Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment | REVIEW | Nintendo Switch 2

''FUTURE IS THE PAST''

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Developed: Koei Tecmo

Published: Nintendo

Genre: Musou

Release Date: November 6th, 2025

Platforms: NSW 2

*Review copy provided to me by Nintendo

Hyrule Warriors Age Of Imprisonment is the latest chaotic hash and slash musou game to hit the market and it is developed by Koei Tecmo and published by Nintendo. With multiple entries of Hyrule Warriors out on the market, with each new game improving on the mechanics and formula, Koei Tecmo decided they want to attempt to make Age Of Imprisonment the best and most epic one of all. But did all go according to plan? or was this a mishap that was unfortunately due?. Only one way to find out, so lets go!

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''A GOAT, A QUEEN AND PRINCESS WALK INTO A BAR AND..''

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GAMEPLAY:

Its hard to believe the Hyrule Warriors spin off series has been going since 2014 with its very first entry being on the ill fated Wii U. Back then as we were all starving for the next BIG Zelda entry, we instead got a very bizarre take on The Legend Of Zelda, but this time in the form of Koei Tecmo's patented style of Musou, as seen in the action oriented titles Dynasty Warriors. In case you're not familiar with what that is, well in a nutshell its.... wait, you guys hear that? I could've sworn I heard.... nah never mind, it couldn't be..... so....where was I?. In Musou games, you're tasked with taking down hordes of enemies, sometimes ranging in the hundreds and even getting up to a thousand enemies at a time you have to slice through, only with Hyrule Warriors case, you now play as various characters from The Legend Of Zelda games as you mow down the competition and slice everyone up using unique power up's for each playable character that is at your disposal to be used. Sure a Musou game was a very weird choice to pick for a Zelda spin off, but surprisingly, it worked rather well, especially with how good it felt to slay and beat up hordes of Moblin. While people like myself enjoyed the game thoroughly, even going on Mii Verse to write about it constantly, I and many others felt it was one of those one off type of experimental titles that would never see the light of day again, similar to games like Pokken Tournament. But if there's one thing about Nintendo that remains consistent throughout their entire company history, its their unpredictability and absurd randomness at times that keep you guessing. For example, lets take in recent things like re-releasing a Virtual Boy, a product that was widely panned by gamers and media alike at the time of its release, but now it will be making its big comeback, much to every ones confusion. However, I know dang well I'm buying that thing, I'm sorry, I know I'm the problem, but who cares, I'm buying what I like and that includes the annoying talking flower from Super Mario Wonder that's releasing next year, so deal with it.. cause come on, what are you going to do? throw me in jail? ha ha ha please. Uh oh. Uhh... hey Mario, what are you in here for?. Flash forward to 2020 and we then were introduced to the newest entry into the series with Age Of Calamity, but this time taking place within the world of Breath Of The Wild. I reviewed it 5 years ago and was pleasantly surprised and shocked at how much better the combat felt, refined dynamics and how well the story flowed, even if at some points the story I felt jumped the shark a little TOO much, but, at least it wasn't as much as Shark Attack 3 did. Ok guys, I swear I'm not hearing stuff, you guys heard it too right? I keep hearing it outside my kitchen window. I'm not going crazy, I swear.

