I typically don't play The Legend of Zelda games for the story, but that's what drew me into Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. This Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive serves as a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, explaining what happened after Zelda was sent back in time to the foundation of Hyrule at the start of that game.

Ultimately, this spin-off delivers the best story in a The Legend of Zelda game since The Wind Waker. On top of that, it leans into the flashy nature of the Dynasty Warriors games. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is one of the more creatively rich Musou games in recent memory as a result, and also makes for a great showpiece of the Switch 2's power.

If you own a Switch 2 and have been looking for a game to push the system to its limits, check Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment out. If you've been waiting for a Zelda game to put is narrative front and center and take it very seriously, you'll want to check this game out too. It continues Nintendo's streak of great launch-year exclusives for its latest console.

Price and availability

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, and is unlikely to come to any other platforms. There is only one $70 Standard Edition of the game available digitally or physically at this time.

Age of Imprisonment made me care about this era of The Legend of Zelda

I want to go back and replay Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

As I previously mentioned, the story never really gripped me in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. While I didn't hate the writing or narrative of those games, I was less concerned with seeing their stories through and more focused on enjoying the journey and the sandbox gameplay they offered. Narrative is an important part of what Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is offering, though.

I probably wouldn't have liked the game if I did not enjoy the story it was telling. Thankfully, I found it quite engaging as a tale of uniting and working together in the face of tyranny. Ganandorf is a truly intimidating character in this game, and there are real stakes for characters to die. Only Zelda feels safe, if you know what happens to her in Tears of the Kingdom.

If you're unfamiliar, here's the rundown: at the start of Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda is sent back in time to the earliest days of Hyrule. She meets the first king and queen of Hyrule, but shortly thereafter, Ganondorf is able to forcibly take over Hyrule and kick off a conflict called The Imprisoning War. Now on the run, the majority of the game follows Zelda and Rauru, Hyrule's kings, as they gather forces to take back Hyrule.

Concurrently to this, a spunky Korok named Calamo stumbles upon a construct made of a piece of the Master Sword sent back in time with Zelda. This duo ends up becoming the real emotional core of the game, as you see Calamo go from a nervous opportunist to a true hero willing to put his roots down and fight for what he believes in. While I rarely care for anyone other than Zelda or Link in these games, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment gave me a large cast to care about.

I now feel more deeply invested in the era these The Legend of Zelda games are set in. I see myself revisiting Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and even Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in the near future because of this game. I'll be able to fully appreciate the richness of the story Nintendo has told through its Zelda games over the past decade. From a narrative standpoint, that means Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment accomplished what it set out to do.

Age of Imprisonment is the most unique Musou game yet

It isn't the best one released this year, though

While Hyrule Warriors is a The Legend of Zelda spin-off series, it's also connected to the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Those titles are known for their large-scale battles, powerful playable characters, and war-game-like navigation through battles. They are colloquially known as "Musou" games, and Age of Imprisonment definitely is one like the previous Hyrule Warriors titles.

While many Musou games have historically felt like reskins of each other, that has not been the case with recent titles. January's Dynasty Warriors: Origins was amazing, and now Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is also trying to push the genre forward. It's by far one of the most approachable Musou games, with easy-to-learn combos and simplified objectives.

While games like Dynasty Warriors are often concerned with how effectively players can overtake enemy outposts, Age of Imprisonment's objectives often just require players to move through the level and fight particular enemies. Its flashy combat animations for each character make that fun, but because the movesets of the bosses you face in each level aren't that interesting or diverse, it quickly gets repetitive.

Dynasty Warriors Origins featured the best boss fights in the series, so the fact that Age of Imprisonment didn't meet that bar is disappointing. I also never really felt the need to engage with any of its side missions to progress on the normal difficulty, as its missions are easily beatable, even if you're underleveled.

I do want to shout out the few levels of the game that play like Star Fox, as you pilot the Master Sword construct and shoot enemies out of the air. That shakes things up in a delightful way, even if it's somewhat out of place in a Musou game. There are better action games with the "Warriors" moniker, though Age of Imprisonment is nowhere near the worst Musou game.

Showing the power of the Nintendo Switch 2

It'll make you understand why upgrading to Switch 2 was worth it

While the story and gameplay of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment are entertaining, I'm also impressed with how much of a showpiece it is for the Switch 2's hardware capabilities. Musou titles are pretty typically taxing on consoles because of the vast number of characters and flashy combat animations on screen at any given time.

The Hyrule Warriors games on the original Nintendo Switch struggled to keep up a consistent frame rate. That is not an issue with Age of Imprisonment on Switch 2. Even in the levels where a lot was happening, I never noticed a noticeable dip in frame rate. Splitscreen play obviously causes performance to take a bit of a hit, but it's still far from unplayable.

The game looks great, too. The best thing about the current The Legend of Zelda art style is that it allows for a vast and detailed world without leaning into realistic visuals that can be taxing on hardware. In fact, parts of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment feel like they're smartly reusing (or at least taking inspiration from) work already done on the visuals of Tears of the Kingdom.

Add in the fact that it seamlessly supports features like Game Chat, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment stands as one of the more impressive games in the Switch 2 catalog. I like that Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Drag X Drive, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment all showcase what this hardware can do in distinct ways. This may be one of the first-year lineups for any game console ever.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a worthy Switch 2 exclusive

Hopefully, Kirby Air Riders can keep up this momentum

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment does the best thing a spin-off can do: get me to appreciate and enjoy a franchise in a different way than I typically do. This is the most I've cared about a narrative in a The Legend of Zelda game for a long time, setting a bar I hope future games in the series meet.

This is the culmination of a decade of storytelling, and I'm excited to see where the series goes next. Dynasty Warriors: Origins may edge this out as the better Musou game released this year from a gameplay standpoint, but at the same time, I think Age of Imprisonment is more approachable and enjoyable than any Nintendo-related Musou game before it.

The game also sets a high visual fidelity bar for future games on the system to meet. If you own a Nintendo Switch 2, do yourself a favor and pick Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment up.