Nintendo Games With 90+ Scores On Open-Critic

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.

Metroid Prime Remastered – Score: 94

The Perfect Way To Re-Experience This GameCube Classic

Nintendo fans were shocked when the company shadow-dropped Metroid Prime Remastered in February 2023, especially considering that rumors about this remaster had existed in the community since the Switch’s release. Fortunately, however, it ended up surpassing all expectations, and it’s now considered the best way to experience the Nintendo GameCube classic that forever revitalized the Metroid IP.

If there’s one thing that Metroid Prime Remastered excels at, it’s atmosphere: every single environment that Samus Aran has to explore in this adventure was already ominous, unnerving, and surprisingly beautiful in the original game, but the remaster successfully elevated all of them with detailed modern graphics and impeccable presentation. But, of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because everything else about this game is almost perfect, like its fast-paced first-person combat system, its subtle but rich lore, and its collection of hectic and challenging boss fights.

Super Mario 3D World – Score: 93

One Of The Most Underrated Games In The Entire Mario Franchise

The presence of Super Mario 3D World in Open-Critic’s list of top-rated games was a huge surprise, seeing as it was endlessly criticized for being way more linear than previous 3D Mario entries on home consoles. However, it’s important to remember that this is not only an amazing 3D platformer on its own, but that the Wii U was in dire need of high-quality exclusives when it came out, which explains why it received so many glowing reviews at the time.

Nevertheless, Super Mario 3D World is still an excellent and underrated title that all Mario fans should check out. All of its levels are colorful, charming, and full of inventive mechanics and ideas that keep things fresh and engaging. Completing these platforming challenges alone is very fun, but doing it with the help of three friends in local multiplayer co-op is at a whole new level and makes the entire experience even more entertaining. While Super Mario 3D World’s Open-Critic score only applies to the original Wii U version, anybody who’s interested in playing it should purchase its Nintendo Switch port, which has many QoL improvements and a brand-new campaign titled Bowser’s Fury that brilliantly recontextualizes its gameplay.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Score: 92

This Fun Fighting Game Is A Beautiful Celebration Of The Entire Gaming Industry

It should be no surprise that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has such a high score on Open-Critic, considering that this is one of the most widely celebrated video games Nintendo has ever put out. For starters, Masahiro Sakurai and his team took the Ultimate part of its title very seriously, because this game brought back every single character that had been playable in previous Super Smash Bros. titles, including Pichu, Ice Climbers, and Solid Snake.

The combat system was a much-needed improvement, as the action feels snappier and more technical than in its direct predecessor, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. While Ultimate is brimming with content, side modes, stages, items and more, this game’s main selling point is its massive roster of playable fighters, which was made even bigger by its two DLC packs that added icons from other companies, like Steve from Minecraft, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. This game feels like a celebration of gaming as a whole, and the fact that it exists in the first place is absolutely mind-blowing.

Super Smash Bros. For Wii U – Score: 92

A Delightful (Albeit Controversial) Entry In The Super Smash Bros. Series

The fact that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has the same Open-Critic score as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is quite puzzling, considering how inferior it feels when compared to its direct sequel. Don’t be mistaken, this is still a very fun fighting game that polished many gameplay elements from Super Smash Bros. Brawl while also adding many popular characters that fans had been asking for years to its roster, like Rosalina, Greninja, Little Mac, Villager, Mega Man, and countless more.

While its sequel is better in every conceivable way, it’s important to look at the context in which Super Smash Bros. for Wii U was released. Similar to Super Mario 3D World, this game came out during a time in which the console was lacking solid exclusives, so it received positive reviews because it finally gave Wii U owners something great to play with their friends. Needless to say, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for its predecessor, so Super Smash Bros. for Wii U’s contributions to the gaming landscape are still highly appreciated by many.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Score: 92

The Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Game Is An Enhanced Port Of A Wii U Exclusive

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is not only the best-selling video game on Nintendo Switch (with over 68 million copies sold), but it’s also among the highest-rated Nintendo games on Open-Critic. This isn’t much of a surprise, however, because it is an amazing kart racer that has given Switch users and their friends countless hours of chaotic multiplayer fun.

The original Mario Kart 8 on Wii U was a solid game with beautiful presentation and an innovative gravity-shifting mechanic, but it fell flat in some areas, like its disappointing roster of playable drivers and its underwhelming Battle Mode. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe not only fixed all of those issues while simultaneously keeping everything that made the original game so special, but it also added even more content, like new tracks and new characters (including some from non-Mario games). And just when it seemed like this eleven-year-old port already had enough content, Nintendo released the Booster Course Pass in 2022, which added even more courses (48 in total) for a reasonable price.

Donkey Kong Bananza – Score: 91

The Main Reason To Own A Nintendo Switch 2 Right Now

Donkey Kong Bananza saved the Nintendo Switch 2 during its first few months and is already considered one of the best video games released in 2025. While Mario Kart World was a very solid launch title, Bananza is a creative and unforgettable experience that displays the power of the console, while also justifying its purchase. Developed by the same team behind Super Mario Odyssey, this is the first 3D Donkey Kong game in twenty-six years, but it’s on a different level, to the point that it feels like a soft reboot of the franchise.

Its destruction mechanics, which allow DK to destroy entire environments at his own leisure, were very carefully designed and expand the way the player can explore levels and solve their puzzles. But that’s not all, because the chemistry between DK and Pauline is adorable, and it results in the introduction of the different Bananza Forms, which add some much-needed variety to the platforming gameplay. Donkey Kong Bananza is brimming with personality in every corner, and its core gameplay is so brilliant and so addictive that anybody who owns it inevitably ends up with hundreds of hours of playtime registered on their Switch 2 consoles.

Bayonetta 2 – Score: 91

A Bombastic Character Action Game That Wouldn’t Exist Without Nintendo’s Involvement

The Bayonetta IP is developed by PlatinumGames and owned by Sega, but the second entry in the series, Bayonetta 2, was directly funded and published by Nintendo, and is now considered one of the best character action games of all time. This long-awaited sequel took everything that made the original Bayonetta so great – like its combat system, its presentation, its weapons, and its characters – and expanded on it to make an even more over-the-top and more memorable experience.

The combat system of Bayonetta 2 feels incredibly polished and satisfying, as the titular witch can wield a variety of different weapons, moves, and abilities to defeat angels and demons. Additionally, and as is expected from PlatinumGames, the boss fights are a major highlight of this game: they’re all cinematic and challenging encounters against massive monsters and/or powerful human-sized foes. Despite receiving glowing reviews from critics, the original Wii U version of Bayonetta 2 sold quite poorly. Fortunately, it found new life on the Nintendo Switch, where it was ported alongside the original game in early 2018.