by Julián Jorge Fernández Loyarte
Everyone knows that Nintendo is one of the biggest video game companies in the world and that it has been dominating the industry for years. This beloved company has put out a multitude of excellent exclusive titles throughout the years, to the point that many of them have even managed to revolutionize the gaming landscape forever.
Nintendo’s impact and influence on the video game industry should never be underestimated, and the review aggregation website Open-Critic is the perfect place to check out its performance in the last few years. Naturally, their list of the highest-rated video games contains many critically acclaimed Nintendo games, but the following are the absolute best ones, seeing as they all have scores of 90 or more.
Super Mario Odyssey - Score: 97
The Best Nintendo Game Of All Time (According To Open-Critic)
Super Mario Odyssey is not only the highest-rated Nintendo game on Open-Critic, but it’s also the highest-rated video game of all time on that site. It definitely deserves this prestigious honor because this 3D collect-a-thon platformer is one of the most fun, polished, and innovative games on the original Switch, and it has inspired countless gamers to buy the console just to try it out.
In the late 2000s and 2010s, 3D Mario games were heavily criticized for being way too linear, so Super Mario Odyssey brought back the free-roaming formula of Super Mario 64 people know and love, but translated it to some of the biggest and most packed levels in the history of the series. Combined with its refreshing and innovative Capture mechanic – which allows Mario to transform into enemies to solve various challenges and puzzles – Super Mario Odyssey is an extremely fun experience that deserves to be regarded as one of the best games Nintendo has ever made.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild - Score: 96
The Game That Single-Handedly Redefined The Open-World Genre
Just one point below Super Mario Odyssey, there’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a game that most Nintendo fans think would be at the top of the list, but that still has earned its rightful place in Open-Critic’s Top Five. After all, this revolutionary launch title made thousands of people want to buy a Nintendo Switch on release, months before Odyssey even came out.
Breath of the Wild blew the minds of gamers around the world in 2017 by introducing an open-ended open-world map that the player can explore however they want. This not only means that they can complete main quests in any order, but that each puzzle and challenge can also be completed many different ways, as this game rewards the player for experimenting with its tools. The critical and commercial success of Breath of the Wild made a huge impact on the industry and directly inspired many similar titles, like Elden Ring and Sonic Forces.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom - Score: 95
An Incredible Sequel That’s On Par With Its Predecessor
The fact that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has just one point less than its predecessor is a testament to this sequel’s quality and ambition. Its lower score may be because fans and critics alike were not happy with its rehashing of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule map, but it more than made up for that with its engaging additional content and its brilliant new mechanics.
In Tears of the Kingdom, players can not only explore the land of Hyrule, but two brand-new maps as well: the Sky Islands and the Depths, which add even more things to do and some much-needed variety to the overall experience. But this game’s biggest claim to fame is the collection of Zonai abilities Link has at his disposal, with the most important one being the Ultrahand, which allows players to mix and match various objects to create vehicles and machines that expand how exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving can be approached.
Read the full article on GameRant
This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
