Zelda Remake Tops 2026 on Metacritic, Still Trails the 1998 Original

Nintendo's Switch 2 remake holds a 96 with no mixed reviews, but the N64 original's 99 is still out of reach.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time doesn't come out on Nintendo Switch 2 until Thursday, and the remake is already the best-reviewed game of the year. On Metacritic it holds a 96 from 83 critics, and the site counts none of those reviews as mixed or negative.

Video Games Chronicle reported Wednesday that the score put the remake at the top of Metacritic's best games of the year and inside the site's all-time top 30. There's still one Ocarina score above it: the N64 original's 99 on Metacritic, a mark GamesRadar+ noted no other game on the site shares.

The rest of the year is chasing it. GamesRadar+ said the remake moved past Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem and Pokémon Pokopia. When the count stood at 42 reviews, 25 outlets had given it full marks. The site figures the only game left that could take the year's top spot is GTA 6.

It also beats Nintendo's first attempt at remaking this game. Ocarina of Time 3D, the 3DS version, sits at 94 on Metacritic.

Nobody panned it, but the reviews do have reservations. RPG Site went with an 80 and said the remake "feels designed for new players first and foremost."

Then there's the number players actually plan around, which is hours. IGN's playtime roundup found that senior editor Logan Plant reached the credits in 21 hours and needed nine more to collect everything. His second run, on a fresh file, took about 14 hours.

Two guide editors who know the old map by heart, one at IGN and one at Eurogamer, each put full completion at around 27 hours. Both said knowing the original sped them up. One of the things the IGN editor found is that fairies leave notes now.

The same roundup comes with a warning. The remake keeps only one save file. Plant said his first manual save on a second playthrough wrote over the original, even though the new-game prompt mentions only its five autosave slots. He nearly lost his 100% file and got it back from a cloud save.

That's one more thing the 1998 version still does better. The N64 cartridge held three save files with no memory pak needed, IGN's original review pointed out.

Source: Metacritic, retrieved November 4, 2026. Other sources: gamesradar.com, ign.com, ign.com (2).