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The Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake unlocks Nov. 4 at 9 p.m. PT (midnight ET Nov. 5) on Switch 2. Here’s the price, the 24.5 to 27 GB download, what’s new, the reworked Water Temple and what critics say about its 96 Metascore.
Liafi Studio Editors
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake comes out on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. Digital copies unlock at midnight Eastern time in the Americas, which is 9 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday, November 4. In the UK and Europe they unlock at 12:01 a.m. local time on November 5. Reviews went live on November 4, and they’re glowing: the remake has a 96 on Metacritic and a 95 on OpenCritic, the highest scores of any game released so far this year.
Below you’ll find the unlock time where you live, the price, how much storage the game needs, what’s changed since the 1998 Nintendo 64 original, and what critics are saying.
According to Nintendo Life’s release-time guide, the digital version goes live at these times:
Across the Americas, the unlock follows midnight on the East Coast, so players farther west can start on Wednesday night. That matches Nintendo’s own rule: its support page says pre-purchased eShop games become playable after a small update that arrives at 12:00 a.m. Eastern on release day. A physical copy works as soon as you put the cartridge in.
Nintendo’s US store lists two versions, a $59.99 digital edition and a $69.99 physical edition, according to this pre-order guide from Timesaver. The same guide puts the digital price at £49.99 in the UK and €59.99 in the eurozone. Physical prices outside the US depend on the retailer. Both versions have the same content. Digital costs less and can be pre-loaded, while a physical copy can be resold or lent to a friend.
Keep in mind that the game won’t run on the original Nintendo Switch. Nintendo’s official listing calls it a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. It’s a single-player game that works in TV, tabletop and handheld modes.
Nintendo’s US store page shows an estimated file size of 27 GB. Nintendo Life reports that a later official listing puts the download at 24.5 GB. To be safe, clear at least 27 GB plus some extra room for future updates.
Digital pre-orders download ahead of time. Per Nintendo’s pre-order FAQ, your card is charged up to seven days before release, and the full game downloads to your console then. You’ll see the icon on your HOME menu, but you can’t play until launch, when a small unlock update arrives.
Nintendo has already released version 1.1.1, which Nintendo Everything describes as the launch update. It adds support for Zelda Notes, a feature in the Nintendo Switch app, and fixes “several issues to improve the gameplay experience.” After updating, follow the on-screen instructions the first time you start the game to set up Zelda Notes.
This isn’t just a sharper picture. The Verge says the remake has a much more realistic visual style and adds several modern features:
The overall structure still follows the 1998 game closely. A remake that’s this faithful will feel familiar to anyone who loved the original, much like the way a well-known film score can bring back a feeling years after you first heard it.
The Water Temple has long been the original game’s most hated dungeon. In Nintendo’s “Ask the Developer” interview, longtime Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma, who designed the dungeon, said he “had some overdue homework” and had the team make changes, Polygon reports. You can now swap items, like the Iron Boots, with the d-pad instead of going into a menu. Some walls that used to make players lose their bearings are now lattice structures, so you can see into the rooms beyond them.
Aonuma first asked the team to add Breath of the Wild-style warp points. In another part of the interview covered by Polygon, he explained that the team took them out after playtesting because they cut down on “moments of discovery.” You’ll still get around faster than on the N64 thanks to the sprint button, and Epona is still waiting at Lon Lon Ranch.
Nintendo confirmed that the remake was led by Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 3, the studio behind most mainline Zelda games. It wasn’t made by Grezzo, the team behind the 2011 3DS version, Polygon notes.
On Metacritic, the remake has a Metascore of 96 from 80 critic reviews, and all of them are positive. OpenCritic has it at 95 and calls it “comfortably” the highest-rated game of 2026 so far. The N64 original still holds the record, though: its 99 on Metacritic makes it the highest-rated game of all time on the site.
Some highlights from the reviews:
The general view is that this is a safe, careful remake rather than a bold reinvention. That will please most fans and may let down players who wanted bigger changes.
The game is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and up) on its Metacritic listing. Critics keep saying the quality-of-life changes make it friendlier for newcomers. The puzzles and dungeons still ask for patience and planning, the same kind of thinking kids practice with strategy board games for 8- and 9-year-olds, so it can be a good game for a parent and child to play together. If your family likes building and tinkering inside games, you might also enjoy our look at popular ARK: Survival Evolved community mods.
It unlocks at 9 p.m. PT on November 4 and 12 a.m. ET on November 5 in the Americas, and at 12:01 a.m. local time on November 5 in the UK and Europe.
No. It’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
Nintendo’s US store shows an estimated 27 GB, and a later official listing shows 24.5 GB. Plan for at least 27 GB of free space.
Not in the Breath of the Wild sense. Warp points were tested and then removed, but a new sprint button makes getting around quicker.
It’s been reworked. Quick item swaps on the d-pad and see-through lattice walls make it easier to keep your bearings.
Featured image: Nintendo Switch 2 in Handheld Mode by Crisco 1492, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
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