Nintendo Switch Game Earns Highest Rating of 2023 With 95 Metacritic Score

By Tyler Fischer

A new Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED exclusive game has a Metacritic score of 95, making it the highest-rated game of 2023. Before it, this honor belonged to the Xbox Series X version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition and before that Persona 4 Golden, which boast a 94 and 90 on Metacritic, respectively. Perhaps fittingly considering neither of these games are new, the new highest-rated game of 2023 also isn't a brand new release either, but a remaster or, more specifically, Metroid Prime Remastered.

As the name suggests, it's a remaster of Metroid Prime, a 2003 action-adventure game from developer Retro Studios and publisher Nintendo. The fifth Metroid game and the first to use 3D graphics and a first-person perspective, it was released exclusively via Nintendo GameCube to a 97 on Metacritic. In other words, the remaster is actually coming in a couple of points lower, though this is fairly common for remasters. 

While the game sold less than three million copies -- making it underwhelming by Nintendo's standards -- it's widely held as one of the best games of all time. And with a 97 on Metacritic, it's one of the highest-rated games ever.

"Intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran receives a distress signal from a wrecked frigate in orbit around planet Tallon IV," reads an official blurb about the remaster. "Upon investigation, the frigate reveals itself to be a Space Pirate research vessel home to terrifying genetic experiments using the mysterious Phazon substance. There, Samus encounters her nemesis, Meta Ridley, whom she pursues to the surface of Tallon IV. It's up to her alone to explore the planet's interconnected regions, investigate its dark secrets, and end the intergalactic threat posed by Phazon. Experience this critically acclaimed first-person adventure like never before with remastered visuals, audio, controls, and more."

This morning, the remaster was actually sitting at a 96 on Metacritic, so it's seemingly right between the two scores. In other words, it's possible it could end up with a 96 on Metacritic once the final reviews roll in. Whatever the case, at either score, it's sure to be one of the highest-rated games of 2023 and maybe even the highest.

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