Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch) Review

LACKING IN GRACE BUT A FUN EXCUSE TO RETURN TO HYRULE

The Musou genre continues to excite me in ways I hadn’t expected. For years, I wrote off games in this genre as mindless wastes of time but the more Koei Tecmo plays with other franchises the more I flock to them. Even now, I’m setting aside some time to play Persona 5 Strikers next February. One of the most exciting takes on a franchise using Musou elements is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a spiritual successor to the well-received Hyrule Warriors and a narrative prequel to Breath of the Wild. Being that I am a fan of tragedies, combined with my recent enjoyment of Musou games, I picked up Age of Calamity on launch. Eyes bright with wonder and eager to come back to the mysterious and somber vision of Hyrule established in Breath of the Wild, I poured a considerable amount of time into Age of Calamity. 

Age of Calamity takes place before the fall of Hyrule during a great war that is referenced throughout Breath of the Wild. In this story, Zelda and Link travel the land gathering up Champions, preparing for a confrontation with the monstrous Calamity Ganon and the horde of monsters that pair with its arrival. This narrative setup creates an opportunity to further explore the heroes of that conflict but, as players of Breath of the Wild know, it was a battle that was lost. Some of my favorite games have tragic endings and I was fully prepared for that moment but that tone was muddied by the introduction of a time-traveling guardian that joins Link and Zelda, almost like a little R2-D2. The little guardian even makes cute whistling noises and generally adds to the game’s humorous and tender moments. It was surprising to have time travel at the outset of this story but this element is more reserved than the dimension smashing found in the first Hyrule Warriors game. 

Even at the first battle, I realized that this may be the strongest Musou game so far from a gameplay perspective, at least in my experience. The combat in Age of Calamity is simple but there are enough mechanics to keep players actively engaged. For example, each character has different approaches to the four Sheikah Slate powers; Link throws several bombs but Zelda summons a bomb-lobbing tank. Each character also feels unique with various moves and rhythms to their attacks. Playing through the critical path introduces most of the game’s roster and getting to play as new characters was almost always a delight. There are a few that I don’t care for but most of the cast is fun to play as and fun to watch in the game’s story. The optional characters are interesting but a few do feel like the developers were reaching pretty deep into the Breath of the Wild lore to make something work. 

Map design is about what one would expect from a Musou title. Armies clash on various battlefields and the enemies are all types found in Breath of the Wild. What I like most about Musou games that use other well-known franchises is that knowledge from those other games sometimes carries into the hack-and-slash gameplay. Breath of the Wild was all about various reactions and elements and in Age of Calamity, some of that is still present. Fire magic sets fields ablaze, players can shock enemies in or nearby water for extra damage, firing an arrow at a Moblin’s face does extra damage and stuns the beast. These mechanics are not nearly as diverse as what’s found in Breath of the Wild but it adds enough flourish to the Musou gameplay to be really fun to discover and master. 

Fights against larger enemies are generally more enjoyable here than any other Musou game. Each enemy has a wheel of stun guard that can be whittled down by doing certain actions. For example, many enemy attacks will telegraph with a Sheikah Slate symbol, and using that power will interrupt the attack and make an opening. Defeating a monster’s guard opens up a critical attack that does way more damage than just wailing on them. This creates a few solutions that when strung together make combat faster and more rewarding than the key fights found in the first Hyrule Warriors. By the end of the game, I could stun lock a Lynel indefinitely and stack up damage by rotating critical hits, magic rods, and special attacks. It does make the combat pretty formulaic eventually so taking on harder challenges is recommended in the later hours but the characters and visual flourishes were enough to keep me playing. It also helps that the game’s performance felt more consistent than the first Hyrule Warriors.  

Sure, there have been more impressive frame rates and graphics in the Musou genre on other consoles but the Switch mostly does incredibly well with Age of Calamity, although I did run into some substantial slowdown when using either of the flying Rito characters when playing in handheld mode. Each special attack feels impactful and the character models all look fantastic. Story scenes are stylish and the voice acting is solid throughout. The story does lack the somber weight of Breath of the Wild but it is a lot of fun seeing these characters interacting with each other as a family. 

To shake up the gameplay variety, there are several missions where players pilot the powerful Divine Beasts. These are first-person missions where players slowly direct titanic golems through entire armies, slaying hundreds with each blast or stomp. Each of these Divine Beasts plays different enough and the missions are usually quick enough to be a fun way to release some energy and quickly gain resources. There’s not a whole lot of tactical decisions being made, arguably there’s even less gameplay in these missions than the usual hack-and-slash fare, but seeing these colossal beasts unleash massive lasers on hoards of monsters is a sight to behold. 

Completing missions add to the player’s resources which can then be used to create buffs through recipes or complete other tasks on the map. Rather than a simple mission select screen, Age of Calamity operates entirely on a familiar map of Hyrule with various points of interest that lead to challenges, shops, and more. Completing missions in a set region also unlocks region rewards which often include more costume pieces for Link. These costumes usually compare to what’s found in Breath of the Wild but unlocking them is a fun process and there is a lot to find. Certain groups of missions can lead to a few additional, optional characters that I highly recommend pursuing. Trying to complete all of the tasks on the map may take more time than what some are willing to contribute to get those last characters but it is the type of game that is perfect to chip away at while watching a show or listening to a podcast. That said, Age of Calamity drained my Switch’s battery quickly —I have a launch console— so it hasn’t been the most portable of my games.

I was rather surprised by Age of Calamity. Just being in this iteration of Hyrule again is delightful; all of the little sound effects and designs bring me back to that magical adventure I took in 2017. Again, there isn’t nearly the emotional significance this time around but I found myself eager to see the new spins on familiar faces. There are gameplay moments in Age of Calamity that had me cackling with absolute glee at the sheer absurdity and fan-service. I was in amazed shock the first time I saw a giant laser blast from a Divine Beast and rip apart sections of mountains. Seeing a Lynel charge through a battlefield is still terrifying. For Zelda fans, Age of Calamity is just plain fun. 

Unfortunately, the game’s final moments are unexpected and this decision arguably makes the game less impactful overall. There was a real opportunity for this game to add to the story of Breath of the Wild but instead, we are left with a well-made hypothetical tale that could be made as part of the game’s official canon through alternate timelines. I was ready to cry but the game left me a little confused. That said, I did feel a warm smile on my face as the credits rolled and there is an additional, equally as touching ending to unlock. I love the dynamics of these characters and I understand not wanting to shatter that connection through a tragic end. 

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. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 8/10

SOUND - 8/10

CONTROLS - 8/10

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

OVERALL - 8/10

More information about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity can be found on the official website. A physical Switch copy was purchased by the reviewer. Screenshots were captured using native Switch features.

For more games from big franchises, read my thoughts on Resident Evil 2, a remake of an icon of the series. I also put considerable effort into penning my feelings about Final Fantasy VII Remake, a game that had me in tears. Lastly, another big release for me was Doom Eternal, an extremely fun first-person shooter that brings intense action.