Breath of the Wild Among Shortlist for The Golden Joystick “Ultimate Game of All Time” Award
Posted on November 09 2021 by Mike Midwood
Breath of the Wild manifests a diverse array of opinions within the Zelda community. Some consider it to be the series’ magnum opus, others consider it a disappointing betrayal, and many more fall somewhere between those two extremes. With respect to the broader gaming landscape, however, it is undeniable that Breath of the Wild represents one of the most critically acclaimed and influential games in recent memory, maybe in all of gaming history. Few modern games have received its overwhelming level of praise, and this reputation has landed it on numerous lists cataloguing the cream of the gaming crop. Breath of the Wild finds itself in this rarified air once again, as it is on the shortlist of titles vying for Future Publishing’s Golden Joystick “Ultimate Game of All Time” Award.
Readers will likely be familiar with Future Publishing’s popular gaming outlets GamesRadar+ and Edge Magazine. The Golden Joystick awards have been prominent in the UK gaming sphere since their inception in 1983. For the upcoming “Ultimate Game of All Time” award, they are also allowing gamers to vote for their favorites among the 20 shortlisted games (whittled down from 150).
Breath of the Wild is the only Zelda title to appear on the shortlist, which comes as a surprise considering the influence and legacy of prior games in the series. While the franchise has its fair share of divisive entries, classics like The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time are held in fairly universal regard as some of the industry’s best and most important games. Obviously, not every great game from a series can be included, but each of these was every bit as significant to the medium in their time as Breath of the Wild is today.
Some of Zelda‘s Nintendo brethren made the shortlist as well, including Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario 64. Modern classics like Dark Souls and The Last of Us remain in contention alongside truly ancient games like Tetris and Space Invaders. There is also a separate vote being held for the best gaming hardware of all time. You can cast your vote for winners and runner-ups in these categories here.
What do you think of this shortlist? Does Breath of the Wild deserve its spot? What game would you include that didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: GamesRadar+ (via Nintendo Life)
Hi, I’m Mike Midwood and I’m a Senior Editor at ZeldaDungeon! Video games and literature are my greatest joys in life. An avid Zelda fan, some of my other favorite games include the Resident Evil and Dark Souls series. I hope you enjoy my content here on ZeldaDungeon!
“The sword has no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.”
