Earlier today, Nintendo finally showed off gameplay of its upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2. And reaction to the higher-fidelity graphics and models has been mixed online, to say the least, with some people shocked by how much it looks like an Unreal fan mod and others impressed with the detail on display.
On Tuesday, Nintendo held a lengthy Direct dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Zelda franchise, which included the announcement of a Zelda-themed concert tour and the reveal of new Amiibos. But the big star of the showcase was an extended gameplay demo of the upcoming Switch 2–exclusive Ocarina of Time remake. Since it was (officially) revealed earlier this year via a short teaser, fans have been nervous that the remake would look too similar to the dozens and dozens of Unreal-powered Zelda fan games that are all over the internet in 2026. And for many people, the new game does indeed make it look like Nintendo “hired that man.”
“I’m crying it actually looks like that joke Mario game,” was one of the earliest reactions I spotted to the first screenshots of the remake. Others online agreed that Young Link in the new remake has big Unreal Engine fan game vibes. Other early reactions were more blunt: “THIS LOOKS SO FUCKING UGLY OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.”
It does seem like the majority of the negative responses to the gameplay reveal are focused on Young Link, who seems to be far too detailed and “real”-looking, leading to an uncanniness as he walks around some of the more fantastical and stylized areas of the game. Bluesky user Strife / Petra shared a screenshot from the Zelda Direct that perfectly encapsulates this issue. You can see Link with his incredibly detailed clothing and hair standing next to some nice, stylized villagers that actually look a lot better as a result of their lower-fidelity appearance.
Of course, the internet had jokes about the new remake’s visual style and graphics. A lot of them revolved around Unreal Engine fan remakes and mods and how similar parts of this upcoming game look to these community-created projects and videos. Others joked that wet Link in particular looked like DLSS 5 slop.
Looks like a DLSS 5 meme pic.twitter.com/2B6J8W1vnA
— Life's tough, Get a helmet (@EchoJPR) September 8, 2026
BAHAHA LE REMAKE DE ZELDA SOUS UNREAL NINTENDO L'A FAIT PREM DEG pic.twitter.com/I0xdgTthej
— 🌿 Foxylosophe 🍀 (ouicheur era) (@Foxyte17) September 8, 2026
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake (2026) pic.twitter.com/sDVVRZk3em
— IKEI 🇵🇸 (@ikeirut) September 8, 2026
But to be clear, not everyone is down on the new remake. As the gameplay video continued, I noticed more positive reactions as other parts of the upcoming Switch 2 game looked better, like Hyrule Field and a cave fight. Look around and you can find plenty of people praising the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and its reimagined visual style and characters.
Hyrule Field gameplay in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake.
Looks absolutely gorgeous. pic.twitter.com/E7SolXW2T2
— KAMI (@Okami13_) September 8, 2026
“I’ve gone through enough cycles of ‘ew new Zelda art style sucks’ to know to withhold my judgement until I see it in context, but there is definitely an uncanniness to the Ocarina remake that’s hard to shake on first look. We’ll see,” Polygon’s Giovanni Colantonio wisely posted.
And yeah, I’ve also seen this thing play out over and over again with Zelda. A new game is revealed, fans think it looks bad, then years later everyone uses that same game’s visuals to demonstrate how a new upcoming Zelda game is actually ugly in comparison to how the series looked before. Rinse and repeat. Still, I’m not really sure what happened to Link’s model in this game. Even Adult Link looks off compared to the rest of the remake’s characters and visuals, which in motion actually look pretty good, if not a bit boring.
I’ll be curious to see if Nintendo makes any tweaks to Link’s looks between now and November 5, when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake arrives on Switch 2.
