Ocarina of Time Remake Lands at 96 on Metacritic
The Switch 2 remake of the 1998 classic is the highest-reviewed game of 2026, and it still trails the original's 99. Here's what reviewers found inside.
The Ocarina of Time remake scored 96 on Metacritic from about 80 reviews, making it the highest-reviewed game of 2026.
The Ocarina of Time remake launched November 5 on Switch 2 holding a 96 on Metacritic, 2026's highest score. [Ocarina of Time remake: what the 96 Metacritic score means — review roundup]
The score comes from about 80 critic reviews, all positive at the roundup on November 4, with a 95 on OpenCritic. The 1998 original still holds a 99, the highest score in Metacritic's history, so the remake trails its own source. [Ocarina of Time remake: what the 96 Metacritic score means — review roundup]
The spread is tight at the top. TheGamer and Destructoid gave perfect scores, GameSpot and Nintendo Life gave 9 out of 10, IGN scored it 90, and RPG Site's 80 marks the low end so far. Famitsu's four reviewers scored it 9, 9, 9 and 10, for 37 of 40, and Polygon called the remake the best-reviewed game of 2026 by far. [Ocarina of Time remake: what the 96 Metacritic score means — review roundup]
Reviewers describe a full rebuild for The Legend of Zelda's 40th anniversary: new visuals, fully voiced cutscenes, expanded dialogue, an orchestral soundtrack and reworked camera and controls. What's missing draws the caveats: no Master Quest, no hard mode, and one manual save slot alongside autosaves. [Ocarina of Time remake: what the 96 Metacritic score means — review roundup]
The remake costs $69.99 and is exclusive to Switch 2. Aggregate scores can still move as more reviews post, but with about 80 in and none negative, the shape of the verdict isn't in doubt. [Ocarina of Time remake: what the 96 Metacritic score means — review roundup] [Best games of 2026 ranked — PVP Live]
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