The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Games review
As of Jun 23, 2026, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is rated 96/100 on OpenCritic (168 critic reviews), and 97/100 on Metacritic (117 critic reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
Is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild worth it in 2026?
A 96 on OpenCritic from 168 critics and a 97 on Metacritic from 117 critics is not normal, that is a near-unanimous verdict across a large sample, which makes the praise genuinely hard to dismiss. The consistent through-line is that Nintendo pulled off something difficult: transforming Zelda into its most freeform, open-world incarnation yet while explicitly preserving the charm and identity that defined the series, a balance reviewers call out directly and repeatedly. The world is vast, the sense of adventure is described as unmatched in the series, and the design is called a masterclass, not as hyperbole but as a recurring critical judgment. Minor technical issues are the only documented complaint in sampled reviews, a negligible footnote against that volume of praise.
Anyone drawn to open-world games built around genuine freedom and discovery, and especially Zelda fans worried the reinvention would cost the series its soul, reviewers are explicit that it did not.
The game dramatically departs from the structured dungeon progression of classic Zelda entries; reviewers praising 'identity preserved' are also implicitly acknowledging how much changed.
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes below. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Pros
- series-best zelda7
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- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild exceeds lofty expectations on the Nintendo Switch, cementing it as one of the best installments in the beloved series to-date.
- The most freeform Zelda yet, without sacrificing the charm, fun or quality you expect from the series. Nintendo’s finest work since Super Mario Galaxy.
- Triumphant. Groundbreaking. The pinnacle of Zelda.
- open-world freedom6
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- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.
- Switch's debut and Wii U's demise are marked by a radical reinvention of The Legend of Zelda that will go down as an all-time great.
- I guess, in the end, it's not just that Breath of the Wild signals that Zelda has finally evolved and moved beyond the structure it's leaned on for so long. It's that the evolution...
- masterclass game design4
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- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo's most ambitious and impressive game to date.
- Link's most ambitious adventure is one of Nintendo's crowning achievements.
- sense of adventure4
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- The feeling of adventure has always been present in Zelda titles, but none of the previous titles have offered the same immense feeling of freedom as Breath of the Wild. The huge w...
- And while I don’t know if I ever felt like a genius while playing Breath of the Wild, I did feel like I was 11 years old and unlocking the magical secrets of Zelda all over again.
- You know when you were a kid, in the summer, you used to have huge pretend adventures in the back garden with all your mates? Where the shed was a castle and the hedge was a jungle...
- zelda identity preserved4
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- The most freeform Zelda yet, without sacrificing the charm, fun or quality you expect from the series. Nintendo’s finest work since Super Mario Galaxy.
- I guess, in the end, it's not just that Breath of the Wild signals that Zelda has finally evolved and moved beyond the structure it's leaned on for so long. It's that the evolution...
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a landmark release for its franchise and Nintendo. It's the first time that Nintendo has truly taken on the open-world genre in a current...
- vast world exploration3
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- The feeling of adventure has always been present in Zelda titles, but none of the previous titles have offered the same immense feeling of freedom as Breath of the Wild. The huge w...
- Ready for adventure once again in a unique and massive world in the skin of Link, the adventurer ready to save, once again Zelda.
- It's one of the best video games I've ever played, and is sure to keep you busy for many hours, days and weeks, exploring this vast, beautiful, unexpected world.
Cons
- minor technical issues1
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- Breath of the Wild is an absolute masterpiece, and may well be the best The Legend of Zelda game ever made. Despite a few minor technical issues, this a truly unforgettable experie...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 19 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 285 ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.