Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is superb, streamlined and safe
A new remake of 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' for the Switch 2 is praised for its production quality and modernized controls, though the reviewer notes a sense of nostalgia-driven melancholy. The game successfully updates classic mechanics while maintaining the original's core identity.
Why it matters
As a major title in the gaming industry, this remake highlights the ongoing trend of revitalizing classic intellectual property for modern hardware.
With its tale of an idyllic world despoiled by the lust for power, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time feels as relevant today as it did in 1998. Nintendo's new remake, out Thursday on the Switch 2, enshrines its place in the gaming canon for generations to come. But despite its stupendous production values and painstaking details, the game left me feeling oddly bereft.
Perhaps I should have expected as much. Ocarina of Time weaponizes nostalgia even within its narrative, as the protagonist Link ventures to save his post-apocalyptic world as an adult after first working through it as a kid. You'll uncover old characters enduring new catastrophes. You'll try to rescue everyone you meet. You'll strive to bring things back to how they were before — no, better than they were before.
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