Hyrule Warriors Reviews

Hyrule Warriors is ranked in the 63rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
Sep 17, 2014

The latest entry to the Zelda franchise, Hyrule Warriors is a game that lives up to the hype. The combination of innovative gameplay and immersive graphics makes this title a must-have for pretty much anyone who owns a Wii U.

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Sep 17, 2014

Hyrule Warriors is a well-made, sometimes simultaneously dumb and brilliant good time.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 30, 2014

At the end of the day, Hyrule Warriors is at its core a Dynasty Warriors game, but it injects enough of that Legend of Zelda pizzazz to feel fresh and fun in its own right. This game won't convert you into Dynasty Warriors fan and it has its fair share of problems, but after all is said and done I can say this; Hyrule Warriors is fun, and I guess sometimes that's all that matters.

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Sep 26, 2014

The initial joy that comes from mashing buttons and watching Link and his cohorts slash down mindless scores of imps, goblins, lizardmen, wizards, and dragons gives way to a steadily increasingly pile of nitpicks when repeated over several hours.

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7.6 / 10.0
Sep 17, 2014

Hyrule Warriors delivers a wonderful Legend of Zelda action game with a large cast of familiar characters, identifiable worlds, a great upgrade/leveling system and endless amounts of action. It's far from a perfect game, especially in regards to controls and repetitiveness, but it's much better than expected. It has certainly raised the bar for the Dynasty Warriors series in regards to design.

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3.8 / 5.0
Sep 18, 2014

If you're a fan of the Dynasty Warriors gameplay and the lore of The Legend of Zelda series, you will absolutely fall in love with Hyrule Warriors and enjoy the extensive list of replayable modes. For those of you who feel this is a taint on the Zelda brand, I can assure you that nothing but care and dedication has been given to the mythos of the franchise. That said, the gameplay itself can become quickly repetitive without a difficulty challenge besides beating the enemy to the punch. And though it looks like a Zelda game, it certainly doesn't feel like a traditional one. The story races through in quick segments, mostly to introduce a new playable character. It's not the epic tale masterfully weaved from past Zelda titles. It's a game with perks and a game with flaws, and it will be up to each player's personal preferences to decide whether it's a worthy addition to their Nintendo library.

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7 / 10
Oct 3, 2014

Overall, Hyrule Warriors, despite its flaws, is a very addictive game and is most certainly worth playing extensively. Irrespective of Nintendo's successful past collaborations, I postulated that this game might be a bad idea, but I was proven wrong.

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4 / 5.0
Sep 17, 2014

At the end of the day, what elevates Hyrule Warriors to greatness is its seemingly endless fanservice. Whether it's an obscure cameo, a cucco counter attack, or even just an awesome finishing move, the game is rife with glorious slices of Zelda goodness.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 7, 2014

Nintendo has served up fans something to tide them over in this Zelda-themed Dynasty Warriors clone. It's fan service more than anything else, but as you may have noticed by now, Nintendo is pretty good at fan service.

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9 / 10.0
Sep 24, 2014

Hyrule Warriors is a wonderful surprise. A surprise since not only does the Warriors formula work so well, it actually manages to surpass past Warriors titles in many ways. And while the character roster is a bit on the modest side, there is enough variety in each character and their subsequent alternate weapons to make that issue seem pretty minor.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 20, 2014

Hyrule Warriors was an interesting experience. The Zelda Aesthetic was enough to keep me engaged for awhile, but in the end I came to realize I was just mashing the A button to progress through most of the game. The Hollow Game modes offered, and the lack of any engaging in game content is what kept me from having any lasting playtime with the game. I found myself only being able to enjoy the game in short bursts, before wanting to set it down and play something else. In the end, It's an entertaining Zelda skinned game, but doesn't do anything to really change or set itself apart from other Hack and Slash games.

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Unscored
Sep 25, 2014

While Hyrule Warriors could've gotten away with a simple "you got your chocolate in my peanut butter / you got peanut butter on my chocolate" mash-up and wiped their hands all the way to the bank, the end product is more of a love letter to its audience than either series could have attempted on its own. This may not count as a proper Zelda game, but it is still a valiant step forward for both Zelda and Nintendo in its efforts to explore new territory with the nearly 30-year-old series.

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60 / 100
Sep 26, 2014

A fan service skin of a Zelda game, however good, is still just an impersonation. It's a mix that only occasionally works, and more often than not simply feels repetitive and out of place.

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7.9 / 10.0
Sep 30, 2014

Hyrule Warriors is a true crossover, not just a Zelda skin slapped onto a Warriors title. It's not the refined experience you get from The Legend of Zelda, but it's more involved than Dynasty Warriors. It's hack and slash fun that can scale with the player, mindless to skillful.

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gameranx
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Sep 25, 2014

As an introduction to the Dynasty Warriors template, Hyrule Warriors has gotten me deeply interested in the rest of Koei Tecmo's output. As a Zelda game, it honors all the little series details that players have found so endearing through the decades. As an action game, it is distilled fun.

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7.9 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2014

Come to Hyrule Warriors with a Dynasty Warriors mind, or with a fast-paced hack-n-slash mind. Then realize that deep down, you've always wanted to play a Zelda game like this just once. Don't worry, this is just a fun little diversion before the next "real" Zelda game drops on the Wii U.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 22, 2014

It's hard to imagine a bigger love letter to the The Legend of Zelda franchise than Hyrule Warriors, which is a really polished and well-made Dynasty Warriors game. It still contains many of the franchise's flaws or weak points, but it also boasts many of its strengths. It's certainly more Warriors than Zelda, but it makes excellent use of the source material, so it doesn't feel like Link's face was slapped on an unrelated title. Some may miss the Zelda dungeon-crawling and exploration, but Zelda and Warriors fans will find a lot to like here.

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8.5 / 10.0
Sep 17, 2014

Hyrule Warriors wasn't a game I expected to fall in love with, but thanks to its oodles of Zelda fan service and shockingly engrossing gameplay, upgrades, and modes, it turned into something very special that lives up to the Zelda legacy. It's easy to dive into and has enough variety that it doesn't really get old over the dozen or more hours you can spend with it. If Nintendo crossovers are always this polished and fun, I welcome many more of them.

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B+
Oct 2, 2014

Longtime series fans will probably get the most out of the abundant homages and shout outs to series' lore, but action games enthusiasts in general will get a thrill out of Hyrule Warriors' fabulous gameplay. Wii U owners shouldn't hesitate to give the game a purchase.

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Digitally Downloaded
Brad L.
Top Critic
Oct 28, 2014

With a rocking soundtrack, loads of content, plenty of fan service and some clever gelling of two disparate video game universes, Hyrule Warriors is easily my favourite game of 2014 so far. Let's just hope for a sequel that explores some of the other Zelda titles!

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