Some games don’t need an introduction, and the Ocarina of Time Remake is one of them. Nintendo’s Switch 2 rebuild of the 1998 classic launched on November 5, 2026, and within a day it had a 96 on Metacritic, the highest score of 2026 so far. Behind that headline sits a remake critics almost universally adore, even while they argue about whether Nintendo played it too safe. This review roundup gathers what the major critics and players are actually saying, so you can decide whether it’s worth your money.
The Game
If you missed it the first time around, or the 3DS version in 2011, here’s the setup. You play Link, a boy from Kokiri Forest who pulls the Master Sword from its stone and wakes up seven years later in a Hyrule ruled by Ganondorf. Your job: wake the sages, collect the medallions, and take the kingdom back. It’s the template half the adventure games since 1998 were built on, and somehow it still works.
So what actually changed? A lot on the surface, very little underneath. And that turns out to be the whole debate. The graphics are rebuilt from the ground up: real materials, proper lighting, dense foliage, and a Hyrule Castle Town that’s now fully seamless. The soundtrack has been re-recorded with a full orchestra, cutscenes now have voice acting, and Link can finally jump and dash on command while you rotate the camera freely. Smaller touches help too: a Threads of Time quest log, a Hall of Fallen Foes for boss rematches, quick Iron Boots on the D-pad, five bottle slots, and the option to hum ocarina melodies into the Switch 2’s microphone.
What’s not here matters too. This is a Switch 2 exclusive at $59.99 digital and $69.99 physical in the US, with no Master Quest, no hard mode, and only one manual save slot alongside autosaves. Nintendo clearly decided this remake should be the original game, polished to a shine, not a reinvention of it.
What Critics Love About the Ocarina of Time Remake
Start with the obvious: the scores. A 96 on Metacritic from more than 80 critics, every one positive, and a 95 on OpenCritic. VGC and TheGamer both gave it a perfect score, Destructoid called it “genuinely one of the best games I’ve ever played,” and IGN, GameSpot, and Nintendo Life all landed on 9/10. For context, the original still holds the highest Metacritic score ever at 99, and this remake now sits in the site’s all-time top 30.
What critics keep coming back to is how the remake makes a 28-year-old game feel new without changing what made it great. The visuals earn the most praise, Nintendo Life calls the upgrade “staggering”, and dungeons are the biggest winners: the Deku Tree feels like a living place now, and the Water Temple is transformed by shimmering reflections and the reworked soundtrack.
Then there are the controls, which might be the remake’s real star. Reviewers who remember fighting the N64 controller and its muddy 20-frames-per-second pace call the new version a relief: snappy movement, a dedicated jump button, a sprint, and a free camera. IGN’s reviewer spent 30 hours obsessing over every inch of Hyrule, then started over to hunt for secrets. The consensus is simple. The adventure has aged remarkably well, and the modern presentation finally lets it breathe.
What Critics Don’t Love
The praise is loud, but the complaints are consistent. The number one criticism is difficulty, or the lack of it. The game is easy, and the remake arguably made it easier: Link moves, aims, and fights better than the enemies were ever designed to handle. Destructoid’s reviewer finished a first run in 25-plus hours and “rarely felt in genuine danger.” Several outlets flag the same missed fix. Other recent Zelda remakes shipped with a Hero Mode, and this one doesn’t. Without it, the new Business Scrub Seeds, which summon a shopkeeper anywhere, feel pointless: resources are so plentiful you never need one.
The second complaint is that Nintendo played it safe. Same game, same structure, same puzzles. Veterans will feel that. A few puzzles are actually simpler now: the Water Temple loses some small-key requirements, and a detailed minimap points you at chests and doors more than some reviewers would like. Pro Mode strips the interface away, which helps, but it can’t put puzzle complexity back in.
Smaller gripes: one manual save slot, a visible handheld resolution hit, and no meaningful new content, no new dungeons, no Master Quest. As Nintendo Life put it, this is “a must-buy for Switch 2” but also “a very safe remake.”
