Is Breath of the Wild the best game of the generation?

I mean it's got a really nice music, great combat, fun puzzles, big open world, great towns and tons of gear to find.

Nothing has really come close to it for me this gen. Can anyone realistically name a better game than this I'm just not seeing it.

I mean this one game has made my switch worth every penny its the one game you need on the switch imo.

Xbox and PS really need to step up there game match Nintendo they have nothing like this epic Zelda game. PC has stuff like WoW classic and tons fo good games.

I'm glad we all agreed on this Nintendo won the best game of a generation.

Yes. Yes it is.

It's the Zelda I wanted my whole life, that the Nintendo shills told me I was stupid for wanting... until Nintendo actually made it, lol.

It's a great game to be sure, but played quite a few titles enjoyed more. Recently Streets Of Rage 4 for example.

There are only great games, no greatest.

Well said.

What generation does Switch belong too?

If it belongs to the PS5/XSeX then yes. It's the best game of that gen so far as the other systems haven't even released.

If it belongs to the PS4/X1 generation with Nintendo having need of a redo from the failure of the Wii-U.... then no. Plenty of better games than BotW.

That said... regardless of which gen it belongs too, it's still a good game.

I jumped back into the game recently after over a year or so being away from it, separated from that initial honeymoon feel, and I can say I have developed a whole new appreciation for it than ever before.

BotW definitely deserves to be in the conversation.

eh comes down to it would have to be super mario odyssey, it's the closest thing we ever got to an mario 64 successor and it only took em 21 years to make it.

I called it before the developers even admitted it, was closest thing to mario 64 they've done since 96.

Breath of the Wild is a good game but Ocarina of Time is still legendary. Also, playing Breath of the Wild on PC is the way to go ;)

Gonna go with Super Mario Odyssey as well.

I think even considered as a Wii U game (because it is), it would fare very well as "game of the generation", at least a single-player one.

If considered as a Switch game, then there's no contest yet.

Yep, wise words. One of the defining games of the generation certainly, but hard to call it the greatest when there have been many other notable titles.

People need to stop acting like a single game carries an entire gen.

The reality is there's actually a number of games that are gen-defining each time we come to reflect on these things.

Bloodborne certainly is one, and maybe Horizon: Zero Dawn. Breath of the Wild is just as worthy to be in that pack.

I'm always told this and yet whenever I look into playing Nintendo games on PC, it's always "partially compatible" with a laundry list of flaws and bugs and issues. Legal issues aside, I don't think dodgy emulators are the best way to play Nintendo games (except for the older systems, where they've managed pretty much perfect compatability)

Mhm, a generation is more than the sum of its parts. And we've been spoiled for choice with outstanding games across all platforms, particularly in the last few years imo.

Yes. I couldn’t stop thinking about playing it when it came out. There are some minor issues and is lacking bosses/ temples with character, but it’s a damn near perfect game. I’d love to see a bit more story with characters like Ganondorf and Vaati in this timeline.

Maybe it is ... lots of great games this gen, but BotW still sits at top ... it still have to pass the final boss ... Cyberpunk 2077.

@jaydan: Agree ... but this is kind of the SW meta game, where we all should be a little bit (or a lot, depending) "fanboy".

bloodborne god of war and zelda botw (in order) is my top pick for gotg so yeah u can argue it is

@jaydan: That and subjectivity. Acting like theirs a quantifiable end of all ends is nonsense.

I have put 3x the hours in to Pokemon Sword and 5x the hours into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe than I have with Zelda.

Its the most overrated game this generation. how it got more than a 8/10 will always confuse me.

• Lack of enemy variety
• Barren world
• NPCs are lacking
• Sidequests are lacking
• Story is a joke, which doesn't bother me much in a Nintendo game
• Most enemies are too easy (Hinox is a great example, it's supposed to be a tough enemy, but it's a joke)
• Weapon breaking system
• Rain is a joke and adds NO depth to the game. Simply a nuisance.
• Horses are clunky and stop at a tiny pebble on the ground. Horses SUCK, useless.
• The rewards are awful. After you get all the runes and the paraglider, basically the only reward is playing the game itself. Nothing is exciting about getting the 1000th orb or a cool weapon that will break soon.

I copy and pasted the above from another thread I found that say's what I feel about the game, it was such a disspointement to me. I fell for the hype but thank's to Pokemon and playing Mario Kart with the family the Switch isn't a entire waste.

Honestly I this compared to any other open world AAA game is a complete joke, the only people that like it are Zelda fans.

If Zelda BOTW is a 10/10 then The Witcher 3 is a 11/10... Its just no contest, In Witcher 3 you want to explore, you search for side quests which are as good as the main quests and best of all the NPC's are second to none.

I’d probably say that Breath of the Wild was my game of the gen. It’s definitely in my list of best games this gen. I’d put it in with other masterpieces like:

- Super Mario Odyssey

- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

- Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

- Devil May Cry 5

- Resident Evil 2 Remake

- Final Fantasy VII Remake

This is the not the description of a bad game, this is the description of a game you do not like. Those are two completely separate things.

And yes, I think BOTW is the best game that's come out this gen. The elegance of its design is currently unmatched and probably will be for quite some time.

