Set before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sees players controlling various heroes in order to defeat Calamity Ganon and its forces. These include Link, Zelda, the Four Champions and many more as they battle hordes of foes in Musou-like combat across various stages. New areas, quests and characters were subsequently added in two paid expansions, namely Pulse of the Ancients and Guardian of Remembrance.

While support has seemingly wrapped for Age of Calamity, Nintendo is still very much invested in the Zelda franchise. It’s developing the eagerly anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild, which is slated to release this year for Nintendo Switch. Check out its last major trailer here.

『#ゼルダ無双 厄災の黙示録』の全世界累計出荷本数が400万本を突破しました。プレイしていただいた皆さま、誠にありがとうございます。

1月10日(月)までセールも開催中ですので、この機会にぜひお楽しみください。
■購入はこちらhttps://t.co/VV14JMDMeV#ゼルダの伝説 #Zelda

— 『ゼルダ無双 厄災の黙示録』公式アカウント (@zelda_musou) January 5, 2022

The duo utilize technology based on Ancient technology, which includes a barrier and aerial units to shock foes. Interestingly enough, there’s another playable character that fans can receive but their identity is unknown. The DLC also includes story content like the Battle for Kakariko Village, the Battle of Goponga Village, and more.

New stages like the Coliseum and Lanaryu Road have also been added, providing a peek at their appearances from a century past. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s Expansion Pass retails for $19.99 and also includes the previously released Pulse of the Ancients. For more details on the base game, check out our review here.

In terms of new weapons, Link can wield a flail which provides some decent range while Zelda gets the Master Cycle (which doesn’t feel like the most equal of trades). More challenging enemies have also been added to the mix like higher ranking Wizzrobes, a Giant Chuchu and more. You can also expect a new difficulty level called Apocalyptic to provide some new challenges.

The second wave of DLC, Guardian of Remembrance, is out in November 2021. Other Zelda announcements include The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD on July 16th and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releasing in 2022. Stay tuned for other announcements in the meantime.

Announced in February 2021, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s expansion pass has received some details. The expansions in question are Pulse of the Ancients and Guardian of Remembrance, which release in June 2021 and November 2021 respectively. Purchasing the expansion pass grants the Guardian Attire and Guardian Sword for free, which you can see in the tweet below.

Expansion 1: Pulse of the Ancients will include a new playable character, a new weapon stype and action style and new challenges in the Royal Ancient Lab. There will also be new tougher enemies added. The expansion should be out by June end. Expansion 2: Guardian of Remembrance will release by November end and includes a new story along with new stages.

An expanded roster and new character vignettes are being added along with new battle skills for all existing characters. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay of the expansions in the coming months. In the meantime, check out our review for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity here.

Prepare for the next battle with the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass DLC, as new characters, stages, and more await! https://t.co/f3HxluJ1kt pic.twitter.com/O9u9HhqJOx

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 21, 2021

Purchase the Expansion Pass to receive both waves of DLC as they are released. Additionally, receive the new Prototype Ancient Sword weapon and the Prototype Ancient equipment for Link to wear! pic.twitter.com/qwpVayOHW4

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 21, 2021

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity may not have been the Breath of the Wild prequel that it may have been advertised as, but that aside, it was a great musou action game in every sense of the word. Appropriately enough, the game has been enjoying sales that reflect that, and recently crossed another milestone, with Koei Tecmo confirming during their recent earnings call (via industry analyst Daniel Ahmad on Twitter) that the game has shipped a total of 3.7 million units worldwide as of March 31.

That means the game shipped roughly 200,000 units during the previous quarter, having shipped 3.5 million units as of the end of last year. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is also the best selling musou game Koei Tecmo have ever made. In fact, it earned that tag less than a week from its launch.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch. An expansions pass for the game has also been announced, with the first DLC for the title due out in June. Read more on that through here.

Koei Tecmo confirmed today that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has shipped 3.7 million units as of March 31, 2021.

This is up from 3.5m as of December 31, 2020. This is Koei Tecmo's best selling musou game of all time. pic.twitter.com/PPcZRlnICz

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 26, 2021

Nintendo didn’t have any news on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel at its recent Direct, though more details will be coming later this year. But it did announce The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for Switch along with an expansion pass for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Check out the announcement trailer for the pass below.

The expansion pass consists of two waves of DLC, the first coming in June and the second in November. These will offer new weapon types, an “expanded roster”, new challenging enemies, new Royal Ancient Lab challenges, character vignettes and even some new skills for existing characters. Pre-orders are currently live for the expansion pass which costs $19.99.

