The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review – a dream come true

Key points

• Nintendo has released an ambitious remake of Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2, priced at £59.99.
• The remake keeps the original's structure and puzzles but adds fully voiced cutscenes and orchestral music.
• The reviewer calls it a dream come true and one of the best games of the 2020s.

Nintendo has released an ambitious remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2, out on 5 November at £59.99. A Guardian review describes it as transforming the landmark game into a modern masterpiece, clearer and easier to navigate, more beautiful to look at, with playful musical touches, while keeping its melancholy.

The reviewer says the game's flow and structure are unchanged: players visit the same places in the same order, and the dungeon puzzles have the same solutions. What has changed is how the story is framed, with expanded dialogue and fully voiced cutscenes, though Link himself remains silent.

New look and controls

The game now looks like detailed theatre scenery, with a doll-like Link and richly embellished clothes, an art style the reviewer calls hyperreal and reminiscent of puppet shows. Link can jump anywhere with a button press, tools are quickly accessible rather than buried in menus, and the score has been redone with a full orchestra.

Players can also play Link's ocarina with their voice through the Switch 2's microphone. The reviewer notes some disliked changes, including that the warrior Sheik has lost a lot of his androgyny.

I could not be more delighted to report that it is a dream come true.

— The Guardian reviewer

A story that endures

The reviewer says the remake keeps the original's understated melancholy and its tragedy about a boy hero whose childhood is stolen. Writing from personal experience, the reviewer says returning to the Temple of Time as an adult gave them shivers and got them thinking about passing cherished stories to the next generation.