Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now MetaCritic’s #1 game in 2025 - sounds weird, but it's real
The Nintendo Switch 2 launch has shaken up the 2025 game rankings in an unexpected way! Because of the re-release of older titles for the new console, things are looking a little different.
You see, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which originally came out way back in 2017, is now sitting pretty as one of the highest-rated games of 2025. Can you believe it?
Of course, Breath of the Wild isn’t just playable on the Switch 2. Nintendo decided to give it a little love with upgrades to really take advantage of the new console's power. The upgrade also extends to Tears of the Kingdom, but both come with a price tag. Think of them as "Switch 2 Editions" - or upgrade packs if you already own the original games.
However, what’s interesting is that the Breath of the Wild upgrade doesn't even include all the DLC! Yet, releasing this new edition has given it another shot at climbing the charts among the year’s most critically acclaimed games. And guess what? It worked!
Right now, the big MetaCritic list of 2025’s highest-rated games has some "new" faces. Breath of the Wild is tied for number one with the amazing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a brand new game that launched this year. This also means that Breath of the Wild is ahead of Blue Prince, another title from 2025 that has been getting great reviews.
Expedition 33 and Breath of the Wild are neck and neck at the top with a score of 93, while Blue Prince is right behind with 92. Split Fiction is holding strong at 91, and Despelote rounds out the top five with a score of 89.
Inevitably, as new games arrive on the scene, others get bumped down the list. For example, Breath of the Wild’s arrival pushed The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy out of the top 20.
Given all this, it’s very likely that we’ll see another update to the list soon, especially with the Switch 2 Edition of Tears of the Kingdom on the horizon, which currently boasts an impressive 94MC score. So, that game from 2023 might just become 2025’s highest-rated release on MetaCritic!
If you've got yourself a Switch 2 and have jumped on those Zelda upgrades, you might want to refresh your memory with some guides. Even if you're playing them for the first time, guides are always a fantastic resource to fully immerse yourself in the Zelda universe.
Source: VG247