The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Switch 2 remake has opened to a 96 average on both OpenCritic and Metacritic, a day before its November 5 release. Reviews praise the rebuilt Hyrule and modern controls, although the changes come with a warning for returning players: some of the original's challenge has been softened.
OpenCritic lists a Top Critic Average of 96 and a 100% recommendation rate across 30 critic reviews. That puts the remake at the top of its 2026 Hall of Fame. Metacritic also shows a 96 Metascore based on 80 critic reviews as of November 4. These are critic scores; Metacritic's user reviews are not yet available.
Praise for the overhaul, reservations about difficulty
IGN awarded the remake 9/10, while Eurogamer and VGC each gave it 5/5, according to OpenCritic.
In IGN's review, Logan Plant praises the new movement, camera and presentation while describing an adventure that retains the original's dungeon-led structure. He reports a largely solid 60fps in both docked and handheld play, based on his review playthroughs.
His main reservations concern how easily Link can now overcome familiar obstacles. More precise movement and aiming make fights and minigames less demanding, while some dungeon changes put keys closer to locks or make item-based solutions more obvious. IGN also notes the absence of a harder Hero Mode at launch. The review still praises the dungeons overall, but returning players should not expect the N64 game's level of challenge.
A Switch 2-only release on November 5
Nintendo's US store listing confirms a November 5, 2026 release, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2, with the digital edition priced at $59.99. This is a ground-up remake of the 1998 adventure, not a version for the original Switch.
Nintendo confirms overhauled visuals, orchestral music, voice acting and expanded cutscenes alongside dedicated jumping, dashing and modern camera movement. Our Ocarina of Time remake explainer covers the wider changes and editions, including the new ways to play Link's ocarina.