Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment turns into the subsequent first‑occasion revealed sport to take care of the cadence that has pushed Nintendo Change 2’s spectacular launch‑12 months momentum. From tyre-screeching transcontinental rallies in Mario Kart World to recklessly pounding terrain in Donkey Kong Bananza or dunking hoops in Drag x Drive to Mega Evolving your favorite pocket monsters in Pokémon Legends Z-A, it’s felt like there’s been one thing for everybody – a sentiment that third-party assist and a few sensational indie video games have solely bolstered.
Even with the colourfully chaotic Kirby Air Riders and mystery-shrouded Metroid Prime 4: Past nonetheless to come back throughout the subsequent month, it was the possibility to as soon as once more return to this Hyrule – historic Hyrule, for that matter – which I’ve been eagerly anticipating. Is this primary undertaking from Koei Tecmo’s newly fashioned AAA Video games Studio every little thing that I hoped it will be? Briefly, sure.
The place Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Version went triumphantly all-in on fan service, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment bears extra similarity to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in its construction and strategy. Besides this time round, you have got the possibility to witness Princess Zelda, King Rauru, Mineru, worldly Goron chief Agraston, expert Zora queen Qia, quick-witted Rito chief Raphica, compassionate Gerudo chief Ardi, and different legendary warriors stand alongside the folks of Hyrule to steer the combat to reclaim their homeland from Demon King Ganondorf’s tyrannical management.
Nintendo has pitched this because the “full, true story” behind the Imprisoning Warfare. It broadens what we already learn about its fear-inducing occasions proven by fleeting reminiscences in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which have been unlocked by discovering Dragon Tears hidden in hillside-spanning Geoglyphs. Worry not, there’s no time-hopping miniature Guardian in sight. This isn’t a bait-and-switch just like the criticism levelled at Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and there are greater than sufficient revelations in regards to the kingdom-spanning turmoil that Princess Zelda, King Rauru and their entourage needed to courageously confront previously.
Those that haven’t performed The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or managed to see the sport by to its climactic conclusion needn’t fear, both. For me, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a two-way bridge. It’s one other effort to encourage those that need nothing greater than to sprint round battlefields mindlessly slaughtering hordes of enemies to take a look at the mainline The Legend of Zelda video games that they’re tied to, however, within the different path, to introduce those that have been transfixed by Hyperlink’s current open-air adventures to the cruel hack-and-slash Musou motion from the long-running Warriors sequence. To realize that, it portrays the occasions that lead as much as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with out the expectation that everybody has performed it.
As with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the sport’s content material is steadily unlocked and accessed on a map of Hyrule. Conquering the principle story-based battles pushes you thru Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment’s a number of Chapters, rewarding you with new icons that litter this map. These might be for amenities just like the Weapon Analysis Base, the place you possibly can strengthen every character’s armaments with Zonaite Metal, parting with hard-earned Rupees at Coaching Camps to degree up a personality, or buying uncommon supplies from certainly one of many Provide Depots.
There are additionally level-based Challenges to distract you, and Quests additionally return, requiring you to trade supplies to realize entry to new amenities, obtain reductions on their providers, unlock the Materials Sensor, or achieve new talents or bonus hearts to strengthen every character. The developer has additionally launched “Apart Quests,” which, apart from a peculiar title, supply combat-oriented challenges like exploiting enemy weaknesses, performing good dodges, unleashing particular assaults, or defeating a particular enemy kind. Their completion showers you with Rupees, Zonaite Metal, weapons and different supplies, providing a trickle of rewards which are worthy of your focus to assist strengthen your gathered allies.
Earlier than heroically charging into battle to liberate Hyrule’s lands from the Demon King’s clutches, when making your preparations, you possibly can select to make use of your gathered camp provides to cook dinner a meal. These activate Camp Results, your amassed components impacting Fight, Assist or Particular classes. The lively results accessible to you from the beginning enhance the Particular-Assault cost charge, enhance the expertise that your characters earn, or scale back the Distinctive Talent cooldown time, respectively. Full particular Quests, and these might be modified to different lively results like dealing extra injury with Zonai Units, boosting the possibility of additional supplies dropping, or growing your motion velocity.
