Gaming
Ocarina of Time faces a ceiling at The Game Awards
Its 96 Metacritic score could help secure a nomination, but Welsh argues that its faithful revival cannot be considered the year’s best new work.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s 1998 legacy could help its remake earn a Game of the Year nomination, but Oli Welsh argues it cannot win. Welsh makes that case in a Polygon.com opinion piece, weighing the remake’s acclaim against the awards’ history with remakes.
Since The Game Awards began in 2014, several acclaimed remakes have missed the Game of the Year nominations. Shadow of the Colossus and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening were among them. Demon’s Souls, The Last of Us Part 1, and Silent Hill 2 also went without nominations.
The nominated remakes Welsh points to include Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, as well as Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The Final Fantasy 7 remake project, in particular, turns one game into three.
Ocarina of Time remains largely faithful to the original story and design, with some smart modernizations. Its visual overhaul, however, makes bold artistic choices.
The case for a nomination is hard to miss on reviews alone. Its Metacritic rating of 96 is the year’s highest so far, while Resident Evil Requiem and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave have not reached the 90s. Welsh sees Grand Theft Auto 6 as the only unreleased game that could top that rating.
Welsh says he would rule out a win for any remake, apart perhaps from the Final Fantasy 7 games, which he sees as much closer to new releases. Ocarina, he argues, is an old game rather than an original work.
A nomination can recognize how this remake brings a classic forward; a win would ask voters to call that revival the year’s best new work. That is the line Welsh expects them to draw.