Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the highest-rated game ever on OpenCritic
It’s also the highest-rated game of the last five years on Metacritic
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is currently the highest-rated game of all-time on review aggregation site OpenCritic.
Press reviews for the long-awaited sequel went live on Thursday, ahead of the game’s release this Friday, and verdicts were overwhelmingly positive, with the majority of outlets awarding it perfect scores.
Shortly after the embargo lifted, review aggregation site OpenCritic confirmed that the game is currently the highest-rated game of all time on its platform, with an aggregate score of 97.223.
According to the platform, it’s also ahead by a significant margin, with Super Mario Odyssey in second place (96.81) and its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, in third (95.9).
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides:
Master Sword location | How to increase inventory space | How to increase hearts and stamina | How to get warm clothes | Wingsuit location | Hylian Shield location | Duplication glitch
The industry’s other big review aggregation platform, Metacritic, also started collating reviews shortly after the media embargo lifted and at the time of publishing Tears of the Kingdom is by far its highest-rated game of the year, with a score of 97.
It’s also the highest-rated Nintendo Switch game of all-time on Metacritic, and the site’s highest-rated new game since Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018 (also ranked 97).
Only The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (99), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (98), Grand Theft Auto IV (98) and SoulCalibur (98) are ranked higher on Metacritic than Tears of the Kingdom.
After several delays, the highly anticipated Switch sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released on May 12.
VGC’s The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom review calls the title “easily one of the very best games on Nintendo Switch”.
Other critics have heaped praise on the game in their write-ups too, with most agreeing it’s a worthy sequel to one of the generation’s best games and one of the long-running franchise’s high points.
Further reading
Review: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom lets your imagination run wild
IGN called Tears of the Kingdom “an unfathomable follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made, somehow improving upon it in nearly every way”.
The Guardian wrote: “It is easy to forget how to find the fun in adult life. Games such as Zelda help to remind you that if you look at things the right way, it’s everywhere.”
You can read all the key verdicts over in our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review round-up.