With Age Of Calamity offering even more abilities, more playable characters and more destruction than ever before, it set a high bar to try to reach in regards to Musou games connected to the Zelda universe, especially as one as industry changing as Breath Of The Wild was. But now here in 2025, Age Of Imprisonment roars onto the scene with its sights set on tackling canon themed material that feels even more balanced and action oriented than either of the last two entries did, indicating that the devs at Koei Tecmo have finally found their footing and the exact sweet spot to what makes this format click. Of course it doesn't help that this game is on the Nintendo Switch 2 as well, which allows it to stand side by side next to other Switch 2 titles like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza as some of the most optimized games on the console with performance that removes any choppy frames or bland visuals, with the framerate hitting refined and steady 60 fps, with no dips whatsoever that I noticed during my time with the game and its solo campaign. Age Of Imprisonment, story wise, takes you back to the Imprisonment Wars, a war that is a staple to the Zelda timeline, especially the one created in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, and yes that includes goat man and his wife... which still remains very weird for me.. because that means that Zelda is technically part goat and now makes even more sense why she kept eating my grass near my house in Tears Of The Kingdom. Oh well, at least I didn't need to call Beedle again to cut my lawn, so I guess that's a plus. ZELDA, IS THAT YOU!?. With the mechanics now perfected to the point where everything runs as smooth as butter, Age Of Imprisonment masterfully weaves between action oriented gameplay thats faster, more diverse, more selective, more inviting and now mixes it in with the lore of the Zelda series even further as you visit familiar places around the kingdom of Hyrule while taking down the legions of Ganondorf's forces. The immersion also includes upgrades to the games menu's and UI, which now mirror the same screens that you have come to expect from Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, which, on paper, might seem like a small detail overall, but once you are in the game, fighting your butt off and navigating your screens, you feel right at home as everything feels more familiar and makes your in game adventure's travels through regions you must reclaim, an even more fun and engaging experience, especially when taking on a plethora of quests, side missions and even challenges available to you, which further expands the replayability to a higher degree than any of the Hyrule Warriors titles have in the past. Ok, if that is Zelda outside my window, then she's being REALLY FREAKING ANNOYING RIGHT NOW.

Horde battling for fast clear time, clearing a territory to reclaim it, getting a flawless run under your belt, etc, has never felt better, whether its during the main campaign mode itself or even if you're just cruising through the side content the game has to offer you, there's always something to do with very little downtime in between, including being able to cook for your camp based teams should you choose to do so. Looks like everyone gets meat and soup, but Zelda? I'm just gonna throw a barrel of hay at her and call it day. However, I think my favorite thing in this title, I mean besides the extensive hero roster that is playable, coming up with tactics to take down bosses and enemies with shields, sync strikes that allow you to team up with an ally to pull off cinematic and super powerful duo finishers, which differ based off who you use it with, that can clear out thousands of enemies at a time, should you get a in a troubling situation - besides all that, which are great, I'd have to say the implementation of Zonai tech is what really sends it home for me personally. With Zonai tech, you'll find that they allow you to acquire fused parts for all characters in game which allow upgrades to their already diverse arsenal to make them even more of a menace to deal with by slowing enemies down, burning them to a crisp or just say screw it and blow everyone into smithereens in one gigantic blast, sending them flying off like they're Team Rocket. But again, all that sounds fun and amazing, which it is, but even with all the good, there are however some downsides as well, as all games have. As it happens in most Musou games, the map of each area can be the main focus of a players headache due to you clearing out an area and then having to run all the way to try to find someone else to attack to keep a streak going for damage or just to clear the area itself, this sometimes can make you run for 15-20 seconds per area clear just to find more enemies to take down, and while that doesnt seem like a ton, doing it multiple times per skirmish might turn players off a bit and make some players feel like its being repetitive, even if the gameplay does stay fast and fluid. ZELDA! I CAN CLEARLY SEE YOU AT THE WINDOW. GO AWAY.

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''WHEN A NEW BEEDLE PUSH IS RELEASED''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, Hyrule Warriors Age Of Imprisonment ends up being the best of this spin off series with nearly every fault of the previous games being fixed and rectified here. Sure It can get repetitive at times, but that's just the nature of Musou games from time to time, whether its Hyrule Warriors or Dynasty Warriors, its going to happen. But with fast and intense combat, large hero roster letting you play as important characters from the franchise, lore building for the campaign story that further dwells into the Imprisonment War history, Zonai tech adding a new strategic advantage, smooth as silk performance on Switch 2, etc, just makes this title a must play if you're a fan of the Hyrule Warriors Series. It honestly feels like a good wrap up to the current Hyrule story that includes Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom timelines, and while I loved both those games, I hope Age Of Imprisonment is the last time we step foot into this version of the world because this marks the 4th game within it, and again, while I love it, its definitely time for something new to grab our attention and let this version of Hyrule finally get its well deserved rest its earned. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear. GameNChick says BUY NOW

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