Red Dead Redemption 2 also deserves to be in the conversation.

Who said bad game.

Sorry that fanboyish word twisting don't work with me, it being a description of a game I don't like no s***!... It's my opinion and a 8/10 is not a bad game its a great game. Its just not even close to the perfect open world game that people claim it to be.

Red Dead Redemption 2 and Witcher 3 make it so bland and boring to play in comparison and the characters and missions in those games along with side quests just make it look so dated.

The only thing it has is solid game play but everything else about resembles a fart in box.

Worst one ever, Grey has accurately described it. Nintendo fans love games being restricted to weak hardware, bizzare. Anything sub 30 fps is an automatic bad point, regardless of anything else.

I don't think so. I love it dearly, but I've enjoyed a variety of games more. I think it's like the barebones world and physics design for a better game down the road

For me it is, and it's not even close.

No. It's super tedious and isn't doing anything special asides from the world is big and you can see really far.

It's definitely in the conversation without a doubt.

Remember that feeling of wonder and magic you felt as a kid when a game could surprise and delight you? That feeling that you weren't playing something created by human hands; that it was something real and alive?

This is something I've not felt in a very long time as it becomes more and more difficult to innovate in this medium and I become older and more aware of the game development process.

This sense of wonder and unbelievably returned to me with Breath of the Wild. It's insane what Nintendo crafted here.

Breath of the Wild is a very notable leap in the open world genre.

I think it is yes.

7.5/10, maybe an 8/10 at best. Its only the best when we're talking about Nintendo standards, a company that is far behind the other two.

I've never had a game swear me off a franchise as definitively as BotW did. So yeah, it's "best" in that regard.

No. Doesn’t break my top 10 personally, but it was great with a handful of shortcomings.

Going to have to agree with these fine gentlemen.

Nah, BOTW wasn't my cup of tea (for reasons I've explained many times before). For a Zelda game on Switch, I actually enjoyed the Link's Awakening remake way more.

Super Mario Odyssey is probably my GOTG however.

Rolling my eyes at being called a fanboy.

I could go on about how much I don't like The Witcher 3 as a counterpoint, but I feel it may get lost in the childish vernacular like "fart in a box."

And it shows the SW meta is bullshit and none of us here actually go by it.

Let's be realistic: if there was truly a single, definitive game that defined the entire gen - let's just say that's now the only game you got to play for the entire gen and nothing more, because it's the "definitive" experience that defined the whole gen; well, you're going to be a miserable gamer for missing out on everything else.

Totally agree. I hate being labeled a "lemming" when I speak favorably about Xbox One X or a Microsoft game, or a "sheep" when I talk about Nintendo etc.

iirc, people used to vote on things for change around here. We really need to vote away those childish labels altogether so real discussion and dialog can happen here.

It's one of the best, maybe even close to the best. I thought TLOU2 and God of War are also strong contenders.

I've come to like BotW much more. I've let go of the fact that it's not a traditional Zelda game. They removed a lot of the rewarding Metroid-esque elements that Zelda is built on. They also dropped the musical game play elements which made me really sad. The divine beasts were mostly a let down; they are just bigger versions of the shrines which were all so uninspired. Sure some of the puzzles were fun, but the shrines overall feel like a cop out.

They nailed the idea of exploration in a Zelda game. Zelda has always been a game about searching every inch of it's world and finding cool shit. I don't even mind the weapon durability because there are so many chests everywhere. Except on Master mode - it sucks wasting all your weapons on a kill.

I beat Normal Mode and Master Mode and put a ton of time into both. BotW is just a lot of fun, even if I think they could have done way better at putting the puzzles in context of cool, themed dungeons. I would also like to see the return of cool items that allow you to access different areas. I think there is a better balance they should aim for in the sequel.

BotW is a fun game that nails some elements of Zelda and misses hard on others. In it's best moments the exploration in BotW recaptures the classic feeling discovery in any great Zelda game. No, it's not the game of the generation. I really hope they find that balance such that BotW2 is my game of the gen. We'll see. Link needs an instrument!

I think a lot of this is because System Wars was originally built for people to shit all over other consoles, but over the last few years, this is the only part of the Gamespot forums that anybody posts on, anymore. So, if we want to have rational conversations, we come here, while others still treat it as the combative place to post biased nonsense.

One of them, undoubtedly.

I think you are better suited for Games Discussion or some other forum. System Wars is silly by its very nature. Your expectations/desires of this place do not match what it is.

Anyway... The Witcher 3 on PC is the best game of this generation.

This place is a ghost town, so I don't think you or anyone else would want to discourage healthy activity. Plus I'm sick of posters like you, who fanboy it up like a child, telling me that if I don't behave like a juvenile or jackass to go somewhere else.

I'm not. We as a community can do better, and it's on the mods to start this change. Just like society is now in the middle of a much-needed reform, this place would do well to attempt a growing change as well.

Again, you are hanging with the wrong crowd. There are other social groups out there where you would better fit in. System Wars is not going to change for you. Conform to it or GTFO.

If your butt hurt about being called names in a forum with the word "Wars" in the heading, maybe it isn't for you.

Stop being a child. It's System Wars, not fanboy wars.