Those who purchase the pass, as opposed to individual DLC, will receive a new weapon and costume for Link which become available on May 28th. As for what the DLC waves will offer, we’ll need to wait for more details. In the meantime, check out our review for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity here.

Along with sales figures for the Switch, Nintendo also updated its list of top-selling titles. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons continue to reign supreme but several other titles have also achieved some significant milestones. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold 21.45 million while Pokemon Sword and Shield has sold 20.35 million.

Super Mario Odyssey is also part of the 20 million sales club with 20.23 million units sold while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sales are at 22.85 million units. Other noteworthy sales figures, as revealed in the company’s earnings release, are Luigi’s Mansion 3 at 9.13 million units sold and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics selling 2.62 million. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is also interesting because it sold 2.84 million units without accounting for sales in Japan.

Nintendo is responsible for selling the title outside of Japan so only the sell-through for North America and Europe are accounted for in its report. Koei Tecmo is responsible for sales in Japan and reported that shipments had passed 3.5 million in its last fiscal report. Stay tuned for more details and concrete sales figures in the coming days.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity saw The Legend of Zelda once again crossing over with Koei Tecmo’s musou Warriors games, this time against the backdrop of Breath of the Wild’s setting, and it proved to be the perfect storm. Within less than a week of its launch, it had already shipped over 3 million units worldwide, and though its sales have certainly slowed down since then, it has nonetheless continued to see strong numbers.

In their latest fiscal report, Koei Tecmo announced that the Omega Force-developed musou action title has shipped over 3.5 million units worldwide as of the end of December, adding another 500,000 units to its global shipment figures. The slowing down of sales since launch is to be expect, of course, and 3.5 million is an impressive number either way. Koei Tecmo also reiterates that Age of Calamity is the highest selling musou game of all time.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can read our review of the game through here.

2020 is done and over. It was a year almost assuredly many won’t forget, even if they desperately want to. The final month of the year tends to be something of a snapshot of the entire year, and December 2020 wasn’t much different. In the US, the charts had a lot of the usual suspects, with one franchise on top as you’d expect it to be, and Nintendo in the strongest position they’ve been in in decades.

As per data provided by the NPD Group (via VentureBeat), December’s top 20 saw Black Ops Cold War at #1, which is no surprise since it was also the best selling game of the year in the region. Right below it was Cyberpunk 2077, which we know sold at least 13 million copies last month in total across all regions. Keep in mind, 2077 hits this list without digital sales, apparently. Whether that would have helped it topple Cold War is somewhat iffy, but even so, number 2 is impressive.

While the rest of the list is populated by a lot of games you’d expect such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Miles Morales, and the various sports entries, what is maybe the most noteworthy is how much Nintendo dominated this list. Their first party titles are seeing strong sales all throughout, even early releases such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and many of the sports titles are on the Switch and being factored in such as NBA 2K21 and FIFA 21. All Nintendo first party titles are also in here without digital numbers being provided, just to add to how incredible a feat it is.

1.  Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
2. Cyberpunk 2077*
3. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
5. Madden NFL 21
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
8. NBA 2K21*
9. Immortals Fenyx Rising
10. Super Mario 3D All-Stars*
11. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
12. Just Dance 2021
13. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity*
14. FIFA 21
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
16. Super Mario Odyssey*
17. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
18. Super Mario Party*
19. Ring Fit Adventure
20. Mortal Kombat 11

* Indicates that digital sales are not included.

NOTE: The nominees and winner were decided by an internal vote held among the entire GamingBolt staff.

THE NOMINEES

The Last of Us Part 2

We always knew it wouldn’t be for the faint of heart but Naught Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 hit us in many ways. Ellie’s story of revenge and Abbey seeking some kind of redemption complemented and conflicted well with each other against the backdrop of an unforgiving world. With strong improvements to the gameplay, incredible visuals and unrelenting brutality, The Last of Us Part 2 will leave you reeling.

Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch’s samurai epic could have become yet another revenge story on the PS4. Instead, it explores the conflict of Jin Sakai, a warrior at odds with his ideals. The production values are incredible all around, whether it’s the sweeping plains of Tsushima or its perilous peaks, and the precise combat made every encounter a joy. Add in some engaging side content via Tales and you have an action adventure game that delivered on its massive hype.

Paper Mario: The Origami King

The puzzle-based battle mechanics may not have been for everyone in Paper Mario: The Origami King. However, the charm and aesthetic, accentuated by the title’s excellent humor, is still great. Between adventuring, puzzle solving and platforming, players will visit cafes, fill in the world with confetti, drive shoes and battle stationary. It’s a quirky and ultimately fun time for any Mario fan.

