The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

For: Switch, Wii U

Classified: M

Applying the lore, polish and charm of the Legend of Zelda series to the canvas of an open-world role-playing game, Nintendo has produced what is arguably the most enjoyable example of either.

The land of Hyrule is full of character, from grassy plains and craggy mountains to marshy swamps and long-forgotten ruins. Wildlife, monsters, villages and all manner of suspicious landmarks tug constantly at your curiosity and demand to be investigated. It's an enchanting place that wants to charm you and kill you in equal measure.

From raiding monster hideouts to taming wild horses, learning to cook or ultimately saving the world, every minute spent in this world presents new and surprising rabbit holes of adventure to fall down. Some,  like the contained mysteries of the many Shrines,  are very regimented, while others feel like natural discoveries that only you know about.

Your progress is no longer tied to obtaining a set of items in a linear way, but instead to your understanding of the game's intuitive set of interconnected rules. Everything – from the apples on the trees to the lightning storms that sweep in at a moment's notice – has something to teach you about what you can do to thrive and survive in the world, and your knowledge is frequently tested and rewarded in challenging puzzles, thrilling battles and exhilarating free-form exploration.

This is the kind of game you can't stop playing, and when you're not playing it you're thinking about it. It has flaws (like its inconsistent frame-rate when a lot of stuff is happening on screen) but its near-endless supply of new things to discover – not to mention an epic narrative to unfold –​ make it a must-play game.