A Legend Reborn: Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake Crowned Highest-Rated Game of 2026
Nearly three decades after it first defined what a 3D adventure game could be, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has done it again. Nintendo’s Switch 2 remake of the 1998 classic has launched to universal critical acclaim, claiming the title of the highest-rated game of 2026 on both major review aggregator sites.
Reviews went live on November 4, a day before the Switch 2 exclusive launched, and the remake holds a 96 Metascore on Metacritic based on 81 critic reviews, all of them positive, carrying the site’s Universal Acclaim label and must-play badge. OpenCritic lists a 95 Top Critic Average with a 100% recommendation rate.
Incredibly, the remake was given 46 perfect scores, with publications such as GamesRadar+, Eurogamer, VGC, and TheGamer awarding it 100. Destructoid calls it “the best iteration of the classic Nintendo 64 favorite we’ve gotten yet.” IGN awarded it a 90, while GameSpot noted that “this remake smooths over some rough edges, leaves others intact, and lets what was so special about the original shine through,” awarding it a 9/10.
The remake not only elevates the original 1998 release, which became one of the most successful games in Nintendo’s history, but introduces significant quality-of-life improvements and localization for virtually every region in the world. On the technical side, the Nintendo 64 original ran at 20fps, while the Switch 2 remake targets and holds 60fps in both docked and handheld modes.
The score is high enough to place the remake among Metacritic’s Best Games of All Time list, currently sitting around number 24. The original Nintendo 64 version remains at number one as the only game to ever have a Metacritic score of 99, putting this remake ahead of titles such as Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid 2, Elden Ring, and Mass Effect 2.
Its position at the top of the 2026 list appears sturdy given the three-point gap, though it remains to be seen whether this will last until year’s end with the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 just weeks away.
Will Ocarina of Time hold on to claim the best-reviewed game of 2026, or can GTA 6 pull off the unthinkable? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
