Switch Wii U

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

PuzzleAdventure

Time to beat: about 51.3 hours

Overview

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. Set near the end of the Zelda timeline, it follows Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying the world. The player explores the open world of Hyrule, collects items, and completes objectives such as puzzles and side quests. Breath of the Wild's world is unstructured and encourages exploration and experimentation; the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion.

The five-year development commenced after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011). Led by the director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and the producer Eiji Aonuma, EPD sought to rethink Zelda's conventions and introduced elements such as detailed chemistry and physics engines. EPD drew inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus (2005) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). Monolith Soft, developer of the Xenoblade series, assisted in designing landscapes and topography due to their experience in developing open world games.

Breath of the Wild was released on March 3, 2017, as the final Nintendo-published Wii U game and as a launch game for the Switch. It received acclaim, with praise for its gameplay, open-world design, and attention to detail, though some reviewers criticized its technical performance. Breath of the Wild won numerous year-end accolades, including Game of the Year at the 2017 Game Awards and the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. It broke sales records for a Nintendo launch game and sold 35.76 million copies by June 2026, making it the bestselling Zelda game and one of the bestselling video games.