Quick answer: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Nintendo Switch 2 holds a 96 Metascore from 80 critic reviews, all of them positive, and a 95 top critic average on OpenCritic with 100% of critics recommending it. That makes it the highest-rated game of 2026 so far. The 1998 Nintendo 64 original still sits at 99, and the 2011 3DS version at 94. Scores as of 6:45 AM CT on Nov 4, 2026, one day before the Nov 5 launch.
The western review embargo for Nintendo’s rebuilt Ocarina of Time lifted this morning, and the verdict is close to unanimous. After Famitsu’s 37/40 overnight, critics around the world have now weighed in, and the remake has jumped straight to the top of 2026’s review charts.
The scores so far
- Metacritic: 96 (Universal Acclaim, 80 reviews, 100% positive)
- OpenCritic: 95 top critic average, 100% recommend, “Mighty” rating
- The Guardian, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+: 5 out of 5
- IGN: 9/10
- RPG Site: 8/10
According to GamesRadar+, 96 puts the remake ahead of Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem and Pokemon Pokopia for the best score of the year, and among the 20 highest-rated games ever on Metacritic.
What critics loved
The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald said Nintendo turned “one of the best games of the 1990s into one of the best games of the 2020s.” Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan praised “quietly transformative” tweaks that make the game race along. Digital Foundry noted the jump from the N64’s 20fps to a steady 60fps in both docked and handheld play. IGN called it “an exceptional remake of an incredible game” that stands on its own.
What held it back
The complaints are consistent. Several reviewers found the new art style inconsistent, with Donlan writing that it “sometimes doesn’t look specifically like Zelda anymore.” IGN felt the more streamlined dungeons slightly dulled the thrill of solving them, and RPG Site said the remake feels built for new players first.
Our take: 96 versus 99 is not a loss
The original’s 99 came from a smaller pool of reviewers in a different era, and it is the highest score on Metacritic for any game. A remake landing three points below that, while beating the 3DS version by two, is about as good as anyone could expect. Famitsu’s knock that it feels simple by modern standards echoes in a few western reviews that call it a safe remake, but most critics treated that faithfulness as the point.
The remake launches Thursday, Nov 5, only on Switch 2, at $59.99 digital or $69.99 physical. Digital copies should unlock around 11 PM CT tonight. Our release time and preload guide has the download size and unlock times, and our look at the Water Temple and jump button changes covers what is new.
Sources: Metacritic and OpenCritic (read Nov 4, 6:45 AM CT); review roundups from Polygon and GamesRadar+; reviews from The Guardian, Eurogamer, IGN, Digital Foundry and RPG Site.
