can choose any order in which to do them, even if that means you WILL die a lot. The game auto-saves often, so test your might, stretch your wings (or paraglider), and explore a world with loving detail. The negative reviews, from what I have been able to see, are whiny little elitists upset by technical things like FPS, but don't bother to actually, ya know, play the game. Some of them even say it is good, but then give it a zero, which implies some misunderstanding of how the score works?… Expand
  3. VoicedReason
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    For those who just dont get it, its not because the game lacks in any way. its because salty people lack imagination. The game deserves a 10 and future games will incorporate a lot of BotW's innovations. Just know the game is good. anyone who says otherwise just got offended by its greatness.
  4. Kipperdoodles
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    The game is truly the epitome of not only the Zelda franchise, but for open world games as a whole. Nintendo has set a new standard in the art of video games. Bravo!
  5. voiders
    Mar 6, 2017
    5
    Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the most overrated game of all time!
    A simple Zelda game with a good world and physics but with a PS2 graphic!
    The funny part is this game has the exacly same camera problems from Final Fantasy XV. The camera is manual, the moviment is not relative and the objects between the camera and the character are allways solid. So you can't see link with a    Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the most overrated game of all time!
    A simple Zelda game with a good world and physics but with a PS2 graphic!
    The funny part is this game has the exacly same camera problems from Final Fantasy XV.
    The camera is manual, the moviment is not relative and the objects between the camera and the character are allways solid. So you can't see link with a tree is in front of he. Every reviewer complain about this problem in FFXV and in Zelda 'ow it's perfect'.
    Just a normal game nothing else. People pick a lot of hype and fanboysm to make other people thing that game is perfect. It's even can handle 30 FPS.    … Expand
  6. Fanat-23
    Mar 6, 2017
    0
    Absolutely boring open-world, bad graphics and textures frankly low resolution (I understand that this is nintendo, but now is a year 2017, not 2005), dialogs are only text, without voice acting, which completely ruins the immersion in the game. Very, very banal story. I bet zero because many people mold the game to the top ten, which it clearly does not deserve. A maximum of 6-6,5 ...
  7. dbizal
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    The Hype is real. The game is breathtaking!

    Don't believe the negative reviews from the scrubs of the wild. Shame that over 1k people don't have anything better to do with their lives other than give 0/10 scores because the game isn't on their system of choice. It's quite sad really.
  8. Minishfrank
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    This game is a masterpiece. It has the perfect balance between narrative, gameplay and user experience. Thank you Nintendo! This is no doubt one of the greatest games ever made BRAVO!!!!
  9. Naggischnulu
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    (First of all sorry for my bad english)
    In my opinion Breath of the Wild is the best Zelda game of all time. You can read many very negative and positive things about the game online, I want to talk a bit about them.
    I've played 7 hours so far, I don't know everything about the game, maybe this game gets worse. One negative point is the open world, which is "too huge and too empty". I    (First of all sorry for my bad english)
    In my opinion Breath of the Wild is the best Zelda game of all time. You can read many very negative and positive things about the game online, I want to talk a bit about them.

    I've played 7 hours so far, I don't know everything about the game, maybe this game gets worse.
    One negative point is the open world, which is "too huge and too empty". I can't confirm that, maybe I'm very curious but everywhere is something to explore. There are many monster camps, many forest with special items and many shrines. There are also "villages" and sometimes there are people you can talk to. I didn't played games like Witcher 3, but I think the world of Breath of the Wild is not empty.

