Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Review
Zelda's journey into Hyrule's ancient past delivers what many consider the best Hyrule Warriors experience so far. Playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, it's clear that the narrative of Tears of the Kingdom strongly influenced my expectations—much like how Age of Calamity reimagined Breath of the Wild's backstory.
While Zelda games have never ignored storytelling, I’ve felt that recent titles stumbled somewhat despite their potential. The idea of exploring events behind the scenes of Tears of the Kingdom in a post-Breath of the Wild world excited me, yet several important aspects felt lacking.
On paper, Age of Imprisonment promised to deliver exactly what I wanted from the previous narrative, filling in gaps and creating a truly moving story. However, like Tears of the Kingdom, success ultimately depends on execution—and the game also has to be a quality Warriors title.
Thankfully, it exceeded expectations and became a personal sleeper hit for my game of the year.
Context for New Players
To clarify, if you’re reading this, you probably have some knowledge of the Dynasty Warriors series or at least an interest in Age of Imprisonment. Without that background, this review might not resonate as much.
"I loved the idea of the story going on behind the scenes with Tears of the Kingdom, and existing in a world post-Breath of the Wild, but I was still left wanting in several key areas."
"On paper, Age of Imprisonment would be everything I'd wanted out of that original narrative, and could retroactively fill in the blanks for a story that had all the pieces for something moving - but never quite got there for me."
Summary
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment skillfully expands the Zelda universe’s lore while providing a surprisingly compelling Warriors gameplay experience, fulfilling many story hopes left by recent entries.