The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 Wii U
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. DarkStation
    Mar 20, 2017
    100
    Does it have the best combat system in the world? No. Is it the best looking game out there? No. Does it have the best RPG soundtrack ever? No. Can the game make you feel like you are eight years old again? Hell yes. It certainly had that effect with me. It has been a long time since exploring, fighting, and adventuring has so consistently brought a smile to my face. Breath of the Wild is such a wonderful experience that once you play it, you will likely never look at open world games the same again.
  2. Cubed3
    Mar 18, 2017
    100
    If it really is the last major title that the Wii U ever sees, then it's a fantastic way to bow out - The Legend of Zelda has never been so perfect.
  3. FNintendo
    Mar 16, 2017
    100
    How could the Zelda series evolve and reinvent itself to reclaim its spot among the greatest games in the world? According to the Breath of the Wild book, by rewiring its main conventions and tapping them into the freedom template provided by the saga's very first chapter, adding to them the visual marvels that contemporary technology can achieve, the vastest space for exploration that has ever been created for a Zelda game and a perfect learning cycle that provides Link with an explosive potential for development.
  5. Nintendo Life
    Mar 15, 2017
    100
    Some will say, not unreasonably, that as the Wii U iteration can't fully match the Switch version in visuals and performance it should be docked a point. We understand and appreciate that perspective, but this is nevertheless a fully functional and still entrancing iteration of one of Nintendo's greatest ever games. Across dozens of hours it blends innovative ideas with established tropes, and unfolds in a manner different for everyone. The freedom, the spontaneity, and the outstanding charm and craft of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn't lost on Wii U. The best version of the game is on Nintendo Switch, but Wii U owners need not despair - this incredible game still has a worthy home on Nintendo's 'last-gen' system.
  6. Destructoid
    Mar 12, 2017
    100
    There is no other way to put this: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is brilliant. It is magnificent. It is marvelous, amazing, fantastic, and every other synonym for the word wonderful that can be found in the thesaurus. If The Legend of Zelda was the flint that ignited the passion I have for video gaming, Breath of the Wild is the 500lb bag of charcoal that will keep that fire burning for decades to come.
  7. Hobby Consolas
    Mar 17, 2017
    97
    Breath of the Wild was born on the Wii U... and it's the perfect farewell for Nintendo's old console. There's some minor technical differences between this one and the Switch version, but Wii U owners will live the same adventure; the ultimate adventure.
  8. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 10, 2017
    97
    Breath of the Wild on Wii U runs at 720p, and has the same, small framerate issues of the Switch version. The loading times are surprinsingly good, considering the size of the game. Anyway, the only important thing to say is that Breath of the Wild on Wii U is as excellent as his Switch brother.
  9. The Games Machine
    Mar 10, 2017
    97
    The Wii U version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the same amazing, unforgettable experience you can enjoy on the new Nintendo Switch: the game runs pretty smoothly even on the old console, and despite being less powerful, the graphics are almost the same. If you're not buying Switch and already own a Wii U, this really is a no-brainer.
  10. XGN
    Mar 10, 2017
    95
    Even on Wii U The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is a must-buy. This is a piece of art that does not lose any of its charm compared to the Switch version. Everyone should play this game.
  11. Worth Playing
    Mar 7, 2017
    95
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a modern classic. It does so much right and so easily that it's difficult to believe. The exploration and the sheer sense of freedom bring to the forefront what Zelda used to do. Aside from some frame rate problems and annoying puzzles, it's a solid and enjoyable game. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Zelda title will find a lot to love here, and anyone new to the franchise couldn't pick a better place to start. Breath of the Wild might be the swan song for the Wii U — and the herald of the Switch — but it's one heck of a note to go out on.
  12. AusGamers
    Mar 28, 2017
    92
    Breath of the Wild can’t be compared to the likes of The Witcher 3 or Skyrim because it’s not trying to be those games -- it’s a Nintendo game -- and series -- all grown up. It has a lot to offer and will keep you engaged for lengthy periods of time. If you’re playing on Switch as you absolutely should be, then you can also Zelda wherever you go. It’s arguably not the best Zelda game, but damn, it might be the most polished, and the most ambitious.
  13. Video Chums
    Apr 10, 2017
    91
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an absolute joy to play as it's an undeniably rewarding adventure set in a deeply immersive world. Although the experience is weighed down by a few minor problems, the overall journey is one that no gamer will soon forget.
  14. Gameblog.fr
    Mar 10, 2017
    90
    Breath of The Wild is not perfect. It suffers technical limitations compared to other open-world games on other consoles, even moreso on Wii U... of course. But this new adventure is absolutely fantastic though, and it's actually one of the best in the series.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Wii U Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2424 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,893 out of 2424
  2. Mixed: 211 out of 2424
  3. Negative: 320 out of 2424
  1. EpicLadySponge
    Mar 3, 2017
    10
    Breath of the Wild broke a lot of records in the history of gaming. By that, I mean it is most likely impossible to find one thing wrong withBreath of the Wild broke a lot of records in the history of gaming. By that, I mean it is most likely impossible to find one thing wrong with this game. It's like Nintendo took the base of Ocarina of Time and modernize it to make it look like this game over here. This is why Nintendo will forever remain in my heart no matter where it all goes. I'm telling you this, Breath of the Wild has everything... yes, every... single... thing that made Ocarina of Time look like a masterpiece. This is the lost brother of Ocarina of Time and the true brother Ocarina of Time will ever need. Just go buy this game, it wants your money so bad, it wants you to play it so bad, it wants to be your local friend literally bad. I'll be waiting until you get this game.… Full Review »
  2. TheWinner
    Mar 3, 2017
    3
    Be wary of people giving this game a high score. They just might be trying to sell you on something.