Stood on the battlefield, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment stays as accessible as these horde-destroying spin-offs ever have been. The common assaults (Y Button) that your character performs might be comboed into a powerful assault (X Button), with a number of button mixtures leading to differing concluding assaults. Princess Zelda shortly grew to become a agency favorite, the place, for example, one combo (YYYYX) sees her swirl her Blade of Mild round like a ribbon dance to devastating impact. Mineru’s summoning constructs and utilizing Autobuild to mix Zonai units for her assaults is one other standout, too. Whereas it turns into apparent which characters gamers will gravitate to extra, there wasn’t, to me at the very least, a single character that I felt wasn’t a worthy addition to the roster.
You’ll be able to proceed to dodge (B Button) or guard (maintain ZL Button) in opposition to incoming assaults, dodging on the final second quickly slowing down time to allow you to carry out a Flurry Rush. Particular Assaults (A Button) are additionally again, which you’ll be able to unleash to rack up your kill depend as soon as their golden-coloured gauge is full.
The place Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment excels is in the way it builds on what has come earlier than. Every character has entry to unique Distinctive Abilities (maintain R Button + Y, X, A or B Button), that, when accurately used to counter an assault from a strong enemy, could make them instantly weak. Whether or not an enemy is getting ready to cost at you or carry out a leaping assault, efficiently reacting to those moments with the precise counter repeatedly created some thrilling moments, particularly within the sport’s many boss confrontations. Their weak-point gauge abruptly uncovered, I’d rush in to whittle it down earlier than delivering a devastating blow to deplete a bit of their well being. You’ll be able to tag group an ally in to ship the countering blow, too, serving to to make battles really feel much less like a one-character rampage.
One other clear success that elevates the sport even additional is how Zonai units have been built-in. From setting enemies ablaze with a Flame Emitter, hurling a Time Bomb down a Frox’s throat or zipping across the battlefield on a Rocket, their inclusion additional widens the strategic choices at your disposal. Their use does deplete your vitality gauge, which recharges robotically as soon as it turns pink, or you possibly can recharge it immediately with a battery. Whereas a playful addition early on, studying how one can mix these or utilizing them to reveal elemental weaknesses can pack a punch. You’ll be able to freeze an enemy with a Frost Emitter to then hurl a Time Bomb at them to deal main injury, for instance, whereas enemies lined in Sludge will probably be laborious to break till you employ a Hydrant to clean it away.
The devastation doesn’t finish there, both. Preventing close to an ally progressively fills a personality’s sync gauge, which, when two characters are stuffed, permits them to carry out a Sync Strikes. Each single character can carry out these with one another, and, after a fast handclap or fist bump in step with “fingers” as a significant theme Nintendo had for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, their results depend upon which mixture of characters group up. Qia quickly imbues your assaults with water and will increase your defence, for instance, whereas Princess Zelda and King Rauru’s Sync Strike sees them unleash unrelenting beams of sunshine, which you’ll be able to direct with the management sticks. The gameplay mechanic encourages experimentation, and sure mixtures, which I’d somewhat not spoil for you, are gloriously spectacular within the devastation that they depart behind.
Whether or not selecting to play docked in TV mode or curled up on the couch in Handheld mode, I discovered the sport’s technical efficiency to be steady, constant and by no means detracted from the expertise regardless of what number of enemies are crammed on display. I went again to play Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and was barely startled on the leap as compared, to the purpose that I hope there’s some probability the earlier sport may obtain an replace to carry out higher on Nintendo Change 2. The soundtrack is unimaginable, too, a specific favorite being a Gerudo Valley remix that I may simply take heed to on repeat all day.
With Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, AAA Video games Studio has masterfully interwoven The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s playfully experimental gameplay methods with its personal Musou pedigree. The plight surrounding the warfare for historic Hyrule is endlessly charming, and, whereas clearly most tasty to lore nerds like me for plugging the gaps in Nintendo’s authentic story, the top result’s a sport that could be a legend in its personal proper.
Model Examined: Nintendo Change 2Review copy offered by Nintendo
