The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Games review
As of Jul 9, 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 a statistical fluke, that is near-unanimous consensus, and the reasoning behind it holds up: reviewers across the board cite open-world design excellence, a genuine reinvention of a 35-year-old franchise, and a sense of freedom that somehow doesn't dilute what makes Zelda feel like Zelda, with Hyrule itself praised as feeling like a real, lived-in place rather than a backdrop. The only downside surfaced across sampled reviews amounts to minor technical issues, which one reviewer flagged while still calling it an absolute masterpiece. This is the rare case where the scores actually mean something: the game earns them on substance, not hype.
Zelda veterans ready for a radical reinvention and open-world explorers who want a sprawling, discovery-driven game with the craft and identity of a Nintendo first-party title behind it, if you prefer structured progression, hand-holding, or tightly paced narrative, temper expectations accordingly.
Minor technical issues were noted, the facts don't specify severity or platform, so if rock-solid performance is a dealbreaker for you, investigate the specific version you plan to play before buying.
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
- open-world design excellence5
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- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.
- Breath of the Wild is a feat of design and polish. Hyrule feels like a real place, and the journey Link and Zelda undertake to defeat Ganon is compelling
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo's most ambitious and impressive game to date.
- franchise reinvention5
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- 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.
- 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...
- sense of freedom and exploration5
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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.
- 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.
- maintains zelda identity4
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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...
- masterpiece and achievement4
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- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.
- Link's most ambitious adventure is one of Nintendo's crowning achievements.
- 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...
- immersive world design3
see reviews +-
- Breath of the Wild is a feat of design and polish. Hyrule feels like a real place, and the journey Link and Zelda undertake to defeat Ganon is compelling
- 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...
- 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.