Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake: 15 Min Gameplay, Release Date Revealed

The much-anticipated Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake is now slated for release on November 5th, and a 15-minute segment from the latest Nintendo Direct showcases a sizable amount of gameplay. Below, we've embedded numerous screenshots from that Direct footage, which runs at a scaled 4K and 60 FPS, as well as the YouTube video embedded.

To say the least, it's an impressive showcase for both the Nintendo's Switch 2 console hardware and Nintendo's design department. The graphics carefully balance photorealism with classic Zelda art style to make something truly special, in my earnest opinion. Check 'em out for yourself: all screenshots in this article can be expanded.

As expected, the Ocarina of Time Remake is not a 1:1 scale remaster of the original game in line with Ocarina of Time 3D. Instead, it's a “from the ground up” expanded reimagining of the original Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It still looks quite familiar, though, especially within the more confined environments of the game.

Where the increasing scale starts becoming apparent is when the trailer showcases the living Great Deku Tree, who guides Link to battle monsters inside of his ancient body.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake boasts expanded scale, all-new controls, highly fluid combat, and truly modernized graphics compared to the original game. This becomes most apparent in the combat gameplay we see in the trailer, which looks almost like the hyper-fluid rendition of Link from Melee got dropped into Ocarina of Time.

Basic swings, blocking, and dodging all look heavily polished on the new engine. The original Ocarina was fluid, but slow. As a pioneer of 3D combat controls for the time, that made sense, but now Ocarina of Time's combat has been updated to the high-speed modern standard.

As an action genre fan, it's hard to complain.

Another interesting element of the Ocarina of Time Remake's presentation can be seen in the water graphics. While ray-traced reflections aren't present, what we are seeing is detailed fluid simulation, which makes moving objects in the water (swimming, e.t.c.) look extra convincing. It's a flourish left out of many AAA releases, but it's welcome here.

It also lends itself to a game that looks to offer more underwater exploration than we expected.

Once the trailer abandons the dungeon beneath The Great Deku Tree, the ambition of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake becomes more apparent than ever.

Not only has Ocarina's Hyrule Field never looked larger, Link can now start running after a single roll, removing the need to spam roll for increased movement speed.

On the RPG and immersion aspects of the world, the game still has no real voice acting. But Castle Town was rich with character despite this in the original game, and looks like it may be even better here in the Ocarina of Time Remake.

All told, it looks like an interesting return to form for the Zelda series, which blew open the sandbox with the back-to-back releases of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Now, the modern Zelda team is once more making a linear, narrative-driven adventure, but can it live up to its own legacy? That's a question we'll have to wait 'til November 5th to learn the answer to.

Between this, the existing PC ports of the original Ocarina, and the new Zelda edition Nintendo Switch 2 confirmed this Direct, Zelda fans are sitting pretty right now. And maybe Grand Theft Auto VI has competition for Game of The Year, after all. Physical copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake are available for pre-order for $69.99 from Amazon and Best Buy right now.