Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Reviews
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity makes some clever improvements over the original Hyrule Warriors, but ultimately feels a little more separated from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild than many fans might have expected. Despite some messy design choices, it still manages to provide a polished and satisfying experience in the Warriors line.
Of all Musou genre titles out there, this Zelda spin-off of the original The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is not just a reskinned Mosou series but a complete package full of cutting-edge animation and strategic properties to interact with. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity leaves a mark for fans and enthusiasts of all Zelda franchises as well as those who enjoy Mosou style of mass hack and slasher action genres. There are some technical hiccups when there are too many objects and enemies, but it is well forgiven due to the highly polished level of the game as well as some of the background explanations and additional storylines to fill in the gaps of some of the question marks from BOTW. If you want to experience the full circle of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, we recommend you play BOTW to the fullest and see its ending first.
Review in Korean | Read full review
While it’s not without its faults, I enjoyed nearly every moment of my 50+ hours spent on the frantic battlefields of Hyrule playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. With a strong story, copious amounts of fan-service, and a wealth of unique and balanced musou gameplay, it succeeds wildly both as a worthy sequel to Hyrule Warriors, and a semi-prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While your mileage will vary depending on how much you enjoy musou games and how willing you are to tolerate performance issues (and, to a certain extent, repetition), I give this one a very strong recommendation.
It may be obvious, but Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity might be one of the best Warriors titles in recent years. It is befitting of the Breath of the Wild timeline (since universes are so last-decade), as it beautifully matches every aspect of the franchise thereafter. The game introduces a whole new way to play as its Dynasty Warriors roots are showcased in full force, but still manages to feel so much like a Legend of Zelda title that it will be very hard to pass up by any Zelda fan. Those who do give it a pass, however, have no idea how good of a game they are missing out on.
In the end, Hyrule Warriors is and remains a rather conservative spin-off of the Warriors series that suffers from clear technical flaws. Lots of fireworks, little substance. Fans of the series won't be bothered by this anyway, but Zelda fans should take a closer look to see if this is worth picking up.
Review in German | Read full review
"Calm before the storm."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Overall though, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a fun, engaging hack-and-slash take on the world and characters of Breath of the Wild, and I very much enjoyed my time with the game, sans fighting with the camera. While the restrictions placed on exploration and travel did occasionally make me long for the freedom of the game’s more open world counterpart, it was still beautiful in its own right, with a wonderful soundtrack, fun, memorable characters, and a predictable but sometimes surprisingly moving story. I will always be happy when I get to see Zelda’s struggles and accomplishments, and this game provided that in a delightful package.
Is this still Warriors or already Breath of the Wild? Age of Calamity combines the well-known qualities of the Musou brand with charm, design and ideas of one of the best games of the generation - elevating it into a positively Zeldaesque adventure.
Review in German | Read full review
Weird ending aside, Age of Calamity is one of the best Musou crossover games ever made. This game really does capture the visuals and sound that made Breath of the Wild special, it just lacks the somber tone that defined a generation.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a strong title with plenty of appeal to both Zelda and Musou fans. The enduring gameplay strengths of Omega Force’s titles are present and its interesting approach to being a prequel ensures there is some narrative interest.
Age of Calamity is a good game for its genre. The marriage of the drawn action of the Warriors games with the universe of Breath of the Wild has been done in a natural and unexpected way, creating a very special hybrid. For fans of these games but also for the fans of Breath of the Wild, there is undoubtedly plenty of remarkable content. Even if the script left me with mixed feelings, Age of Calamity remains a quality proposition.
Review in Greek | Read full review
If the name "The Legend of Zelda" means a lot to you, and you can have fun with musou-style games, then Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will not disappoint. A lot of good settings and choices were made in this game, there are others that not. But in a total the action starts at 10 and never lets up, giving the player the battle after battle of tight and fun Musou action. If you like mudou-style games and Legend of Zelda this is a great title for you to try, with a good story, gameplay and graphics combinations this is a kinda alternative way to see legend of Zelda.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a polished hack-and-slash that nails a satisfying blend of strategy and action, straying from its inspiration in many great ways.
Overall, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is an excellent successor to the original Hyrule Warriors. When it comes to being a Breath of the Wild prequel, it captures the spirit and essence, but it also somewhat tarnishes the story that game told. Despite that, the gameplay is fun and inventive enough to see this new story through, and it should still be enjoyable for fans. If it means this will fill the void till we get the proper sequel, then so be it.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a great game to sink hundreds of hours into. There’s a treasure trove of missions to do, a rich story to explore, and plenty of characters to enjoy. While the narrative wasn’t quite what I was expecting (or hoping for), it’s still full of entertaining twists and does enough to serve as a solid vehicle for Musou gameplay — certainly more than the original Hyrule Warriors’ plot did.
I legitimately both love and hate this game. I love it because of everything it does right (basically everything it does), and how it feels like more Breath of the Wild on an epic scale. But I also hate it because of what it does with the plot, and what it could have been. Granted, I’ve come to terms with the latter and it’s one of my favorite Warriors and Zelda games.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity fails to deliver any meaningful fantasy through its story or its gameplay.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity bridges the time until the release of Breath of the Wild 2, but unfortunately only briefly. While the environment and enemy types may seem varied at first, you become dulled as the game progresses. However, the search for crogs or the prey hunt for special items and weapons remains particularly motivated. There are more than enough side tasks to complete. Besides the simple booty hunts, you can also sit down in the huge colossuses to defeat even more enemies in a short time. But especially when a lot of enemies appear on the screen, the performance of the Switch can reach its limits. All in all Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a decently made Warriors game that you will have fun with if you are a fan of such Musou titles.
Review in German | Read full review
As most fans of musuo style games can agree, there is one glaring issue with Age of Calamity, and that is the issues with framerate. Look, it is understandable that a game with an active battlefield can run into problems. When I found myself fighting against smaller groups of enemies, I would not have any issues whatsoever.