SNL pits GTA 6's Jason against Zelda's Link in a widely panned skit
Saturday Night Live attempted to cash in on gaming's biggest November with a Weekend Update segment featuring GTA 6 and The Legend of Zelda. Per IGN, the skit starred cast members Marcello Hernández as GTA's Jason and Mikey Day as Link from the Ocarina of Time remake, who argued over which upcoming game is superior.
Colin Jost introduced the bit by calling the two releases the "Barbenheimer of video games," a line reported by multiple outlets. The segment then devolved into what Kotaku described as a "pretty tortured stretch" of jokes, with Jason mocking Link's appearance and Link yelling about puzzles.
The costume for Link received some praise for its accuracy to the Ocarina of Time remake design, according to IGN. However, the humor was widely criticized. IGN notes that online reactions called the jokes "old ass" and pointed out they were the same gags fans have heard for decades.
Polygon reported that the skit highlighted the contrasting appeals of the two games, with Jason touting GTA 6's "destruction, chaos, and sex" while Link represented puzzle-solving and exploration. The segment was born from a real scheduling clash, as the Zelda remake launches November 5 and GTA 6 follows on November 19.
Despite the premise, the execution fell flat. As Kotaku put it, you could "really feel the thumb of Lorne Michaels on proceedings," resulting in a bit that felt dated and unoriginal to the gaming crowd it was trying to court.
