The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review roundup: 'one of the best games ever'
Nintendo's long-awaited sequel to Breath of the Wild has wowed critics once again
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom reviews are in, and it appears Nintendo has bottled lightning once again.
The first game propelled the Nintendo Switch into the hands of millions of players and arguably redefined what many gamers now expect from an open-world title. Incredibly, it looks like Tears of the Kingdom will wow us all over again, as it expands and redefines everything that we loved about the first game, which sits proudly at the top of our best Nintendo Switch games list.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom currently has an Opencritic score of 97 after 56 critic reviews. Astonishingly, 100% of critics recommend the game, which is frankly unheard of for the majority of video game releases. It’s also the highest-rated game of all time on Opencritic. Let’s see what the reviewers had to say.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Zelda reviews
😳 Breath of the Wild has an Opencritic score of 97 after 56 critic reviews
🤯 100% of critics recommend Nintendo’s follow-up to Breath of the Wild
🏆 Tears of the Kingdom is one of the highest-rated games of all time
📆 Link’s new adventure is available on May 12, exclusively on Switch
IGN gave Tears of the Kingdom a perfect score, saying: “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding on a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.”
GameSpot also gave the new Zelda game a perfect 10/10, and said: “Tears of the Kingdom is a triumph of open-ended design that pays homage to the best parts of the Zelda franchise’s own storied history and sometimes exceeds them.”
God is a Geek was another outlet that felt Tears of the Kingdom was worthy of full marks, saying: “Tears of the Kingdom could end up being one of the best games ever made, with unparalleled exploration that offers freedom and creativity on a scale never before seen.”
Nintendo Life felt similarly to other publications and said: “It’s impossible to talk about everything that makes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom so incredible, and making many of those discoveries yourselves is part of the magic. It’s also impossible to overstate just how much there is to do in Hyrule this time around.”
So did anyone dislike Nintendo’s big Switch exclusive? No, not really. Eurogamer was perhaps the most reserved in its praise, awarding the game four stars out of 5. Still, they called it: “A terrific Breath of the Wild follow-up with some brilliant new systems, amazing views and more dungeon-type spaces, plus a slightly reading emphasis on gathering resources.”
With the Nintendo Switch now in its sixth year on sale, many rightly see Tears of the Kingdom as the console’s last hurrah. It’s fortunate, then, that the Switch is ending this generation the way it began – with one of the best games of all time. I’ll be picking this up as soon as it drops tomorrow.
Still haven’t picked up a Nintendo Switch? Check out our Nintendo Switch vs Switch OLED and Nintendo Switch vs Lite comparisons to help you decide which console to buy.
Want to give yourself an existential crisis? Watch the new Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom commercial and prepare to be depressed.