Zelda: Ocarina of Time Unreal Engine 5 remake gameplay has us counting down the days

Later this year, Nintendo will launch its highly anticipated remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Many years before that, though, internet user CryZENx began working on their own remake of this classic adventure in Unreal Engine 5.

Over a decade, CryZENx has been remaking the game’s various levels singlehandedly, sharing their work on YouTube and making these game segments playable to fans.

The Unreal Engine 5 remake has sadly been cancelled by CryZENx, following Nintendo’s reveal of an official remake, with CryZENx fearing their own version would get nuked by the gaming behemoth.

As such, the YouTuber previously revealed that he’d be ceasing development but would upload the incomplete final build online for Zelda fans to play.

“I would like to tell you that Ocarina of Time Project is officially stopped,” the creator said on Patreon, adding on YouTube, “Time to switch to a new project soon to not step on their way,” responding to Nintendo’s official remake.

The fan Ocarina of Time remake is free to download on PC and runs at 60fps

That means you can now freely play the Unreal Engine 5 remake - and that’s a decade’s worth of work from CryZENx.

Playable at 60fps, the final build is downloadable from CryZENx’s Patreon. Previously, it was hidden behind a paywall, but as a farewell gesture, it’s now totally free.

The only caveat is that you do still need to make a free Patreon account to access it - and the download is only available on PC.

This final build has been available for a few weeks now, but it recently got thrust into the spotlight by fellow YouTuber Digital Dreams, who posted a partial playthrough.

Players were full of praise for the project.

“It looks incredible,” someone wrote, while another added, “I wonder if this remake is what Nintendo is going for, for direction.”

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Admittedly, we actually know very little about Nintendo’s own remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as the reveal trailer, launched earlier this year, simply featured a brief clip of a sleeping Link.

The trailer controversially didn’t boast any gameplay, much to the fury of fans who feel that should’ve been included given the short window between reveal and release.

The Ocarina of Time remake is due to be Nintendo’s big holiday release, so we’ll likely see it launch sometime in October, November, or December.

It will, of course, want to avoid Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch on November 19.

We’ll perhaps get a Nintendo Direct in the coming months, which should fill in all of the gaps surrounding the title.

Remaking Ocarina of Time is no small undertaking. After all, is it a fool’s endeavour to remake a game that boasts a Metacritic score of 99?

Perhaps Ocarina of Time’s success came from just how groundbreaking it was upon release. Maybe it won’t hold up with modern bells and whistles, although we’re certainly hoping it does.

With just a few months to go, all will soon be revealed, but it’s nice to see CryZENx’s work is delighting fans in the meantime.