Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Nintendo Switch Game Review
Hack and slash through hundreds of Ganon's minions.
The latest Hyrule Warriors takes Zelda fans 100 years before the start of Breath of the Wild, where Link and the other Champions are tasked with saving Hyrule from Calamity Ganons monstrous armies. Check our Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity review!
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a game all about open exploration and carefully managing your resources. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is about the exact opposite of that, with hectic action that pits Link and friends against hordes of hundreds of monsters at once in massive battles. Even though the gameplay is drastically different, fans who love Breath of the Wild and love its version of the Kingdom of Hyrule will not want to miss this.
Link and the Champions
Musou Legacy
Calamity is the latest in a long line of Musou games. Musou games are all about controlling a long list of characters and hacking and slashing your way through insane amounts of enemies at once. The most famous series is Dynasty Warriors, but there have been Musou games for a ton of different anime and popular game series. Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Mobile Suit Gundam, and more. The original Hyrule Warriors brought together all corners of Zelda’s history while letting you unleash devastation on dozens of enemies. Age of Calamity does something different though, by acting as a direct prequel to Breath of the Wild with all the characters and environments of Hyrule that fans will recognize.
Zelda uses the Sheikah Slate Runes in combat.
A New Story
Breath of the Wild takes place in a Hyrule in ruin, and Calamity is all about how that happened. At least that’s what we thought. Unfortunately, Calamity kind of spoils the potential of an official Breath of the Wild prequel by including some time travel that has a huge effect on the story. Time travel is not new in Zelda, Ocarina of Time is a time travel story after all. But I cannot help but wish they pricked with showing players what happened before Link enters his 100-year long sleep. As a game at least, the setup is still there. Calamity Ganon has unleashed his armies on the kingdom, and it is up to Link and the Champions to stop it. Where the game shines is allowing you to step into the shoes of numerous characters including all of the Champions. The main loop of taking on missions, slashing at enemy hordes could get old quick but thanks to how differently each character plays, the action stays fun for a long time.
Link encounters Revali.
Exploring Hyrule
Calamity is not an open world, but you still see most of Hyrule’s lands throughout the missions. In the opening battle alone, you can wander off and explore much of the land outside the Hyrule Castle as you take back areas from enemy Bokoblins. Even though there are barriers, it feels good to revisit this version of Hyrule in a new light. It would be much better to battle and explore if the game didn’t slow down so much. The Nintendo Switch can only do so much since it is portable, but the often poor performance does get in the game’s way sometimes since it is so action-packed.
The Kingdom of Hyrule.
Final Thoughts
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity might not be the satisfying prequel to Breath of the Wild on the story front, but it is still fun to play. The combat against the hordes of Ganon’s monsters is satisfying, and the huge cast of characters you can play as makes sure the action stays fresh for a long time. It is just a shame the Switch can’t handle all the on-screen mayhem.
Daruk is the Tank of the group.
Pros
- Faithful Breath of the Wild look and feel
- Satisying Musou combat
- Diverse cast of playable heroes
Cons
- Incredibly poor performance
- Storyline moves away from the main game
Hyrule Castle before Calamity Ganon's attack.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Deluxe Game Rating: 
Age of Calamity's Box Art.
