Zelda: Breath of the Wild Ranked as MetaCritic’s Top Game of 2025—And It Feels Unusual

Okay, so imagine this — Nintendo’s dropped the Switch 2, and it’s like someone threw a wrench into the game rankings this year. It’s kinda wild, honestly. Why, you ask? Well, it’s ’cause all these older games are being re-released for the new console. Makes sense, right?

Here’s the kicker: remember The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? That gem came out in, what, 2017? Fast forward to 2025, and bam! It’s raking in top scores again. Eight years feels like a lifetime ago, yet here it is, climbing the charts.

Funny story: It’s not just playable on the Switch 2; Nintendo went ahead and beefed it up, like giving your favorite old car a shiny new engine. They’ve done this with a select few games. Sort of like giving them a facelift so they’d shine on the new hardware.

Breath of the Wild and its follow-up, Tears of the Kingdom, got those fancy upgrades. But hold on — the upgrades aren’t freebies, oh no. They’re these Switch 2 Editions (or an Upgrade Pack if you already had it), but guess what? Even with all that, you don’t get the complete DLC experience. Confusing? Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway — where was I? Oh yes, it’s another chance to hit those high critic ratings again, which it totally did.

So get this: Metacritic’s top game list of 2025 now has “new” old entries. Breath of the Wild snagged the number one spot, tied with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — a legit new release from 2025. Makes you scratch your head a bit, huh? This move even pushed Blue Prince from its spot.

Speaking of 2025’s hotshots, Expedition 33, Breath of the Wild, Blue Prince, Split Fiction, and Despelote are battling it out at the top with some pretty slick scores. Games get bumped around like they’re playing musical chairs. Sorry, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, you’re out of the top 20. Tough luck.

Now here’s something: when they drop the upgraded version of Tears of the Kingdom, which is sitting pretty with an even juicier score of 94, everything’s gonna shift again. So, a game from 2023 could become 2025’s top draw? Go figure.

If you’ve grabbed a Switch 2 lately and are diving into those Zelda upgrades, you might wanna check out our Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom guides. I mean, maybe you’ve forgotten stuff, or hey, you’re a newbie. Either way, those guides are pure gold.