Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

If you're in the mood for a more action-packed adventure in the Zelda universe then you're sure to love Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment raises a similar thought I had with its predecessor, Age of Calamity. While the latter's enjoyment depended, in part, on ha

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment successfully marries the button mashing combat of the Warriors formula with the visuals and sounds of Tears of the Kingdom. While the repetitive mission structure can get a little tiring (plan on taking breaks) and the game doesn't push any boundaries, the satisfying combat, impressive technical performance, and faithful recreation of Tears of the Kingdom’s world make this an easy recommendation for Zelda fans that miss the sights and sounds of Hyrule.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a stunning technical showcase for the Nintendo Switch 2, delivering smooth 60 FPS performance and exciting combat that skillfully blends Zonai abilities with mechanics inspired by Tears of the Kingdom.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment’s story may fail to capture the promise of a Tears of the Kingdom prequel, but the gameplay more than makes up for that by wonderfully fusing its source material’s craziest ideas with great 1 vs. 1,000 battles, resulting in the best action of the series yet.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment’s ability to flesh out the past of the latest branch in the The Legend of Zelda series is immediately noticeable. Being canon in the existing Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom timeline makes Zelda’s journey into the past a worthwhile experience. As much as I liked Age of Calamity, the more I sat with it, the less I liked it, because it’s set in a separate timeline. Giving these characters the space to show their personality ultimately leads you to connect to them better than the other Hyrule Warriors games ever could because we know what happens here ...

Hyrule Warriors Age Of Imprisonment does a great job of building upon what Age of Calamity did, while also being a true canon story that will make you feel a deeper connection to Rauru, Mineru, Zelda, and the other characters you assist along the way. The level of detail and customization is incredible, and is to be praised, and only certain things hold it back from being as great as its predecessor.

It feels like everything in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment comes with an asterisk. The combat is fun and mindless but can get very tedious with how much HP everything has. A constant battle for territory is a neat idea but frustrating in practice. The music is amazing, but very difficult to hear even when set to max volume. There are some cool Star Fox-style rail shooting sections, but they control weird and overstay their welcome. It’s not that this is a bad game, far from it, it’s...

Insanely repetitive, horribly shallow, and pointlessly easy – this is the absolute least interesting thing to do with Zelda on the Switch 2 and bad even by the low standards of the Dynasty Warrior franchise.

I want more exploration, more puzzles, more curiosity. This game's not about that. But it does show me how good a true next-gen Zelda could be on the Switch 2, whenever Nintendo decides to make that happen.

Story and Gameplay Age of Imprisonment definitely has a narrative, and it’s… fine. Not awful. Not offensive. Just not the reason you’re here. The story beats feel like they’re mostly filler to justify why every person in Hyrule is punching every other living thing in a field somewhere. It’s service

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the latest in the Zelda spin-off series that puts hack-and-slash combat at the forefront. This is easily the best iteration of Hyrule Warriors, feeling the most feature-complete and enjoyable. Combat is fast-paced, and the performance is spectacular thanks to the new, improved hardware found in the Switch 2. If you've been disappointed by previous Musou-style games in the past, this one won't change your mind. But if you're a Zelda fan looking for a fix until the next mainline entry comes along, Age of Imprisonment is a worthy adventure worth undertaking...