Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Out Now
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is out now on Nintendo Switch 2, a canon prequel to Tears of the Kingdom.
- Features hack n slash Musou combat, two-player co-op, and heroes like Zelda, Rauru, Ardi, and Mineru.
- Zelda amiibo and previous game saves unlock bonuses and exclusive weapons after the Howling Tempests mission.
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Hack n Slash Action
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the third entry into the Hyrule Warriors series and it’s out now on Nintendo Switch 2. Set in the land of Hyrule and featuring characters from various The Legend of Zelda games, it’s a hack n slash action game rather than a typical RPG like most of the other Zelda-related titles.
Whereas previous Hyrule Warriors games reference characters and events from Zelda lore, they’re not canon to the overall franchise. Age of Imprisonment is canon, however, as it highlights Demon King Ganondorf’s invasion of Hyrule and builds on events previously mentioned, albeit briefly, in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
“Step on to the battlefield as Princess Zelda, King Rauru, and other legendary heroes as you fight to reclaim your homeland,” Nintendo said on the official game page. “Live the story of the Demon King Ganondorf’s invasion, and uncover ancient truths that were only glimpsed in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
Musou Battles
In Tears of the Kingdom, Princess Zelda finds herself separated from Link through time travel; he’s in the present and she’s stuck in the past, trying to help him defeat the evil Ganandorf in the future. Age of Imprisonment fills in the blanks of Zelda’s journey, as she teams up with a wide roster of playable characters to cut through swatches of enemies.
The Hyrule Warriors games are part of the hack n slash subgenre known as Musou, where players wade through literal armies of bad guys to complete straightforward objectives (think Dynasty Warriors). Age of Imprisonment was made by Koei Tecmo and AAA Games Studio, and builds on the fluid combat abilities of previous Hyrule Warriors entries but beefed up with inter-character synergies and devastating combos.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment characters include Ardi, a Gerudo sage, who uses a lightning sword, and Mineru, a Zonai expert who can command a mech construct. Players can also work together as the game supports two-player local co-op, via split-screen on a single console.
If playing together on separate consoles, only one player needs to have the game when connecting through GameShare; this effectively lets the second player stream a game from the person who owns it, either locally or remotely through GameChat. Only Switch 2 users can share a game but Switch 1 players can access the shared game.
Extra Perks
There are a million different video game collectibles these days, but a popular one with Nintendo Switch users is amiibo. These little figurines represent a bunch of Nintendo characters, and can be used with games to unlock extra content – from special power-ups to additional characters.
Gamers can scan in any figure from The Legend of Zelda series to get things like extra crafting materials and other bonuses. Players who have already played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity can also unlock in-game weapons: High Guard’s Sword or High Guard’s Claymore. They’ll be available after completing the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Howling Tempests mission.
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