    Another criticism are the shrines - shrines are very tiny dungeons. I can understand why people are complaining about it, it's just nothing compared to the dungeons in other Zelda games, BUT there is one problem. NOBODY PLAYED THROUGH THE GAME. The release was three days ago. I can't give the game zero points because there are no dungeons or the world is empty - this is just ridiculous! In my opinion you have to play the game several hours to find reasonable criticisms. So in the end there are the common criticisms: The world is empty, there are no real dungeons, the weapons don't last very long. I can understand these points, but is this worth it to give the game 0-2 points? I've got the feeling many people want to get the score low, maybe the metascore is too high? I don't know, but this game is NOT bad!
    I have very much fun with the game and after playing 7 hours I can give a score of 10, in my opinion it is the best Zelda game.    … Expand
  10. OxTheKaiser
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    This game is **** awsome, beautiful, perfect gameplay, super extensive map, too emotional, with a new types to face the fight, short loads, but some bad textures and a little framerate drops, but anyway is the game of the gen
  11. Danny9009
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Es una de las mejores experiencias tanto en videojuegos como en la franquicia. Puedes, literalmente, pasarte horas explorando las diferentes zonas del mapa y aún así seguir descubriendo cosas que no viste antes, Definitivamente una aventura que cualquiera, sea fan de la saga o no, podrá disfrutar; ya que cada persona avanzará en el desarrollo del juego de diferente manera porque hay muchasEs una de las mejores experiencias tanto en videojuegos como en la franquicia. Puedes, literalmente, pasarte horas explorando las diferentes zonas del mapa y aún así seguir descubriendo cosas que no viste antes, Definitivamente una aventura que cualquiera, sea fan de la saga o no, podrá disfrutar; ya que cada persona avanzará en el desarrollo del juego de diferente manera porque hay muchas posibilidades distintas para terminar.… Expand
  12. brianhermansen1
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Gotta love all the people who rate the game a 0 and haven't even played it. As a player of ALL video games, Breath of the Wild is an absolute 10. It's not trying to be anything but Zelda, and rating it a 10 does not diminish any other open world games - it doesn't make Skyrim LESS good, and it doesn't make the Witcher 3 LESS enthralling. Those games set out to do what they meant to do, andGotta love all the people who rate the game a 0 and haven't even played it. As a player of ALL video games, Breath of the Wild is an absolute 10. It's not trying to be anything but Zelda, and rating it a 10 does not diminish any other open world games - it doesn't make Skyrim LESS good, and it doesn't make the Witcher 3 LESS enthralling. Those games set out to do what they meant to do, and did it extremely well! Likewise, Breath of the Wild crafts a beautiful open world in which Link can do whatever he wants. The graphics are absolutely beautiful - again, this doesn't diminish the more realistic graphics of Horizon, nor does it mean that it's the defining animation to change the world - but it makes the world look & feel more alive than any other world I've ever explored. The story is Zelda, the combat is Zelda, the humor & NPCs are Zelda.

    This is a Zelda game, and it is the smoothest experience you may ever have if you enjoy great combat, exploration and fun!    … Expand
  13. ukvfjkd
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    It's crazy how many 0/10 reviews there are from people who admit never having played the game!
    There are some frame-rate issues when playing on the Switch, but that is my only complaint. The game feels simultaneously new and nostalgic, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. There is so much more content than any past Zelda game, which is both wonderful and a bit overwhelming for people who    It's crazy how many 0/10 reviews there are from people who admit never having played the game!
    There are some frame-rate issues when playing on the Switch, but that is my only complaint. The game feels simultaneously new and nostalgic, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. There is so much more content than any past Zelda game, which is both wonderful and a bit overwhelming for people who are used to 100%-ing Zelda games.
    The game really captures the feelings of adventure and discovery that are the hallmark experience of Zelda games. The new features (cooking, climbing, magic, quest log) are great, and I don't miss the removed features of old games (heart piece hunting, fishing, loud music).
    My only complaint is that the Master Sword breaks, but I still give the game a 10. I truly have so much fun playing it.    … Expand
  14. b47marauder
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    I don't usually feel a need to write reviews for things at all ever. But all the negative scores for this have driven me to write a positive one. And by god this game deserves a lot more than the 7.4 average user score than it's getting at this point. This game is freaking amazing. A masterpiece. We will be talking about it for years to come. And pleased be assured of one thing ladies andI don't usually feel a need to write reviews for things at all ever. But all the negative scores for this have driven me to write a positive one. And by god this game deserves a lot more than the 7.4 average user score than it's getting at this point. This game is freaking amazing. A masterpiece. We will be talking about it for years to come. And pleased be assured of one thing ladies and gentlemen. Anyone who give this game a 0 is just...well an idiot. And since we have Trump as president...the presence of idiots that should be ignored in our society is quite confirmed..Good Day !!… Expand
  15. thodietho
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Simply put. This game is a phenomenon.

    Its very uncommon these days to find a game with a plot, story, characters and everything that still says: Hey, find four shrines and then come back. Dont care how you do it, thats up to you. Later this concept gets even more insane when you have to find out where certain screenshots are taken. With this mission I try to do it before I get to the    Simply put. This game is a phenomenon.

    Its very uncommon these days to find a game with a plot, story, characters and everything that still says: Hey, find four shrines and then come back. Dont care how you do it, thats up to you. Later this concept gets even more insane when you have to find out where certain screenshots are taken. With this mission I try to do it before I get to the dungeons. And the fact that I can choose to DO that while other people first do the dungeons or even go straight to the final boss is something I have never seen before in a AAA title. The world is not as big as say Just Cause 3 but even though its smaller its filled with much more content. Its distracting, but in a good way.

