With a 9.6/10 Despite Review Bombing, Zelda: Ocarina of Time Dethrones Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for Metacritic's Highest User Score Ever
After debuting with a 96/100 Metascore from critics on Nintendo Switch 2, the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has achieved an even bigger milestone among players. Holding a 9.6/10 User Score, Link's modernized quest has claimed the number one spot on Metacritic's all-time Best Games by User Score leaderboard, overtaking Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
A 9.6/10 User Rating Built on Over 5,250 Player Reviews After the 36-Hour Embargo
Under Metacritic's anti-brigading policy, user submissions remained locked until 36 hours after the November 5, 2026 launch. Once the window opened, player ratings surged rapidly, pushing the official Nintendo Switch 2 product page to first place across all 6,392 user-ranked games on the platform.
At the time of writing, the ground-up Switch 2 remake counts 5,254 user ratings, with 96% positive reviews (5,030 green scores), just 1% mixed (69 ratings), and 3% negative (155 ratings). While the 1998 Nintendo 64 original still holds the highest critic Metascore in history at 99/100, the 2026 edition now commands the highest player score on the site.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Moves to Second Place With 27,587 User Ratings
By climbing to 9.6/10, Nintendo's flagship adventure edges out Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which previously held the user-score crown. Released on April 24, 2025 by French studio Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive, the Belle Epoque turn-based RPG now sits in second place overall at 9.4/10.
Even in second place, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 maintains a massive sample size: its 9.4 average is backed by 27,587 user ratings (93% positive, or 25,718 favorable submissions, alongside its 92/100 critic Metascore). Behind the top two, third place is currently a three-way tie at 9.3/10 between the 2001 PlayStation 2 version of Silent Hill 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine, and Capcom's February 2026 survival horror hit Resident Evil Requiem, while fellow Switch 2 first-party release Splatoon Raiders also hovered in the top four.
| Rank | Game | Release Year | Metacritic User Score | Rating Volume & Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2) | 2026 | 9.6 / 10 | 5,254 ratings (96% positive, 96 Metascore) |
| 2nd | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | 2025 | 9.4 / 10 | 27,587 ratings (93% positive, 92 Metascore) |
| 3rd (tie) | Silent Hill 2 (PS2) | 2001 | 9.3 / 10 | Konami survival horror classic |
| 3rd (tie) | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine | 2016 | 9.3 / 10 | CD Projekt Red expansion |
| 3rd (tie) | Resident Evil Requiem | 2026 | 9.3 / 10 | Released February 27, 2026 by Capcom |
| 6th (tie) | Zelda: Majora's Mask / Heroes III / Warcraft III: TFT | 1999 - 2003 | 9.2 / 10 | PC and Nintendo 64 classics |
Zero-Score Review Bombing and AI Claims Purged by Moderation
The Switch 2 remake reached the top despite a coordinated wave of 0/10 review bombing as soon as user voting opened. Among the 155 negative entries, several zero-score posts made unfounded claims of generative AI usage or criticized Nintendo for relying too heavily on Switch 2 remakes.
Metacritic moderators have already removed between 30 and 40 spam submissions aimed at artificially dragging down the score. Meanwhile, balanced critiques from returning veterans (typically scoring the game 7 or 8 out of 10) focus on open-area image shimmering caused by AMD FSR 1.0 upscaling instead of DLSS, as well as a noticeable drop in combat and dungeon friction that makes the missing Master Quest mode in the $69.99 Switch 2 edition stand out even more.
My Perspective
Having my beloved 1998 classic rebuilt for Switch 2 go toe-to-toe at the very top of Metacritic with Sandfall Interactive's French RPG phenomenon is the kind of leaderboard rivalry that puts an instant smile on my face. I am still the first to call out Nintendo for cutting Master Quest from a $70 cartridge, but controller in hand, clearing the Water Temple and Gerudo Valley with full voice acting, a live symphony orchestra, and a free camera is pure joy from start to finish. As for the keyboard warriors dropping 0/10 bombs and inventing generative AI conspiracy theories about a game coded from scratch by Eiji Aonuma's team and Monolith Soft, all they managed to do was rally five thousand players to flood the page with tens.
Zelda Ocarina of Time
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Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
