The last main installment in the Legend of Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, left the eponymous princess in the distant past after she was sent back in time.
As a “canonical companion story” then, fans might well expect that Nintendo’s new Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will dig deeper into her mysterious tale. But frankly, they might not want to get their hopes up.
In other words, don’t come expecting an expansive Zelda story. (After all, she’s not even in the game’s title. Age of Imprisonment is actually more of small slice of lore mixed in with an over-the-top battling game. Those battles are set in the Hyrule kingdom’s distant past, and they kinda-sorta feature the elfish princess in all her light-sword-swinging glory.
The game begins right after Zelda and Link encountered the Demon King Ganondorf and Zelda accidentally got sent back in time to when Hyrule was founded. In this age, Zelda is discovered by founding royalty King Rauru and Queen Sonia. They listen to Zelda’s astonishing time-traveling story and decide to help her find, if possible, a way back to her own era.
In the meantime, Zelda begins aiding the king in his royal duties. She works on training up her light and time powers with Queen Sonia. And she explores Hyrule’s depths with Rauru’s sister, Mineru. But that’s all cut short as the ancient version of Ganondorf attacks the kingdom with his powerful, malevolent forces.
Let the battles begin.
As already mentioned, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is focused on hack-and-slash battles more than the traditional puzzle solving and dungeon crawling you might find in a typical Zelda game. The central gameplay focus is a one-versus-many combat system (similar to that used in the Dynasty Warriors series). Players control a single character, mowing down hordes of enemies gathered on large-scale maps of Hyrule, thereby capturing bases and completing mission objectives.
Gamers can scythe their way through enemy grunts and bosses in the shoes of various heroes, including Princess Zelda, King Rauru and Mineru. Combat emphasizes use of character-specific abilities and dodge-and-attack move sets.
For instance, Mineru has extensive knowledge of an ancient mechanical “Zonai” technology that can create spiky vehicles and summon catapults that knock airborne enemies out of the sky. And Zelda masters special moves, such as the time-rewinding “Recall” ability that boomerangs her launched light projectiles back for a second round of damage on enemy throngs.
Gamers can play the main story in single-player mode without an internet connection. And the game can be played offline in two-player co-op mode. However, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment requires an internet connection for Nintendo’s GameShare—multiplayer gaming with separate Switch 2 consoles.
Gamers play as Princess Zelda and other heroes who fight to save the Hyrule kingdom from foul attackers.
The battle controls are relatively easy to pick up. At the same time, this title offers deep combat choices, lots of character move-set upgrades and flamboyant battlefield visuals.
It should be repeated, however, that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a game focused on bombastic battle. (Gamers looking for exploration, puzzle solving and intricate Legend of Zelda story reveals will likely be disappointed.)
Those battles involve hordes of charging and screaming enemies (skeletons, goblins and robotic constructs) and some large and difficult-to-defeat bosses. Enemies use swords, bows and magic attacks. And the sweeping skirmishes can be frenetic and underscored by cries of pain. The game is rated T for its fantasy violence.
Fans longing for another venture into the kingdom of Hyrule have a new chance to grab their sword for battle. But you’d better be a fan of strategically fighting large, screaming crowds—for that’s about all you get.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
