Welcome to our preview of the newest Hyrule Warriors game, a Musou game like never before! Welcome to the Age of calamity!
See Hyrule 100 years before the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game and experience the events of the Great Calamity!
Join the struggle that brought Hyrule to its knees. Learn more about Zelda, the four Champions, the King of Hyrule and more through dramatic cutscenes as they try to save the kingdom from Calamity. The Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity game is the only way to see firsthand what happened 100 years ago.
From barbaric Bokoblins to towering Lynels, menacing monsters have emerged in droves. In addition to Link and Zelda, take control of characters like the four Champions and a young Impa must use their distinct abilities to carve through hundreds of enemies to save Hyrule from the impending Calamity.
As a gamer I deeply respect the Zelda franchise, games that have often set the bar for their generational competition and deservedly being called one of the best game series ever made. Breath of the Wild, this generation’s first Zelda game is a well-deserved Game of the Year. But what happens when you make prequel in a completely different genre?
Age of Calamity is a true hack and slash game of the Musou genre. Being an avid lover of this genre, it must come to no surprise that I not only pre-ordered the game but that I also finished the demo mere hours after release. I truly love this genre and for me they are so much more than button mashing games, they are masterpieces in their own right when done correctly.
In this new Zelda game , you start the game in Hyrule by defending it against the first few hordes of enemies , allowing you to get used to the game mechanics and its combination system. It is clear from the start that a very excessive set of attack options are being introduced, even in the demo. Yes, the demo is the start of the actual game and for those curious, progress does move over to the purchased game.
The demo itself is great, it instantly teaches you how rhythmic and violent this genre can be. You are introduced to many enemies straight from the start and you can get some new abilities from the Wizards on the battlefield. All in true Zelda canon and lore. Yes, this game is canon! However, it has never been my habit to spoil storylines so I will keep myself to the content available in the demo, for the sake of this preview.
As you fight your way through the hordes of enemy combatants , whether they be Bokoblins or towering Lynels, the first thing I noticed personally is that Age of Calamity sets itself apart by giving us very specific missions in the middle of the battles. Like using the remote bomb to take out 50 Bokoblins or taking out older enemies in an encampment. And in true Musou style, the big enemy that awaits at the end of the battlefield.
The first level ends after you take out a Guardian. Yes, those strangely powerful enemies from Breath of the Wild are very well present in this game as well. Once you get past the Guardian , the demo ends for its storyline, but still has some spots in the map that you can attends to. Cooking, vendors of merchandise, weapon Smits,… They are all still present but more on how they work will be in my full review.
As I am a big fan of this genre , it must come to no surprise that I really enjoyed my time so far with the game. We uploaded a gameplay clip to our YouTube channel where you can see me fighting off enemies in chapter 2, which is not present in the demo. You will see many familiar faces as well as how easy it is to switch from one character to the next, how fluent the game is and so much more.
Now please excuse me, while I finish up this preview article and take up my sword again so I can protect Hyrule from Ganon and hopefully prevent the Age of Calamity from happening!
