After last year’s well-received The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Princess Zelda takes the leading role once more in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. It’s out now for Nintendo Switch 2, but unlike the Grezzo-developed Switch 1 title, this story inextricably ties into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Mild spoilers for those who haven’t played the latter, but it saw Zelda transported back to Hyrule’s past. King Rauru and Queen Sonia ruled the kingdom, but a war against the Demon King Ganondorf is imminent. Teaming with the Sages, an enthusiastic Korok, and a Zonai-like being that’s a dead ringer for Link, Zelda pushes back against the demonic forces to help protect Hyrule.
While offering new playable characters and several fresh mechanics like Sync Strikes and Unique Skills to counter enemies, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment’s critical response is similar to its predecessors. On Metacritic, it has a 79 Metascore based on 59 reviews.
Compare that to Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and Age of Calamity, which both have 78 Metascores. Many of the same criticisms apply, such as dull mission design. You have to wonder if Nintendo will switch things up in the future, but given the success of other Switch 2 exclusives, that remains to be seen.
