Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Reviews
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.
While Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is still well and truly a Musou game, it’s certainly the best Zelda spin-off yet. With a visual style aligned with Tears of the Kingdom alongside a compelling and canon story, there’s plenty of reason to play for those committed to the narrative. Unsurprisingly, this is hindered by bland and repetitive button-mashing combat. Aside from its fleeting Star Fox-style aerial rail shooter missions, Age of Calamity does very little to set itself apart from the legions of Musou games that have come before it.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is easily the most impressive and enjoyable entry in the series, even if it doesn’t completely reinvent the musou formula. The slick performance, rewarding combat tweaks, and genuinely engaging (and canon, can’t forget that) story make it a standout adventure.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the most polished entry in the spinoff series, delivering canonical Zelda storytelling that actually enhances Tears of the Kingdom rather than undermining it. The combat feels genuinely tactical thanks to Zonai devices, elemental reactions, and interactive Sync Strikes that demand more than button-mashing. It’s the rare spinoff that makes its source material better just by existing, and that’s worth celebrating even when you’re mashing buttons as you capture your tenth outpost of the day.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment isn't a new Legend of Zelda game, but rather an expansion of the story behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's mindless button mashing to destroy as many enemies as possible. In any other game, you'd be put off by this, but in Age of Imprisonment, it works perfectly because you're given plenty of story to fill in the gaps. The free choice of characters and the way you can improve them never feels punishing. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is simply a joy to play on a drizzly day while enjoying the magic of a Legend of Zelda game.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
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.
But this is still a musou title, and it can only achieve so much within that framework without awkwardly bursting at the seams. With those restrictions in consideration, however, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a triumphant prequel that Zelda fans are going to adore.
Newcomers like Calamo and company offer enough new to spark interest.
A few issues hold it back, but Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment marks a high point for the spin-off series, iterating on its riotous hack-and-slash combat with depth and variety.
This is a hands-on review of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a stunning slice of action, and my favourite musou game so far. Lessons have been learned from both Hyrule Warriors and Age of Calamity, resulting in a game that balances big-time story with top-notch combat that's got proper depth to it.With Zonai devices to play with, a cracking roster, tons of sexy Sync Strikes to pull off, and a ludicrously slick recreation of early Hyrule to set about kicking ass in, this is dream time for hack-and-slash fans and Zelda enthusiasts alike. Yes, map layouts are still a bit bland, and co-op mode is 30fps, but everything else here combines to make for the best entry in this spin-off franchise to date.
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.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment delivers what fans have been waiting for - a musou that actually matters to the Zelda timeline. Despite the repetitive secondary missions and occasional performance hiccups, the canon story, polished combat, and massive content make it essential for any Zelda enthusiast. It's not perfect, but it successfully blends frantic action with meaningful lore in a way no previous Warriors game has achieved. If you can tolerate the genre's inherent repetition and play it in spaced sessions, you're in for an epic journey through Hyrule's ancient past. This is the definitive Zelda musou experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Exile retains the strengths of its predecessor, correcting most of the errors and adding new features inspired by Tears of the Kingdom. The result is a game you come to for the large-scale battles and cosmic mayhem, but you stay to discover its captivating story that connects with the Zelda saga.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
This is a playful and enjoyable piece of Legend of Zelda lore, and one that will be essential for fans of the series, but it doesn't break the same ground as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, or even Age of Calamity.
I wish the soundtrack had cooked a little hotter, but it’s hard to ask for much more than that out of a sequel that is otherwise improved this much. I don’t know if Nintendo will treat this Age of Imprisonment as canon, but if it’s the final ribbon on the Breath of Wild era, it’s a dang good one.
Age of Imprisonment may be the most serious of the Hyrule Warriors games to date, but it's also the one with the most engaging and rewarding combat. Fans of Tears of the Kingdom may be annoyed to see an essential retelling of part of its story, but the side-plots add more depth to make up for this to some extent. Fans of the Warriors gameplay style will be absolutely catered for here.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment does a lot to address the story and technical shortcomings that held back its predecessors while making some modest yet welcome tweaks to the series’ combat. Age of Imprisonment remains relatively shallow compared to core Zelda games, but that’s largely inherent to the Musou genre, and those happy to bliss out while bashing Bokoblins will find a well-told tale worth tussling with long term.
If you enjoyed prior games in the series, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is an excellent continuation of that legacy. If you're coming into Hyrule Warriors line for the first time, this isn't a bad place to start.