    This is the clear game of the year and it is my favorite game of all time (sorry twilight princess)    … Expand
  16. KrspaceT
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    This game is remarkable.

    i myself have never played open worlds before, and found even Ocarina 3D to be a bit easy to get lost in and overwhelming. Yet this game has been sucking me in again and again, like a vortex. There is just so much to do, and even when you aren't doing something the game is just amazing to look at. The most minor of tidbits just amazes me to no end. I mean    This game is remarkable.

    i myself have never played open worlds before, and found even Ocarina 3D to be a bit easy to get lost in and overwhelming. Yet this game has been sucking me in again and again, like a vortex.

    There is just so much to do, and even when you aren't doing something the game is just amazing to look at. The most minor of tidbits just amazes me to no end.

    I mean Ostriches. The game has ostriches. I wasn't expecting that, and they really don't do anything, yet in doing so it just gives the game so much flavor.

    Between this game and the innovation Sun and Moon had I cannot wait to see what Mario has in store. Hopefully less troll reviews.    … Expand
  17. Darkclokz
    Mar 6, 2017
    6
    Having only logged a few hours into it I have some major gripes.

    Negatives --------------- -Cooking system is atrocious and boring. -World is so massive it feels barren at times. -Starting stamina is frustrating as you feel like you spend forever trying to get to places. -Story in the early part of the game seems almost nonexistent. -No memorable music so far outside, of the    Having only logged a few hours into it I have some major gripes.

    Negatives
    ---------------

    -Cooking system is atrocious and boring.
    -World is so massive it feels barren at times.
    -Starting stamina is frustrating as you feel like you spend forever trying to get to places.
    -Story in the early part of the game seems almost nonexistent.
    -No memorable music so far outside, of the familiar sound effects we're all used to.
    -Frame rate drops are pretty frustrating for a $300 system, and brand new game.
    -Weapons breaking constantly makes everything feel generic and unimportant.

    Pros
    -------------

    -Beautiful game world, colors and cell shading make everything really pop.
    -Interesting new concepts for Zelda really refresh what had become somewhat stale in the series.
    -Being able to play a good looking, well controlled game with a handheld the size of the Switch. :)
    -Slight Voice Acting.    … Expand
  18. Bertoflyingfox
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    It's a perfect open-world game. Tons of things to explore, hundreds of ways to survive the world, interesting enemies, and all tied up in a great story. I'm no where near done, but what's been played is absolutely enthralling.

