Critics cheer Ocarina of Time remake as a glowing homecoming

The marquee lights are up on Nintendo’s Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the opening-night crowd is loud with praise. This is a roundup of published reviews, not a first-hand playthrough: IGN, Eurogamer and Polygon all treat the November 5 release as a rediscovered classic, even when they flag the seams where modernization pulls at the old fabric.

Outlet	Score	In a line
IGN	-	Exceptional modern interpretation that stands alone
Eurogamer	-	Astonishing remake that rediscovers a masterpiece
Polygon	-	Excellent homecoming that keeps a masterpiece’s soul

None of the three reviews printed a numerical score in the copy we have, so the ledger stays blank on digits and full on verdicts. Availability is set for November 5 on Switch 2.¹

Where critics agree

Across the house, the adventure’s bones hold. Link’s path from Kokiri Forest through the dual eras to stop Ganondorf stays the familiar dungeon-item-boss loop, still rich with side paths, secrets and the child-to-adult time swap that reshapes Hyrule.²¹ Presentation is the big lift: a rich new art style, free modern camera and movement, a jump button, and snappier item handling borrowed in part from the 3DS edition make simple traversal feel sharp.²¹ IGN calls the result the best Zelda has looked and sounded, locked near a solid 60 fps docked or handheld, with Koji Kondo’s score freshly performed; Eurogamer and Polygon linger on reworked spaces such as the Water Temple, Forest Temple, Lake Hylia and Kokiri Forest as newly vivid without bloating the compact map.²¹ Small systems touches—heat reactions, freer aiming, pared-back Navi and owl nagging—enrich the old structure rather than replace it.²¹ Returning fans and newcomers both get a clear invitation: the traditional formula still satisfies beside the open-world Zeldas.²

Where they split

The argument is over voice, polish and how “Zelda” the new face should look. IGN warms to over-the-top voice work and Link’s silent face doing the emotional lifting; Polygon finds the fully voiced, storybook-framed opening brighter and more tutorial-heavy than the moody old text boxes, closer at first to a glossy kids’ cartoon than a fable, though directed scenes deepen once adult Link arrives.²³ On visuals, IGN sees lasting beauty in every field and dungeon; Eurogamer’s house split notes a wife who missed some of the original’s character, a Dark Link duel that lost a little glitchy strangeness, and late Gerudo stretches that can feel like any Unreal third-person game.²¹

Our read: Critics say this is for anyone who wants the 1998 quest told with modern movement and a lavish coat of paint, plus players curious how the classic loop feels beside Breath of the Wild. Wait only if you need the exact N64 mood, sparse text and fixed cameras preserved without voice or sheen; the house is otherwise sold on the homecoming, with the split itself the evening’s best drama—lowest and highest scores both unnumbered, standing ovation still clear.

Footnotes

1. Eurogamer, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026) review”. Retrieved November 4, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. IGN, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Review”. Retrieved November 4, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Polygon, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Is Still Perfect on Switch 2 | Review”. Retrieved November 4, 2026. ↩