Uncovering Gaming’s Greatest Ever Sequels

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ranks as the eleventh-best sequel in gaming.
• Another entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise takes the top spot.
• The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption II are the highest-rated sequels on IMDb (9.7/10)
• Nick Baker, expert at Uswitch online gaming, comments on what Tears of the Kingdom’s success suggests about the gaming industry.

With the latest entry in The Legend of Zelda series selling faster than any other game in the franchise, there is little doubt that the success of Link’s latest outing could match up to the series’ previous instalment, Breath of the Wild.

But how does Tears of the Kingdom stack up against other renowned sequels in the industry? To uncover whether Nintendo’s latest blockbuster could sit among the best of all time, Uswitch online gaming statistics used metacritic and sales data to compose a list of gaming’s greatest sequels.

Gaming’s Greatest Sequels

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the fifth entry in the Zelda series, takes the number one spot, with not only the highest metacritic score in the study, but of any game overall (99). Named the third greatest game of all time by Time Magazine in 2016, Ocarina of Time takes the crown as the best sequel and best entry in the Zelda series, despite being released almost 15 years ago, in November of 1998.

Half-Life 2 is the second best sequel in gaming. The first-person shooter has consistently received high scores from critics and fans, with the highest metacritic user score analysed (9.2) after Resident Evil 4 (9.3). The Witcher 3 ranks third, tying for the highest IMDb score analysed with Red Dead Redemption II (9.7).

Notably, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is absent from the top 10. The new open world adventure is in 11th place, with a metacritic score of 95, and a metacritic user score of 8.7. Outside of the critical response, Tears of the Kingdom has sold well over ten million copies, more sales than many other prestigious sequels like The Last of Us Part II, Halo 2, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Nick Baker, expert at Uswitch online gaming, comments on what Tears of the Kingdom’s success suggests about the gaming industry:

“The gaming industry has been growing exponentially over the last few years, and experts believe that the sector will be grossing over $200 billion a year by 2025. The record-setting success of Tears of the Kingdom, which is selling faster than any other game in the Zelda franchise, is further evidence of how lucrative the gaming industry can be.

These record setting figures came just three months after the Nintendo Switch became the third-highest grossing console of all time, marking a particularly successful year for Nintendo. These high sales are despite a recent Uswitch online gaming survey determining that the majority of gamers have made efforts to reduce their spending on games to save money during the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.”

For more on the future of the gaming industry, see the Uswitch online gaming statistics page.