Nintendo Switch's highest-rated game welcomes rare Cyber Monday price slash

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Way back in 1986, the first Legend of Zelda game launched. The game immediately gave players a choice of four directions to head in — it didn’t matter which option you chose, it was entirely up to you to adventure and complete the game in whichever order you wanted. Since then, the Zelda games had been much more structured - until 2017’s Breath of the Wild. By going back to its roots, the series delivered what many believe to be its best entry to date.

Right now, you can pick up a Nintendo Switch copy of Breath of the Wild for £44.99, down from £54.99. Nintendo’s first-party titles rarely get discounted from their RRP, so if you’ve been curious to try out Link’s most epic adventure, now’s the time to pounce.

Set in a version of Hyrule that was decimated by the evil Ganon 100 years before, players set out as Link to gather allies from the world’s various fantasy races and unite them against the demon holed up in Hyrule Castle. Featuring the ability to climb any surface, a glider for zipping through the sky, and a thoughtful combat system with plenty of enemies to conquer, this game has been designed with exploration and discovery as the priority. Your direction and the order you complete the game in are completely up to you.

Most impressive of all is the chemistry system. There are countless interactions between items, different elements, and natural phenomena that make for endless possibilities when it comes to figuring out puzzle solutions, ways to get an advantage in a fight, or options for getting around the world more quickly. It’s a game where your imagination is constantly poked with opportunities to try out new ideas, and more often than not you’ll find a way to make them work.

At Very it’s scored a 5 out of 5 averaged across 116 reviews — that’s no mean feat! “I originally played this game on Wii U and had to buy it again for Switch,” said one five-star review. “It’s easily one of the best games for the console. It’s one of the greatest open world games and should be the first game you buy on Switch.”

“A wonderful game with hours of gameplay that doesn’t get boring,” said another review awarding top marks.

“I had been looking to buy this for ages and when I did it did not disappoint!” added another. “The graphics are beautiful with a great storyline. The gameplay and detail just compliment the game even more. A must have for any adventure fan with a Switch.”

For some balance we need to go further afield to Amazon’s reviews, where it has a 4.8 out of 5 average score from over 18,500 reviews.

“Beautiful graphics, just not my style of gaming, but glad I gave it a try!” said one review. “If you like more of a ‘long’ style of game, rather than quick challenges etc or more fast paced, then you’ll enjoy this, but I didn’t have the patience!”

Some have lamented the departure from the more structured, dungeon-based designs of previous titles: “Long-time Zelda fan but I have to say I found this rather boring about 8 hours in. I prefer A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time. I love open world games but this to me seemed just soulless and empty, a huge shame as I was really looking forward to it.”

Breath of the Wild is a strictly single-player experience, so if you’re looking for some couch co-op we’d recommend checking out It Takes Two for £34.99. For another fantasy adventure with a greater focus on story and turn-based combat, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes Of An Elusive Age is just £35 at CEX.

That said, Breath of the Wild is a modern classic whose influence on modern gaming has been felt ever since its release. If you’ve not already saved Hyrule from this iteration of Ganon, you’d best get cracking.