Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Review

The Nintendo Wii U is one of Nintendo’s most successful consoles to date, selling over 100 million units worldwide. The Wii U, however, has suffered from a lack of quality games in a time where new platforms are increasingly attracting developers. However, that all may change with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a Wii U launch title that will allow players to take control of characters from the Legend of Zelda series in a hack-and-slasher style action game.

After a long wait and lots of gameplay, The Legend of Zelda’s latest sequel has finally arrived. It can technically be considered an HD remake of the original, since it’s all new content, but it’s extremely far from an HD remaster. Instead, it’s a full-fledged sequel that gets rid of all the “HD” aspects of the original game in favor of a new age of HD visuals.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a prequel to the famous game Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which explores the events that plagued Hyrule 100 years before Breath of the Wild.

 

Hyrule Warriors : Age of Calamity Gameplay

When you think of a Zelda game, you picture large open-world maps with lush green fields, monsters and fairies, and dungeons full of puzzles. Hyrule Warriors changes that format a bit in favor of a fast-paced, action-packed hack-and-slash adventure.

Hyrule Warriors, a unit that fights hundreds of monsters

If you’ve played Dynasty Warriors before, you’ll recognize the game’s setup: multiple heroes against hordes of enemies. While the game doesn’t last as long as the main Zelda games, Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity is a standalone game.

Many of the weapons and armor from Breath of the wild are used in Hyrule Warriors, but thankfully they aren’t broken in Hyrule Warriors, they can also be upgraded by consuming other weapons, raising their level and making them stronger.

Hestu is one of the many playable characters in Hyrule Warriors.

As you progress through the game, you quickly raise the ranks of your heroes, each with their own unique set of weapons and fighting styles. Some are more unique than others, like Hestu, pictured above, who struggles with maracas and questionable dance moves, just like me at the disco.

In addition to the thousands of forgettable monsters, there are also massive boss fights that provide the occasional variety and challenge to a game that often feels too easy.

After completing the first two chapters, the game becomes increasingly difficult, but this can be overcome by visiting the barracks and paying to upgrade characters, as well as forging more powerful weapons in the forge.

The final boss of Hyrule Warriors.

How long does it take to beat Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity?

I was initially hesitant about this game because it is different from the usual Zelda games. I expected a much shorter play time, and while it is shorter than other Zelda games, Hyrule Warriors is by no means a short game.

Hyrule Warriors consists of 7 chapters in total, taking between20 and 22 hours depending on how fast you rush through the game and whether or not you take on a lot of side missions and training.

Despite the fact that the basic format of the game remains the same throughout, I wasn’t bored once. Hyrule Warriors has a good balance between fighting, training and battling divine monsters, making it an interesting game.

Take control of the divine beasts Hyrule Warriors

By the end of the game it’s common to take thousands of hits, but with the divine beasts you can take out hundreds at once with their devastating selection of weapons and attacks.

If you’ve played Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you’re probably already familiar with the four divine beasts and the animals they’re based on.

  • Wah Ruta (Elephant)
  • Wah Rudania (Salamander)
  • Wah Medoh. (Eagle)
  • Wah Naboris (camel)

My favorite of the divine beasts is Wah Medoh. Flying Divine Beast adds aerial combat to the game.

The fight with Wah Medoh from Hyrule Warriors: The age of catastrophe

Just like in normal battles, the divine beasts have special attacks that can even destroy bosses.

To use the special attacks, players must first collect the bar in the top left corner of the screen. When the special attack is used, it releases a huge beam that destroys everything in its path.

Hyrule Warriors : Clamity Story

The story revolves around the origins of Ganon’s victory over the divine monsters and focuses on the preparations of Zelda, Link and the champions defending Hyrule.

In my experience, most hack-and-slash games have a very weak story, but as a Zelda game, Hyrule Warriors stands out for having a great story that gives the player insight into how the kingdom was thrown into chaos.

 

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Each character has their own issues, and it’s much more interesting to see their development over the course of the game than I initially expected.

Without going into detail, we can say that some characters have a much harder time finding their purpose than others. Zelda in particular struggles not only to meet the expectations of her father, the king, but also to find her inner strength and protect all of Hyrule.

– Hyrule Warriors : Age of Clamaity for two players ?

Yes, from the beginning of the game there is an option to switch to co-op mode, allowing a second player to join the fight and control one of the heroes.

This allows for local split-screen play with two controllers on the same computer. Players looking for online co-op will be disappointed to learn that Hyrule Warriors currently only offers local co-op and does not yet have online multiplayer.

I say not yet, because you never know what the future holds. Personally, I don’t see why they wouldn’t add online multiplayer, but I’m also not aware of any plans to do so.

Should I play Breath of the Wild?

No, the story takes place 100 years before Breath of the Wild, making it a prequel. The information you learn in Hyrule Warriors, you learn in the first few minutes of Breath of the Wild, so if you play Hyrule Warriors first, it doesn’t ruin the game.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter which side you play the two games from, they are both incredibly entertaining, and neither ruins the plot of the other.

Summary

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is an incredibly detailed game that offers hours of fun and many individual challenges.

Each weapon you wield changes your champion’s fighting style, and you’ll face a different group of enemies in each battle, making the game fresh and unique every time.

As in any good game, the bosses get harder and harder as you progress through the game. It may seem too easy at first, but make sure you go through the tutorial missions and develop your characters, then it gets even harder.

Honestly, whether you’re a die-hard Zelda fan or new to the series, Hyrule Warriors will be a lot of fun either way.

Hyrule Warriors: The Age of Disaster review

Buy now

Game name: Hyrule Warriors: The age of catastrophe

Game description: Action prequel to the game Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes us back 100 years to the events of Breath of the Wild, where Zelda, Link and the best warriors of Hyrule prepare to confront Calamity Gannon.

Reviews of Unboxed

  • Graphics

8.8

 

  • Audio

9.5

 

  • Gameplay

9.8

 

  • Lifetime

10

 

Good
  • Great history
  • Stories of champions
  • Each weapon changes the style of battle
  • Ideal for two players
  • One of the best games of this year
Bad (and ugly)
  • This can be tricky.

9.5 4.7625
5

Review of Unboxed Reviews{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Is Hyrule Warriors age of calamity worth it?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:” The game is worth it if you are a fan of the Zelda series.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Which is better Hyrule Warriors or age of calamity?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:” Hyrule Warriors”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Does age of calamity have a good story?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:” Yes, it does.”}}]}

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hyrule Warriors age of calamity worth it?

The game is worth it if you are a fan of the Zelda series.

Which is better Hyrule Warriors or age of calamity?

Hyrule Warriors

Does age of calamity have a good story?

Yes, it does.

Greg Baskerville
Greg Baskerville
Gaming Blogger & Musician. Playing games since the Amiga days in the 1980's, and a handy guitarist.

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