    Oh yeah, organic climbing. I cannot stress how refreshing it is to be able to climb nearly anything without having to worry about climbable anchor points.
  19. lBushidol
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    One Word. EPIC! the game is a Master Piece, an Open World with such detail, it makes me remember Wind waker, i hope this game Win the GOTY 'cause it is Deserved, its pretty fun and the best part is, it takes a lot of time to ended.
  20. easterfields
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    This is one of those rare games that bring back the nostalgic feelings of wanting to stay at home from school (or work now that I'm an adult) all day and play! I really can't articulate well enough how much of a treasure this game truly is. The Switch has received some criticism for not having a more robust launch line up, but the fact of the matter is that Zelda: BOTW is a Game of theThis is one of those rare games that bring back the nostalgic feelings of wanting to stay at home from school (or work now that I'm an adult) all day and play! I really can't articulate well enough how much of a treasure this game truly is. The Switch has received some criticism for not having a more robust launch line up, but the fact of the matter is that Zelda: BOTW is a Game of the Year title and is pure gold for the launch of a new system. Yeah, yeah, the PS4 and Xbox One both had dozens of games available out the door, however do you still own any of them? I guarantee that every person who purchased a Switch at launch (or is about to) will still have Zelda years down the road. Beautiful graphics, music, gameplay and story and best of all, it was all stitched together with the love that Nintendo pours into it's games. This is really feels more like the sequel to Ocarina of Time that we had been hoping for, for such a long time. Do yourself a favor and buy this now. Oh and did I mention how incredibly amazing it is being able to play this Zelda ANYWHERE-thanks to the smooth as silk transition from large screen TV to handheld device? The Switch has me convinced!… Expand
  21. Weeblo
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    I am a heavy gamer. This is the best game I have ever played! It isn't even close. It starts off with little to no instructions on what is going on and you have to figure out what to do and you end up exploring and possibly getting killed in the process. It has a nice difficulty level to it that makes it challenging and rewarding. It is basically what I imagined as a little boy what anI am a heavy gamer. This is the best game I have ever played! It isn't even close. It starts off with little to no instructions on what is going on and you have to figure out what to do and you end up exploring and possibly getting killed in the process. It has a nice difficulty level to it that makes it challenging and rewarding. It is basically what I imagined as a little boy what an adventure as a hero would be. This game simply achieves that imagination and adds a lot of mystery to it. I love this game and I can't imagine anyone not raving about this game at all.… Expand
  22. Ornuzd
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Me es imposible aun puntuar el juego y no lo hare hasta que lo termine, pero como hay tanto "hater" de Nintendo que pone notas de 0's y 1's pondre un 10 para compensar y una vez lo acabe editare la nota y el comentario poniendo lo que me ha parecido.
  23. Rinku1318
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Simplemente hermoso, prueba que la sustancia en los juegos no debe morir, tiene todo para ser uno de los grandes juegos de las ultimas generaciones. Muy bien jugado Nintendo
  24. bbearchell
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Ignore the fanboys for Ps and Xbox, Breath of the wild is by far Game Of The Year. My biggest concern going into it was that the world would have large empty segments given it's overwhelming size. Boy was I wrong. It felt as if each area was designed by different dev teams to make the areas feel unique and filled. Every random trek is rewarding. See something interesting? Go and exploreIgnore the fanboys for Ps and Xbox, Breath of the wild is by far Game Of The Year. My biggest concern going into it was that the world would have large empty segments given it's overwhelming size. Boy was I wrong. It felt as if each area was designed by different dev teams to make the areas feel unique and filled. Every random trek is rewarding. See something interesting? Go and explore and be rewarded in interesting ways.… Expand
  25. olafson
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    One of the best games I played in my life! Really beautiful and breathtaking so far...a lot more to discover!

    Thank you Nintendo! This is a piece of art.
  26. BlueStorm
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    The legend of Zelda breath of the wild is fantastic! It is a breath of fresh air for the series! (Pun intended)
    The open world style from the original in 3D is just amazing and most of the controls that were old are now new and very good! 10/10
  27. jonnyd_94
    Mar 6, 2017
    8
    I'd give this game a 10, but the story and fighting aren't great. I love the large open world possibilities. It's the first time in years I've played a Nintendo game (not named Mario) that feels like it stacks up with Sony and Microsoft gaming. I think they should build on this with the Zelda series and that's why I give it a higher rating. Not that I didn't like the other ZeldaI'd give this game a 10, but the story and fighting aren't great. I love the large open world possibilities. It's the first time in years I've played a Nintendo game (not named Mario) that feels like it stacks up with Sony and Microsoft gaming. I think they should build on this with the Zelda series and that's why I give it a higher rating. Not that I didn't like the other Zelda titles, but they just didn't have that pop. You can add DLC for this game and probably improve everyone's opinion.… Expand
  28. Pablonsky
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Breath of The Wild is exactly what I Wanted, Imagined and Craved from the series as kid.

    That being said... forget what you have seen so far, this game is so much richer and challenging than all other Zelda's. Mood-Wise (Music, story, visuals, creativity of puzzles) it is still very much Zelda, but everything else is amplified: Difficulty, things to do, things you CAN do and the sheer    Breath of The Wild is exactly what I Wanted, Imagined and Craved from the series as kid.

    That being said... forget what you have seen so far, this game is so much richer and challenging than all other Zelda's. Mood-Wise (Music, story, visuals, creativity of puzzles) it is still very much Zelda, but everything else is amplified: Difficulty, things to do, things you CAN do and the sheer size of the world. Its like the series has grown along with its fans that where a certain age when A Link to The Past launched and now are adults... like me.

    Did I mentioned how beautiful it looks... oh those mountains at dawn.... Yeah. Must buy if you are a Zelda fan ....or just a fan of amazing video games really.    … Expand
  29. pico182
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    Gran juego, muy bien pensado un mundo basto en el que siempre hay algo que hacer, se vuelve una adicción explorar cada rincón de Hyrule y superar cada reto, lo recomiendo ampliamente
  30. Misterfan2000
    Mar 6, 2017
    10
    El juego, sin dudarlo, es muy divertido y entretenido, además de tener un aspecto gráfico, aunque mejorable, bastante bueno y precioso, y una OST bastante increíble, parece de película!
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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 »