Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
A hack and slash prequel set 100 years before Breath of the Wild.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a hack and slash game from 2020, built by Koei Tecmo's Omega Force and released by Nintendo on the Nintendo Switch. Like the 2014 Hyrule Warriors before it, this title blends the setting and characters of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series with the combat style of Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors games. It serves as a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from 2017.
The story takes place a century before Breath of the Wild, during a period only shown in flashbacks in that earlier game. It follows Link and Princess Zelda as they recruit allies across Hyrule to fight the forces of the evil Calamity Ganon, who is trying to revive himself and destroy the kingdom. Players control Link, Zelda, and their various companions in large-scale battles against Ganon's minions, using Dynasty Warriors-style combat mixed with elements from The Legend of Zelda.
The game launched worldwide on November 20, 2020. Critics gave it positive reviews, praising its gameplay, the variety of character playstyles, the amount of content, the visuals, and the soundtrack. However, some criticized its technical performance, especially an inconsistent frame rate. The story received mixed reactions: reviewers liked the character development and how it expanded Breath of the Wild's world, but were dissatisfied with the use of time travel. Commercially, Age of Calamity was a hit, becoming the best-selling game in the entire Warriors metaseries within four days, and selling four million copies by January 2022. A third Hyrule Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, came out for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
**Gameplay**
Like the earlier Hyrule Warriors, Age of Calamity mixes the hack-and-slash action of the Dynasty Warriors series with the characters, locations, and elements of The Legend of Zelda. The core gameplay involves large-scale battles against enemies, while also completing objectives and making strategic choices like capturing bases and commanding troops.
The game keeps the combat, material crafting, and weapon-upgrading systems from Hyrule Warriors. It also adds environmental puzzle solving and the use of the Sheikah Slate and paraglider from Breath of the Wild. Players can upgrade their characters, finish missions and challenges, spend resources to unlock new areas, build weapons, and cook food for buffs.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
- Developer
- Omega Force
- Publisher
- NintendoJP · Koei Tecmo
- Director
- Ryouta Matsushita
- Producer
- Yosuke Hayashi · Masaki Furusawa
- Designer
- Kenta Shiraishi
- Programmer
- Masayoshi Yamada
- Artist
- Yu Oboshi
- Writer
- Yuki Ikeno · Mari Okamoto · Ryohei Hayashi
- Composer
- Kumi Tanioka · Reo Uratani · Ryotaro Yagi · Haruki Yamada
- Series
- The Legend of Zelda · Dynasty Warriors
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's plot begins during the Great Calamity, when a small Guardian named Terrako awakens within Hyrule Castle and escapes destruction through a time portal, followed by some of Calamity Ganon's Malice. Arriving in an alternate timeline before the Calamity began, Terrako is reactivated by Link and Impa during a battle. They take it to engineers Purah and Robbie, who learn it comes from a future in which Ganon reawakens and destroys Hyrule. To prevent this, King Rhoam assembles four pilots for the recently discovered Divine Beasts – Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa – and commands them, Link, and Princess Zelda to find the Master Sword in Korok Forest. The group encounter the dark prophet Astor, who has learned of the future from Harbinger Ganon and plots to revive and control Ganon with the aid of the Yiga Clan. The narrative includes time travel, with Terrako summoning Sidon, Yunobo, Teba, and Riju from the original timeline to assist the Champions. The story concludes with Zelda permanently sealing Ganon away, and a secret ending shows Purah and Robbie repairing Terrako, reuniting Zelda with her friend.
Reader's Guide
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was a commercial success, becoming the best-selling game in the history of the larger Warriors metaseries in four days and selling four million units as of January 2022. It received positive reviews from critics, who lauded its gameplay, varied character playstyles, amount of content, visuals, and soundtrack, although its technical performance—chiefly its inconsistent frame rate—was criticized by some. The narrative drew mixed responses, with praise for the game's characterization and expansion of Breath of the Wild's setting, but dissatisfaction aimed towards its use of time travel. The game features compatibility with Nintendo's Amiibo figures, with the figures of the four Champions relaunching alongside the game's release. Downloadable content was released throughout 2021 via an Expansion Pass, adding new playable characters, weapon types, story stages, and battle skills. A third Hyrule Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, was released for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
Did You Know?
- The game sold four million units as of January 2022.
- The game features 18 playable characters, with four unlocked via side quests.
More in Video Games of the 2020s, Part 1 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced