Zelda: Ocarina of Time Is Scarier Than Ever on Switch 2

Published Nov 9, 2026, 1:30 PM EST

Giovanni Colantonio is a video game journalist who has covered the industry for two decades. He was formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends and has contributed to publications like Inverse, Fanbyte, and Hard Drive. His specialty is criticism, as he’s focused on a modern approach to video game reviews that’s focused on the nuances of how interactivity communicates to players. He is currently a member of the New York Video Game Critics Circle.

How wrong I was. Ocarina of Time’s remake is arguably even more of a horror show than its 1998 predecessor. Though some goofy voice acting might lure you into a false sense of security, the faithful remake uses the technical power of the Switch 2 for chaotic evil. Every creepy crawler that may have freaked you out in the ‘90s has gotten whatever the opposite of a glow-up is. The remake is terrifying — and I am in full support of that evil creative decision.

The important thing to understand about Ocarina of Time if you're totally new to it is that it has the energy of a Grimms’ fairy tale. You know, the kind that revolves around an evil witch who cooks children alive. Kind of whimsical, kind of messed up. For every funny little moment in Ocarina of Time, like a scooting Zora king or a dancing Goron, you’ve also got a quest where you have to drop into a man’s grave after learning he died after Link traveled forward in time. It’s dark, though in a very family-friendly Nintendo way. That said, the remake really emphasizes just how unnerving the original game can be.

Nintendo didn’t hold back when redesigning some of its scariest monsters. Take Redeads, for instance. The creatures are essentially zombies that lurch towards Link slowly, but can paralyze him with fear by letting out a blood-curdling screech. If they catch him, they can wrap around his little head and squeeze the life out of him, a traumatizing image for a ‘90s kid. That all holds true in the remake, except now you can also see every branch-like vein across the skin on their rotten, wooden bodies. Their faces are nightmare fuel too, with more detail put into the red mask that hides whatever is happening up there. Better if I don’t know, I reckon.

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

Deku Babas? Those now have crooked, gnashing teeth and tongues that look like overgrown gourds. Gibdos? They went from looking like basic mummies to Curly from Mouthwashing, with a dead eye peeking out from rough bandages. Floormasters? The sentient hands now have protruding bones, just to screw with you. Moblins? They have butt cheeks now. (That part isn’t scary, it’s just kinda weird, I suppose.) Everything is a grotesque little freak that I would like to squash with a hammer.

And then, there are the spiders. Be warned: Readers with arachnophobia might want to stop reading here.

Ocarina of Time’s Skulltulas have always been the series’ most skin-crawling monsters. They’re basically giant spiders with cracked skulls for bodies. Predictably, they are abominations here, thanks to their furry little legs that make them even grosser. Gold Skulltulas are equally disgusting, even though Nintendo toned down their loud skittering sounds that made them especially scary in 1998.

But what’s really been brought to a whole new circle of hell is the House of Skulltula. It’s home to a cursed family who have been transformed into Skulltulas, turning each of them into a half-spider, half-man situation straight out of The Fly. They look so horrific in the remake that you will wish you could put them out of their misery. You can see their warped faces under their skull bodies. They each have a human arm dangling off their spider legs. It’s the most hellish sight I have ever seen in a kid’s game, and I am proud of Nintendo for allowing it to happen.

Image: Nintendo via Polygon

Not everything about the remake is scarier. Like Likes are still slimy little freaks, but their additional detail makes them less scary than the unknowable blobs of the original game. Hyrule Castle Town is less unnerving post-time skip now that the original game’s Resident Evil-like fixed camera angles are no more. In general, the overall atmosphere of the remake skews more towards that of an animated cartoon, which takes some bite out of the N64 version. I still prefer the original game, with its low-poly textures and more muted colors, for that reason.

Even so, the commitment to creepiness is just one of the reasons that Nintendo’s remake works so well. It understands what made the original game special, and works to amplify that vibe rather than wash it away. It’s similar to how developer Grezzo handled its Link’s Awakening remake, leaning on toy-like design and whimsy to retain the lightness of the original game. The most important — and hardest — thing to get right in a remake is aura, and Ocarina of Time nails the assignment in that respect.