I’ve been talking a lot lately about the faithfulness of the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, not necessarily from a negative standpoint, but from an observational one. Leading up to its big gameplay reveal during the Zelda 40th anniversary Direct, I actually expected that it would receive more of an overhaul that it did. I was even speculating that Nintendo would take its gameplay in the direction of Breath of the Wild‘s open world, although I knew that would make plenty of people upset—maybe even me. However, after seeing just how faithful a remake it’s going to be, I’m still immensely excited for the Ocarina of Time remake’s release, despite having played the original N64 classic more times than I can count.
With it being what seems to be such a faithful remake, there are quite a few things we can already confirm about it, even apart from what Nintendo has shown us so far. I would say we can confirm almost everything about it due to how faithful it looks, but I’m not that bold, as Nintendo could still be hiding something from us. Even so, there is one thing that is undoubtedly confirmed, even before it has been shown off. In fact, I’d say Nintendo hasn’t shown much of this off yet because it wouldn’t make for the best kid-friendly marketing material. I am, of course, talking about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s horror side, which gave me nightmares as a kid and will now officially be taken up several octaves in the Switch 2 remake.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake’s Horror Side Is Going to Be Even More Unsettling
I remember the first time I dropped into the bottom of the Kakariko Village well when I was young, and at that time, I had no idea that what I was about to be faced with would be such a terror to get through. To this day, I can still feel my heart trying to pound its way through my chest when I encountered those horrors as a kid, and it’s something I dreaded with each and every playthrough. After my first experience with it, I could no longer play without the lights on, and there were times I’d play without the sound on altogether, because hearing some of those things sent shivers up and down my spine and convinced me that something was behind me, watching me.
These days, horror really doesn’t get to me, and I’ve actually come to enjoy the thrill of it. I can see a horror film or play a horror game and have absolutely no problem getting through it—unless it manages to pull off a surprising jump scare. Even then, however, I don’t consider jump scares to be genuine terror, as they’re often accompanied by enough decibels that it’s no longer about scaring people but simply catching them off guard and making them flinch. But Ocarina of Time‘s well was a different experience in and of itself, especially as an 11-year-old kid. I’m sure when I play the remake, I won’t be bothered by it, but back then, I certainly was.
Ocarina of Time Was Already a Horror Game in Disguise
Whether I can handle it today is somewhat beside the point, though, because what I really want to drive home here is how much more the Ocarina of Time remake can bring out its horror-adjacent features. The original N64 game was already remarkably good at making certain places feel like they didn’t belong in the same adventure that began with Link running around Kokiri Forest. The Bottom of the Well is obviously one of the best examples of that, but it’s hardly alone. Even Castle Town after Link pulls the Master Sword is disturbing in a way I don’t think I fully appreciated until I was older. You walk back into a place that was once full of people, music, and color, only to find it empty and overrun with ReDeads. It’s such a dramatic tonal shift, and the remake’s new lighting, character models, and environmental detail should only make that contrast hit harder.
Then there’s the Shadow Temple, which might be the closest Ocarina of Time ever comes to becoming a full-blown horror game. The Bottom of the Well gives you a taste of what you’re in for, but the Shadow Temple commits to it. It’s filled with torture devices, invisible enemies, guillotines, skulls, bloodstained imagery, and some of the most uncomfortable atmosphere in the entire game. Even its backstory carries a darkness that Zelda rarely entertains, with the temple serving as a reminder of the ugly history hiding underneath Hyrule’s much brighter surface.
I remember the first time I dropped into the bottom of the Kakariko Village well when I was young, and at that time, I had no idea that what I was about to be faced with would be such a terror to get through.
That’s something I think people can sometimes forget about Ocarina of Time. For as colorful and adventurous as it can be, this game can get genuinely unsettling when it wants to. Dead Hand still looks horrifying even with an N64 character model. ReDeads are disturbing before they ever get close enough to grab Link. The Forest Temple has its own ghostly, abandoned atmosphere, and even enemies like Wallmasters can make an otherwise ordinary room suddenly feel unsafe.
Now imagine all of that without the abstraction that came with 1998 hardware. We’ve already seen how much more expressive and detailed this remake can make familiar locations and enemies, and that’s exactly why its darker material has so much potential. Nintendo doesn’t need to turn Ocarina of Time into a horror game, because, in some ways, it already was one. The remake simply has the opportunity to make the parts that scared an entire generation of kids feel every bit as uncomfortable as we remember them being.
- Released
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November 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
