Published Jun 9, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based out of Kansas City. He received a bachelor's degree, dual majoring in English and History with a minor in Film and Media Studies, and has been a senior staff writer and reviewer for Screen Rant's Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial, and various freelance projects.
A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history.
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Nintendo's legendary fantasy series will debut on the Switch 2 with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a remake of the classic N64 game of the same name. A revolutionary release from the early years of 3D gaming, the original Ocarina is still considered one of the greatest games of all time, and the long-rumored remake built up a lot of hype before it was officially unveiled at June's Nintendo Direct. Modernizing a 28-year-old game means drastically altering its art style, and our first glimpse hints at a darker vibe.
As the first Zelda game to be rendered in 3D, Ocarina of Time has long served as a sort of baseline for the series. Its art style lands somewhere in the middle of the Zelda spectrum, with games such as Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess long praised for their more serious tone, while the likes of The Wind Waker and Minish Cap have leaned into Hyrule's whimsy. With our brief glimpse in the reveal trailer, Ocarina of Time (2026) may be a bit darker than Ocarina of Time (1998).
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time's Switch 2 Remake Looks Very Different
Our only proper look at the remake's art style is a top-down view of Link sleeping in his Kokiri Forest tree house – this is where we first see Link in Ocarina of Time, just before he's woken up by Navi. Aside from how much more detailed the remake is, this shot is much darker, literally, than similar ones in the original. This could simply be a cutscene change, with Link shown at night, potentially while he's having his nightmare about confronting Ganondorf near the Castle Town gate, but it's still more moody than we're used to.
A "darker" Zelda is often requested, but only rarely granted. Twilight Princess is still the bar for a darker take on Hyrule, and Tears of the Kingdom was more dire than Breath of the Wild, but the series is always quite colorful and frequently upbeat. A grittier look for Ocarina of Time might actually fit the game quite well; it's one of Zelda's most melancholic games, and subtly grapples with Hyrule's dark history.
Zelda Fans Are Split Over This New Look
The response to Ocarina of Time's redesign has been all over the place. Some fans are just excited to have a modernized version of Ocarina, while others are worried Nintendo has gone for too realistic of an art style. It's getting a lot of comparisons to the new Star Fox (which is also a remake of an N64 game, Star Fox 64) and the fan-made Unreal Engine Ocarina of Time "remake" videos that have regularly cropped up over the years. Unreal Engine games tend to have a distinct, homogenous appearance, and fans are worried Ocarina is going to look uninspired.
Nintendo hasn't helped the matter by giving us such a restricted look at the game. There's no gameplay, and hardly anything in motion in the entire reveal trailer, so it's difficult to tell what the game is actually going to look like. I'm also a bit worried that it's straying far from the original art style, but I'll reserve judgment until I actually see the game in action – what Kokiri Forest, Hyrule Field, and other early areas look like will give a clearer idea of the new visuals. Regardless, Nintendo has certainly made an impression with the new Ocarina of Time art style, and it probably won't be long until more is shown off.
Released 2026
Developer(s) Nintendo
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Number of Players Single-player
English (US) ·