    Things it did right: + Huge world    Be wary of people giving this game a high score. They just might be trying to sell you on something.

    Things it did right:
    + Huge world with lots of little details, probably where Nintendo spent most of their time in development
    + The go-anywhere-and-possibly-be-undergeared motif of LoZ1 was translated to a 3D game alright enough
    + Made the mastersword rely on heart containers to acquire it, much like the White Sword or Magical Sword from LoZ1. Probably the only specific callback to LoZ1 that translated "perfectly".

    Things it tried:
    • Redesigned many characters, going as far as never giving Link a hat in promotional art and changing his iconic color from green to blue, or Ganon who is now a demon spider instead of a pig, only a pig in spirit. Moblins were turned into weird long snouted lanky unicorn pigmonsters, Hinox were turned into somewhat-more-generic Giants losing their iconic(?) Bomb-throwing attacks.
    • Tried voice acting but traded player-freedom of naming their character so spoken lines could needlessly refer to you as "Link".
    • The go-anywhere-model of LoZ1 lost almost all likeness to most other Zelda games because of the way it was implemented. In order to go anywhere and do anything from the start of the game, the player unfortunately gets all their tools at the start of the game so no proper dungeons with proper treasures or item equipment that would otherwise lock one player from accessing things another player could gated via game progress- which also isn't necessarily even "true" to how LoZ1 accomplished it.

    Things it did wrong:
    - Traded the sweeping and catchy good music of traditional Zelda design even going as far back as the original LoZ1 for lighter, emptier, less-frequent ambient sounds to adapt to the world's environment of "musical" cues and reliance on things like stealth. As an original game this might have worked, but the tradeoff meaning no great "Zelda music" as many expect from the franchise doesn't work to a benefit. The weaker audio design fits their game design, but the weaker audio design of their game design doesn't fit "Zelda".
    - From a series known for streamlined access to health replenishment via bottles full of potions and frequent floating hearts, placing all healing behind food collection and menu access gets in the way of player intention within the world and only serves to distract the player or otherwise pad the adventure with unnecessary filler. Trivial for a series that virtually invented the concept behind the Estus Flask from the Souls games. Such an estus-flask-like method of healing would have more accurately emulated the streamlined healing of past Zelda games while still allowing them to get away from hearts in bushes and pots.
    - Related to food collection, the game design around killing simple non-zelda scenery animals unrelated to the variety of Zelda enemies for various Raw Meat items is woefully unnecessary and out-of-place for any Zelda game much less any Nintendo game. This concept was so poorly implemented to even include killing foxes and wolves for meat, in our modern society where both have been domesticated as pets or otherwise crossbred with domestic dogs to produce canines that look identical to their wild counterparts. Whether the player has the intent or not to harm them, they can be killed by enemies anyway. "Eating dog meat" is a gut-wrenching phrase I never imagined would describe an action in any videogame much less one from Nintendo, and has forever irreparably damaged my otherwise flawless opinion of the franchise and its creators.
    - No actual sprawling dungeons from a series known for it's sprawling dungeons is a weakpoint. The shrines, although numerous and fairly uniquely designed in terms of their puzzles, unfortunately still manage to all look identical and don't offer the same expected gameplay layout or scenic/regional design as cohesive interconnected hallways and rooms from traditional dungeons in other Zelda games. Even the four Divine Beasts operate more like "slightly larger shrines" than something remotely close to being considered a true "dungeon", with Hyrule Castle being the only "true" dungeon.
    - Enemy variety compared to past Zelda games and even many modern games is staggeringly low. All enemies and bosses counted, there are only 23 different monsters that are copied-pasted-and-recolored or given a slightly different weapon or elemental attribute to create the majority of Breath of the Wild's "variety". Even going back to Ocarina of Time, there were 46 unique enemies and bosses counted together, not including recolored or reskinned variations; and of course each mainline Zelda game since Ocarina and before Breath of the Wild has had virtually the same variety if not more. There are actually more background scenery animal species in this game than unique enemies, meaning the only true visual variety that exists is in the scenery itself - a negative only because enemy combat is a necessity.    … Full Review »
  3. Sadikusama
    Mar 3, 2017
    10
    Believe the hype. I was skeptical at first, seeing so many 10s and 100s given out to this game. I went blindly into Breath of the Wild knowingBelieve the hype. I was skeptical at first, seeing so many 10s and 100s given out to this game. I went blindly into Breath of the Wild knowing nothing about it except for the main trailer of the game. Hours into the game I can only agree: this game is a masterpiece.

    There is so much contect, so many things to do, so many places to explore. You are given complete freedom in this adventure, you can even try to beat the game as soon as you start. Freedom and exploration are perhaps the best gameplay aspects, without leaving behind the sheer amount of actions possible: cooking, riding horseback, climbing... Whether you actually beat the story is also up to you, there is so much to invest in this game you might never grow bored of it.

    Go play this game. Now. This isn't your typical 10/10 game, it goes beyond that. This game is now videogame history.    … Full Review »
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