Hades

Hades catches your attention with its eye-popping aesthetic, whether it’s the environments or character designs. But over time, we’re once again exposed to the studio’s brilliant story-telling as the tale of Zagreus, his family and the Greek Pantheon unfolds over numerous runs. Combat is also a joy, feeling impressively responsive and offering numerous ways to play while the rogue-lite elements fuel run after run.

Cyberpunk 2077 (PC)

Even if the role-playing elements didn’t satisfy you and the bugs need to be ironed out, Cyberpunk 2077 on PC still presents a strong story with great voice-acting and pacing. Gunplay is fairly meaty; Cyberware offers all kinds of technical and destructive possibilities; and the overall visuals are sharp, presenting Night City as the gorgeous dystopia of tomorrow. Again, improvements need to be made but as an action adventure experience, Cyberpunk 2077 stood out this year.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Five years after the launch of Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios returned with Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Since its reveal, its gorgeous visuals have been the highlight but the gameplay also offered several improvements in terms of feel and progression. Whether you’re taking in the sights, battling any number of awesome bosses or becoming attached to the lovable cast, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a stellar Metroidvania experience.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

While not a full-fledged sequel in its own right, it was still great to return to Insomniac’s Spider-verse and take on the role of Miles Morales. As the new Spider-Man, Miles’ inner conflict made for a brief but memorable journey with excellent characters, stunning production values and fun combat mechanics on top of the already great web-slinging. What comes next is anyone’s guess but Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is yet another excellent open world action adventure in Insomniac’s catalog.

Ghostrunner

Do you want a more fast-paced, challenging cyberpunk experience? One that features split-second combat, grappling, dashing, wall-running and bullet time? Ghostrunner from One More Level and Slipgate Ironworks is the ticket. As Jack, a ghostrunner, you navigate complex levels and survive against one-shot kills. With incredibly responsive controls and well designed obstacles that flow together seamlessly, Ghostrunner embraced both the action adventure enthusiast and speed runner in all of us.

The Pathless

Giant Squid’s open world foray didn’t one-up Breath of the Wild’s design but The Pathless still delivered stunning aesthetics and mesmerizing environments. As a hunter venturing to a cursed island, players would battle bosses and solve puzzles, with movement tied rhythmically shooting crystals for speed boosts. Despite its short run-time, The Pathless offered a fast-paced and emotional adventure.

Watch Dogs: Legion

Story-telling has been hit-or-miss in previous Watch Dogs titles so Watch Dogs: Legion upends that by challenging you to create your own memorable tales. Recruit anyone to join DedSec, infiltrating Albion and Clan Kelley strongholds to liberate London. Or go on a joy-ride in the marvelous, near-future city, discovering illegal fighting rings and shopping for wacky clothes while building a ragtag group of rebels. The choice is ultimately yours and it worked pretty well.

Immortals Fenyx Rising

Ubisoft’s latest open world title leans into the Greek mythology of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey while “borrowing” the stamina, climbing and exploration of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The comedy may be hit or miss for some but there’s no denying the strong combat or the well-designed puzzles and challenges. It won’t win points for originality but Immortals Fenyx Rising is still enjoyable.

Destroy All Humans Remake

In a year of good remakes and bad, Destroy All Humans’ remake ultimately stuck to what made the original work. Its B-grade humor and premise are largely intact, and the sheer joy of obliterating humans with alien weaponry remains appealing. Yes, it’s technically limited and also kind of repetitive but in living up to its core premise, Destroy All Humans shone once more.

Mafia Definitive Edition

After the disappointments that were Mafia 2 and 3 Definitive Edition, concerns grew over Mafia Definitive Edition. Thankfully, as a full-fledged remake, it offers greatly improved visuals, providing more dramatic weight to the original story’s events. With additional sequences, revamped cutscenes and changes to the overall open world flow, Mafia Definitive Edition actually makes it worth revisiting the 1930s.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Time travel? Time travel. But in the case of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as players experience events from before the Great Calamity. As a Musou title, combat is more intricate with various playable characters – including Zelda – having different combos, special attacks and runes to obliterate foes with. Breath of the Wild 2 may be a ways off but Age of Calamity is still a great holdover till its release.

Winner:

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios’ latest isn’t just a sequel – it’s a labor of love, one borne from thousands of iterations and years of obsessive polish, which can be seen in the backgrounds and integration of 3D characters. The series’ theme of love and loss is still effective while the platforming and combat remain as responsive and rewarding as ever. The world design, boss fights, soundtrack and story-telling all combine seamlessly into a masterful experience. To that end, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is our pick for the Best Action-Adventure Game of 2020.