Unreal Engine 5 Ocarina of Time remake is finally playable
It's hard to believe it's been 12 years since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D released on the Nintendo 3DS, and while the beloved title has since arrived on Nintendo Switch as part of the Switch Online Expansion Pack, the 1998 game is still crying out for a proper remake.
After all, if Capcom can remake Resident Evil 4 after 18 years and Naughty Dog can remake The Last of Us after 10, what's stopping Nintendo with Ocarina of Time? We've heard plenty about Zelda remakes, but with Skyward Sword HD hardly being the win Nintendo expected, we don't blame the House that Mario built for taking things cautiously.
Unreal Engine 5 Ocarina of Time is finally playable
You'll likely be older than the Great Deku Tree by the time we get around to an actual new-gen remake of Ocarina, so taking matters into their own hands, CryZENx has been beavering away on their own Unreal Engine 5 Ocarina of Time. We've been watching from afar, and now, it's playable.
As pointed out by Wccftech, CryZENx's Unreal Engine 5 Ocarina of Time is taking huge strides forward, with a playable download now available. There are a few caveats here, and as well as this only being the opening Deku Tree segment of the full game, you'll have to subscribe to CryZENx's Patreon to try it.
For a small fee, it's more than worth it to be able to see what a fully new-gen Ocarina of Time could look like. UE5 is the future of gaming, and as we've seen with the spruced-up Fortnite or a faux Superman game, it can do some truly impressive things. It's good enough for the new Tomb Raider, it's good enough for Zelda.
CryZENx's latest version is only available for download through Patreon, although a general release is expected at a later day. If you want to unite the Triforce and save the kingdom of Hyrule, the Unreal Engine 4 remake is available for free download via Discord.
Where are our Zelda remakes?
Click to enlargeFanciful Unreal Engine 5 remakes of Zelda games are all well and good until the Nintendo lawyers eventually catch wind. Although these games fall into a legally grey area due to starting from scratch instead of using Nintendo assets, the gaming giant is infamous for keeping its IP locked down.
In terms of official Zelda remakes/remasters from Nintendo, we've been left burned too many times. Barely a Nintendo Direct goes by that we don't hear whispers of a mythical Wind Waker or Twilight Princess remake. Only recently, Producer Eiji Aonuma seemingly put the nail in the coffin - saying Nintendo looks to the future instead of the past.
There's a Zelda-shaped hole in our lives, and while Capcom punctuates its release of new Resident Evil games with glossy remakes, we can't help but feel Nintendo is missing a trick here. Oh well, at least we have the likes of CryZEN, showing us what we could have if Nintendo was savvy.