Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity walks a fine line. On one hand, it’s marketed to be a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Nintendo Switch’s blockbuster launch game that remains a top-selling title. On the other hand, it’s a hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors spin-off, making it part of a series generally regarded as difficult to approach for casual audiences. Age of Calamity balances this well, becoming a stellar entry-level Dynasty Warriors game for Zelda fans in particular, but its niche may not work for everyone.
It’s difficult to discuss this game without comparisons to its predecessor. Breath of the Wild garnered immediate critical and fan acclaim for reinventing Nintendo’s fantasy-adventure franchise. However, a more under-sung strength of the game was the way it remixed conventional series elements with a new aesthetic. One comes to truly appreciate how iconic that take on Hyrule became in such a short time with the strangely nostalgic feeling of seeing it in the new context that Age of Calamity provides.
The premise behind Age of Calamity tells the backstory of the Great Calamity 100 years before Breath of the Wild that’s previously teased through disconnected flashbacks. Advertisements to this effect clearly struck a nerve, as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is already the best-selling Warriors game.
To this end, every battlefield is a slice of Breath of the Wild‘s open world. This makes it fun for fans to recognize nooks and crannies they interacted with in a different genre, and one of the best things about Age of Calamity is it maintains a very Zelda sense of exploration by hiding chests, Korok seeds, and more on every map. The sense of being in a living world is maintained through the level of detail, and there are enough alterations to sell being back in time. For instance, structures are built up around the once-desolate, somber tutorial area of the Great Plateau.
Yet it’s not entirely accurate to call the game a prequel. Anyone who played the Age of Calamity demo, which contained its first few levels, knows the story revolves around a time-traveling Guardian showing prominent figures their inevitable fate. Time is a common Zelda motif, but this idea feels contrived, especially with a villainous force aiming to maintain the fate of Hyrule (like a blander take on this year’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake). The results are jarring, and make the game hard to recommend for those unacquainted with Breath of the Wild.
Yet, while establishing this conceit makes Age of Calamity‘s middle stretch drag, its third act is gratifying for those who played Breath of the Wild, and worth not spoiling. Character-building legwork for the four Champions of Hyrule and characters like Impa helps immensely. Whereas they were mostly relegated to flashbacks before, now much of the script and full cutscenes are dedicated to these allies’ budding relationships, creating a strong presence for new fans and retroactively improving Breath of the Wild‘s emotional impact.
Character moments and world-building are where Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity knocks it out of the park, especially in how that intertwines with its gameplay loop. Those who have not played a Warriors-style hack-and-slash may see it as button mashing, but it’s more like a refined dance.
The cast of playable characters is powerful to an overexaggerated degree, able to cut through hundreds of monsters with flamboyant combos activated through combinations of two buttons. The care put into diversifying them with conventions from Breath of the Wild is astounding. For instance, Zora Champion Mipha’s special attack, a mechanic that charges as characters deal damage, can heal her teammates. She also creates water spouts to climb like Breath of the Wild‘s waterfalls and access airborne moves.
Also building upon this diversity in characterization are the Sheikah Slate runes (Magnesis, Remote Bombs, Stasis, and Cryonis). Everyone can utilize them, and they all add their own spin: Rito Champion Revali will drop multiple bombs like a stealth plane, while Gerudo Champion Urbosa leaps off a grounded explosive. Few characters have no redeeming qualities, and it’s clear every playstyle could be someone’s favorite.
Boss monsters, from Moblins to the giant Hinox, have huge health pools primarily dealt with through special attacks or weak-point strikes. A meter will appear when the boss performs an exhausting combo or when the player dodges with perfect timing, counters using a rune, or applies status effects (particularly effective against brand-new elemental bosses). If this meter is depleted, a weak-point strike acts as a free special attack, and the system of repeatedly breaking it encourages rhythmic shift between offense and defense.
Divine Beasts piloted by each Champion offer the only gameplay that breaks away from this formula, but it’s hard to call their handful of missions more than a distraction. That said, it is fun to mow down thousands with the gargantuan machines that offer unique mechanics, such as Vah Naboris’ twin-stick shooter layout or Vah Ruta’s lock-on missile strikes.
More typical battlefields, hectic and underscored by pulse-pounding music, are a far cry from Breath of the Wild‘s quiet introspection. However, Age of Calamity blazing its own path creates a sense of community for a world all but abandoned in its predecessor. Players choose one-to-four characters each battle, dictate where they go like a military commander, and swap control at will.
Beyond main story missions, there are hundreds of battles and collectible-based objectives unlocked across the cleverly reused map of Hyrule. Everything includes flavor text that tells hundreds of vignettes, namely dealing with civilian troubles: Tasks like loaning Rupees to a Gerudo woman for her lipstick boutique or replicating Mipha’s training for curious Zora children.
Like Breath of the Wild, dozens of monster parts, fungi, fruit, raw ores and more can be gathered in each area, and using these items to complete tasks brings hope to the people. Each also unlocks new things for the player, be it recipes for combat bonuses, shops to buy items, sensors for finding specific items, or character buffs.
Completing the game’s objectives sometimes reward purely cosmetic outfits for Link (without Breath of the Wild‘s bonuses), but players will want to help the people for their stories and to gain more health and combos for each fighter. The player also progressively unlocks facilities like the blacksmith that add a deep, RNG-based weapon customization system to further specialize characters. The game rewards those who put forth the time in dividends, becoming more engaging as it goes.
The main campaign can run upwards of 45 hours if players do every side objective when it unlocks – and even then they will likely only hit about 75 percent completion. Combat is ultimately the same song and dance over and over, but the steady increase in complexity eases players into mastering all its facets, leading to the hours melting away as every action contributes to piecemeal goals.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is worth the investment for this gameplay loop, far more than other Koei Tecmo and Nintendo crossovers like Fire Emblem Warriors. It’s satisfying both mechanically and for world-building that enriches its universe. The narrative may not appeal to everyone despite its stellar moments, but getting to know Hyrule and its protectors absolutely will. After this, Breath of the Wild 2 can’t come soon enough.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available now on Nintendo Switch.
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