Nintendo has received a debatable and somewhat surprising accolade for 2025.
As originally reported by GamesRadar, both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which launched in 2017, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which launched in 2023, are now in the top two spots of the Best Games This Year on MetaCritic.
To be specific, the Switch 2 Editions of both games have received Metascores of 95 and 94, respectively, placing them in the top 2 spots in the 2025 rankings. Following them are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, with a Metascore of 93, Blue Prince, with a Metascore of 92, and Split Fiction, with a Metascore of 91. You can see a fresh screenshot we took of these rankings below.
It goes without saying, but we already know gamers are going to be complaining if they should be receiving these accolades. It’s clear that MetaCritic decided to collect new reviews of the Switch 2 Editions of both games, and list and rank them as separate entries from the original versions. On one end, some gamers can argue that they shouldn’t count because they aren’t new games. Some would say that the space should be dedicated to supporting new projects. On the flip side, one could also argue that there’s value to get new reviews, because these games provide substantially different experiences on the Switch 2.
Now, it may be fascinating to discover that the original release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received a Metascore of 96 on the Wii U, and 97 on the Switch. Subsequently, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received a Metascore of 96 when it released on the Switch 2 years ago. If you were thinking these games got better MetaScores because of the improvements they got in the Switch 2, it seems that isn’t the case at all.
But then, this would be based on the assumption that the Metascore is the final arbiter of a game’s quality, and we have to conclude that definitely is not the case. It’s likely that these reviewers weighed the performance improvements of the games on the Switch 2, as well as other aspects of the re-release such as Zelda Notes. And so, the reception of things like Zelda Notes may have ironically brought that score down.
Ultimately, what this probably means is that the Metascore doesn’t really mean everything. It probably means that not only are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, and Split Fiction are still worth playing, but gamers should check out games down the scale even if their Metascores are low. Certainly, if you have the opportunity to give these Switch 2 Editions a try, this is all definitely a clear sign that you need to check them out.
