Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Review

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Starting up Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, I immediately thought about the story of Tears of the Kingdom – and how Age of Calamity reimagined the events leading up to Breath of the Wild. While Zelda games haven’t always been heavily story-driven, I felt the recent installments, though promising, didn’t quite deliver. I really liked the idea of exploring the backstory in Tears of the Kingdom and being set after Breath of the Wild, but I still felt something was missing.

Age of Imprisonment seems like it would have delivered everything I hoped for from the initial story, and could even explain parts that felt missing. It had all the potential to be really impactful, but the original just didn’t quite connect with me. Like with Tears of the Kingdom, success would depend on how well it was made – it would need to be a great action game as well.

It’s all well and good then that it’s a sleeper hit for my personal game of the year.

If you’re looking at this review, you probably already know what a Dynasty Warriors game is like. It’s all about the feeling of taking on huge armies, easily defeating dozens of enemies with each attack, and only really being challenged by stronger officers and bosses. If you enjoy that familiar ‘Warriors’ style of gameplay – capturing bases by clearing out enemies, building up to a boss fight, and then finally defeating that boss – you’ll likely find this game appealing, even if it can get repetitive.

Age of Calamity introduced several changes to how the game plays, and many of those are back in this new installment, though not everything carried over. This time around, the biggest focus is on combining elemental attacks and working closely with your units to perform powerful Sync Strikes. Along with the usual Special gauge, every character now has a Sync gauge. When multiple characters fill their Sync gauges while standing close together, they can team up for a combined attack.

Zelda and Rauru can each use light beams to attack enemies, finishing with a powerful strike. When transformed into a bird, Calamo’s Mysterious Construct can launch elemental fruit or bombs while being ridden. Some characters have standard actions when teamed up, but others have special interactions depending on who they’re paired with. For example, Zelda has a variety of unique team attacks when summoned while playing as characters like the Mysterious Construct or the other five Sages.

Unlike Special attacks, Sync Strikes require players to actively participate and directly impact gameplay. Some, like Calamo’s finishing move where he arranges three fruits chosen by the player on his blade and launches them at enemies, even let players customize the attack’s effects.

This feature is a fun addition that helps break up the game’s more repetitive sections. However, it’s especially clever how these team attacks connect to the core gameplay of combining elemental effects. For example, in the Lanayru area, enemies might be covered in sludge that protects them unless you wash it away using a Zonai device or a special attack from the Zora Queen. Similarly, the Rito Chief can create wind currents that combine with other elemental attacks to create powerful tornadoes and build up elemental damage.

Teaming up with another Sage grants you their elemental power. For example, when Raphica has Fire or Lightning abilities, his whirlwind attacks will become fire or lightning tornadoes instead. Similarly, Qia can remove sludge from enemies when you fight alongside her. Exploiting enemy weaknesses with the right Zonai Device or Sage partner is key to success. While this existed in Age of Calamity, it feels much more central to the gameplay this time, as you can easily equip Zonai Devices or even add them to characters’ attacks.

Zonai Devices now function similarly to the Sheikah Slate skills from Age of Calamity, taking their place in your skill set. The Interject system—allowing you to react to enemy attacks with a skill—returns, but with some updates. While character skills are the main way to counter powerful enemy attacks, certain Zonai Devices and actions can also work when your skills are recharging. You can even switch control to nearby allies who are ready to use their skills while simultaneously interjecting, and doing so will slightly refill both characters’ Sync gauges.

The combat feels lively and keeps you on your toes, even though the basic gameplay is similar to previous Warriors titles. You’ll constantly be tweaking your units’ skills and equipment to adapt to different enemies. While this probably won’t win over anyone who doesn’t already enjoy this style of game, if you’re a fan, it’s enough to keep you playing for a long time. Each character is a joy to control, and mastering their abilities and customizing their gear is surprisingly addictive.

As a big fan of Age of Calamity, I noticed the way you level up characters and weapons in this game feels pretty familiar! It’s mostly the same system, but with a few tweaks. What’s different is that instead of finding new weapons all the time, you’re mostly using Zonai Steel to improve the gear you already have. You can add these things called Seals to your weapons – they give you cool bonuses! The first Seal you add to a weapon can go in any slot, and it makes the weapon stronger. Then, as you level up, you need to find certain materials to unlock a weapon’s special ability. Learning new character abilities and getting more energy for special moves works just like it did in Age of Calamity, which is awesome!

In Age of Calamity, the game takes place on a map of Hyrule divided into different regions. As you complete missions to free these areas, you’ll unlock new challenges specific to each region. You can use the resources you collect during missions to improve your characters and unlock new abilities. The map also shows you which missions will unlock upgrades for specific characters, and even which ones add new characters to play as.

I touched on the game’s story earlier, and I’m avoiding major spoilers about what works well. I was initially worried Zelda’s personal journey might get lost, but the game struck a good balance between her experiences with Rauru and the Sages, and the new narrative the developers created. I especially enjoyed how the game replaced the Divine Beast sections from a previous title; fans of games like Kid Icarus: Uprising or Star Fox 64 will likely love them. These sections effectively showcase the scale of Hyrule at war, and the attention to detail is fantastic. Everything builds to a conclusion that ranks among the best in the entire Zelda series, and I expect players will be discussing it for years to come.

I spent a lot of time playing Age of Imprisonment both on the go and while docked. I was happy to find that while it doesn’t always run at 60 frames per second, it hits that target during key moments, with only brief slowdowns when there’s a lot happening on screen. Even so, the game looks fantastic and runs smoothly. It’s a complete non-issue, and it performs well even compared to Age of Calamity on the original Switch. I don’t know how it would perform with Game Share, but I expect it would still be a good experience.

If you enjoy the ‘Warriors’ style of games, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment could easily become your favorite game on the Switch 2. It’s not only a fantastic Zelda spin-off, but it’s also one of the best games in the entire Zelda series – I highly recommend it!

 

9

Versions tested: Nintendo Switch 2

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2025-11-04 16:57