Is the Ocarina of Time Remake Worth It?
Let’s answer it straight. If you’ve never played Ocarina of Time, this is close to essential, the best version of one of the greatest games ever made, on a handheld you can take anywhere, for $59.99 digital. If you grew up with the original, it depends what you want: as a trip back to Hyrule with modern controls and an orchestral soundtrack, critics say it’s wonderful. As a fresh challenge, it isn’t one, and full price stings more if you already know every dungeon by heart.
It also helps that there’s nothing else quite like this on Switch 2 right now: a focused 25-to-30-hour adventure with no live-service hooks, just a compact Hyrule that rewards paying attention. You can finish the whole thing in a few weekends, and after years of hundred-hour open worlds, that sounds like a feature, not a flaw.
Performance & Value
Technically, this is a big step up from every earlier version. Digital Foundry’s analysis puts the Switch 2 version at a rock-solid 60 frames per second in both docked and handheld play, a huge jump from the N64 original’s 20fps and the 3DS remake’s 30fps. Docked resolution runs dynamically between 1080p and 1440p; handheld sits between 720p and 1080p. The upscaling uses AMD FSR 1 with SMAA rather than Nvidia’s DLSS, which explains the occasional shimmering and softness, particularly in handheld mode. Loading is fast. Reviewers agree Nintendo made the right call prioritising frame rate over image quality.
So how does the Ocarina of Time Remake on Switch 2 vs the original compare? Same story, same dungeons, same Hyrule, but faster, prettier, and far more comfortable to play, with the 20fps and fixed camera replaced by smooth 60fps movement and a free camera. What you don’t get is a new game.
At $59.99 digital ($69.99 physical), the price is fair for a 25-to-30-hour adventure of this quality. There’s no upgrade path from older versions, and no other platform. It’s Switch 2 or nothing.
How Long Is the Ocarina of Time Remake?
Most reviewers finished the main story in 25 to 30 hours. Destructoid’s first run took a little over 25, IGN’s took 30 with heavy exploration. Completionists should expect noticeably more. For a game this dense, that’s a comfortable length: long enough to get lost in, short enough to actually finish.
The Verdict
Here’s the thing about a 96 on Metacritic: it doesn’t mean flawless. It means a lot of very picky people agreed it was special anyway. The Ocarina of Time Remake is the highest-rated game of 2026 so far because the underlying adventure is still a masterclass, and Nintendo’s rebuild finally gives it the presentation it deserved. The too-easy difficulty and missing hard mode are real flaws, and veterans wanting bold new content will be disappointed. But for everyone else, newcomers, lapsed fans, anyone with a Switch 2 and a weekend to spare, this is the definitive way to play one of gaming’s defining adventures.
Consensus score: 9.6/10. A faithful, beautiful remake of an all-time great. Just don’t expect it to challenge you.
For more context, see our Ocarina of Time Remake launch report and our Modern Warfare 4 review roundup, and if story-driven adventures are your thing, our Baldur’s Gate 3 review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ocarina of Time Remake worth it in 2026?
Yes, for most players. With a 96 on Metacritic, the highest score of any 2026 game so far, critics call it a must-buy for Switch 2 owners, and at $59.99 digital it’s fairly priced for 25–30 hours. Only veterans who know the original by heart should weigh the full price against the lack of new content.
How long is the Ocarina of Time Remake?
The main story takes most reviewers 25 to 30 hours; completionists chasing every Skulltula and heart piece will spend longer. It’s a compact adventure by modern standards, finishable in a few weekends.
Is the Ocarina of Time Remake too easy?
Most critics say yes. The original’s gentle difficulty is still there, and Link’s modern controls make combat simpler still. There’s no Hero Mode or Master Quest to raise the challenge, the remake’s most common complaint. Pro Mode strips the interface, which helps a little, but it can’t change the enemy design.
Score sources: Polygon’s review roundup, TheGamer’s score roundup, Nintendo Life’s review, Destructoid’s review, and VGC’s Metacritic report.
