Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment combines familiar hack-and-slash gameplay with a storyline that ties into The Legend of Zelda series, particularly filling in gaps from the events of Tears of the Kingdom. While the game doesn’t radically change its predecessors’ formula, it offers improvements that make it stand out.
The narrative is an extension of the rich lore of Hyrule, detailing the rise of Ganondorf as the Demon King and the conflicts that led to the Imprisonment War. Players can revisit key moments from Tears of the Kingdom, although it largely retreads known territory, focusing on character development around figures like King Rauru and Mineru, rather than introducing entirely new storylines. The final battle against Ganondorf is exhilarating but might feel less impactful due to its familiarity.
The gameplay emphasizes the chaos of battle, staying true to the musou genre where players take on overwhelming numbers of enemies. Each character, including Zelda and Mineru, has unique abilities that enhance combat diversity. Zelda transitions from using the Sheikah Slate to wielding a Zonaite sword, allowing her to deliver powerful melee and magical attacks. Mineru’s gameplay is characterized by creative Zonai contraptions, adding layers to combat through strategic device usage.
However, a significant drawback is the repetitiveness of missions, which tend to follow similar objectives, making the gameplay feel monotonous over time. The introduction of "Flight Mode" missions provides a change in pace, yet they are too sparse to mitigate the overall mission variety issues.
Performance-wise, Age of Imprisonment marks an improvement over its predecessor. The enhanced hardware of the Switch 2 leads to smoother gameplay and better handling of on-screen enemies, maintaining a steady frame rate during intense moments.
While the combat and character dynamics are enjoyable, the story fails to feel indispensable for fans invested in the wider Zelda narrative. Ultimately, though Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment brings solid gameplay experiences and character uniqueness, it does not significantly enrich the established lore enough to feel essential, making it more of a fun distraction than a must-play for Zelda enthusiasts.
