Some songs never get old. Nearly three decades after it first came out on the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is back, rebuilt from the ground up for the Switch 2, and critics are once again running out of superlatives.
The scores
The remake launched on 5 November. Before release day, it already had an average of 96 on Metacritic and about 95 on OpenCritic, where every critic recommended it. That makes it the highest-rated game of 2026 so far, ahead of the twin-stick shooter Sektori and the Switch 2 edition of the Resident Evil 2 remake.
On Metacritic's all-time list, it sits in the mid-20s, just above classics like Half-Life and Elden Ring. The very top spot still belongs to the 1998 original, with a 99. So the only game that beat the new Ocarina of Time is… the old Ocarina of Time.
What reviewers liked
TheGamer gave it five out of five and called it “the definitive way to experience Ocarina of Time”. Destructoid and VGC also gave top marks, while GameSpot and IGN gave it 9 out of 10. GameSpot said it's “still a wonder of game design”.
One big upgrade is smoothness. The N64 original ran at about 20 frames per second; the remake aims for, and holds, 60 frames per second both on the TV and in handheld mode.
What they didn't
Not everyone loved the new look. Some critics said parts of the visual makeover are uneven and that a few places feel “less recognizably Zelda”. Others missed Master Quest, the harder remixed version of the dungeons that came with earlier re-releases.
For families
The game is rated E10+ in the US, for fantasy violence and animated blood, so it's a fine pick for older kids. And if you played it as a child, there's a good chance you'll be the one asking for “just one more dungeon” this time.