Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity REVIEW - 5 Ups & 3 Downs
1. UP - It Doesn't Feel Like An Unnecessary Spin-Off
It would be easy for Age of Calamity to be perceived as pure fan-service. Thankfully, that is not the case. The Breath of the Wild prequel successfully builds on the story, the characters, and the Legend of Zelda mythos.
It also delivers on what we were told about The Great Calamity. Through flashbacks in BOTW, we saw The Great Champions going up against hundreds of Guardians and thousands of monsters. If you were disappointed BOTW didn't have these sort of battles, they are prevalent in Age of Calamity.
The game is also filled to the brim with references of its predecessor like the hidden Koroks, the cooking mechanic, and the Dye Shop. Because its set in the same version of Hyrule, many battles take place in locations lifted directly from BOTW.
Because AoC boasts dozens of cutscenes, we get to learn a lot about the characters and their relationships. Since characters like Revali and Urbosa never interacted with Link in the previous game save for flashbacks, it's nice to see how their relationships formed and built.
AoC may not be perfect but it serves as a beautiful love letter to one of the most celebrated Legend of Zelda games of all time.