The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 Remake Review: 2026's Best Game Is 28 Years Old

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake is the highest-rated game of 2026, and it is a remake of a game from 1998. That sentence sounds like a joke about the state of the industry, but the numbers are real: a 96 on Metacritic from more than 80 critics, a Top Critic Average of 97 on OpenCritic with every critic recommending it, and a 37 out of 40 from Famitsu. The remake launched November 5, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2, and the verdict from critics is close to unanimous. Our score is 9.5.

What makes this remake land is not nostalgia alone. Nintendo rebuilt the game from the ground up rather than polishing the original, and the result keeps the structure of the 1998 classic while fixing the parts that used to get in the way. The full verdict: this is the definitive way to play one of the best games ever made, and the few rough edges left are the ones Nintendo chose to keep.

Ocarina of Time Switch 2 Remake: What Changed

The headline changes are the ones you feel in the first hour. Link can jump and dash now, the camera follows modern rules instead of the old Z-targeting lock, and the visuals have been completely overhauled. The soundtrack is orchestral, cutscenes have been expanded, and for the first time the story is fully voice acted. The ocarina itself gets a neat trick: play songs with button controls, or hum them into the Switch 2 microphone.

Around the edges, Nintendo added a layer of modern convenience without touching the core. ZELDA NOTES, inside the free Nintendo Switch App, tracks your accomplishments, serves up Gossip Quests tied to locations, and runs an Ocarina of Time quiz with more than 2,000 questions. Tapping a Zelda series amiibo grants in-game extras, and the Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo arriving in 2027 grant masks with a retro look. The game is 24.9 GB, it costs $59.99 digitally, and it is a Switch 2 exclusive, so there is no Switch 1 version to fall back on.

Why the Design Still Holds Up

Strip away the new paint and the reason for the score is the design underneath. Ocarina of Time built the template for 3D action adventures: a dense overworld, dungeons that teach you their own rules, and a time-travel structure that splits the game into two eras with different tools and stakes. Twenty-eight years later, that structure still works because every dungeon is a self-contained puzzle box and every item you earn opens a new part of the map. The remake's job was to get out of the way, and for the most part it does.

The expanded cutscenes and voice acting help the story land for players who never touched the original. Ganondorf's plan to steal the Triforce reads clearly, the two eras feel distinct, and the supporting cast gets room to breathe. This is the part of the remake that justifies its existence for returning players too: the story you remember, told with the production values it always implied.

Where It Loses Points

The 0.5 comes off for choices that are defensible but still felt. There is no fast travel, which was a deliberate decision, and crossing Hyrule Field on foot or horseback eats real time on a replay. A few puzzles keep their 1998 opacity, and the game will happily let you wander without a hint. The price is the third knock: $59.99 for a remake is fair for the quality, but players who own the original on Virtual Console or 3DS are paying full price for a game they have already finished.

None of that dents the recommendation. If you have never played Ocarina of Time, this is the version to start with, and our beginner guide covers the first ten things worth knowing. If you have played it, the remake is faithful enough to feel like coming home and modern enough to justify the trip. Read the launch details for the full feature list, and check the official Nintendo page for editions and the early-purchase wallpaper bonus.