Hyrule Warriors: Zeit der Verheerung (Switch)

Hyrule Warriors: Zeit der Verheerung macht viele Fehler seines Vorgängers wieder gut und liefert eine unglaublich gelungene Geschichte und Welt für Fans von The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild und alle, die es noch werden wollen. Musou-Fans wird es etwas an Taktik fehlen, aber falls man mit kleineren Gameplay-Unstimmigkeiten leben kann, bekommt man hier das beste Hyrule Warriors bisher.

Age of Calamity boasts compelling combat, a stack of content and a clever remix of Breath of the Wild's Hyrule.

So for a game to retread them and proclaim to have something new to say when its inspiration's most striking moments come from what it leaves unsaid is a big ask. But my problem with Age of Calamity isn't that it fails to live up to that responsibility. It's that it doesn't even try. It doesn't have the courage to see things through.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is far from a revelation, but it is an adequate diversion.

It might be a spin-off in a separate genre, but it’s clearly a labour of love, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through one of the most interesting periods of Hyrule. If the first game was a love letter to the Zelda series, this not only improves on this concept in every way, but stands as one of the best Zelda games, period.

The story was genuinely enthralling throughout and it serves as a great companion piece for Breath of the Wild, while forging its own identity in many respects. I suspect a lot of the alterations are going to be controversial, but I like that they took some big swings and really went with it.

There are so many systems in play here, but somehow they all come together to form a solid, cohesive experience that makes this game so damn hard to put down. Throw in a cast of extremely likeable characters, and set it in the rich world of Breath of the Wild, and you get one of the best musou-style games that Koei Tecmo and Omega Force have ever put out.