The Hyrule Warriors series will continue with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, which is welcome news for both Zelda and musou fans in general. Age of Imprisonment will take place before the events of Tears of the Kingdom, promising to provide narrative insight in equal measure to its fast-paced, power fantasy combat, which is certainly exciting.
Like the Hyrule Warriors games that came before it, Age of Imprisonment will follow a group of characters as they plow their way through epic, large-scale battles. As the name suggests, it is directly inspired by the Dynasty Warriors and its many spin-offs, adopting the often chaotic gameplay of those myriad titles. Naturally, this means that Age of Imprisonment will have a markedly different approach to combat compared to the most recent Zelda games, or any Zelda game, for that matter. But being directly linked to the BOTW/TOTK lineage, with an art style and plot directly linked to those seminal titles, means that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will almost certainly share some DNA with them. Depending on how much cross-pollination there is, the upcoming musou title could be quite experimental indeed.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Marks A Growing Trend For Zelda Games
So long as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a canonical prequel, one missing character could reveal that the future of Zelda games is changing.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Might Incorporate Abilities Like Fuse and Ultrahand
Hyrule Warriors Has Set a Precedent for Including Mainline-Game Powers
In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, players can use Breath of the Wild powers Cryonis, Remote Bomb, Stasis, and Magnesis on the field of battle:
- Cryonis launches ice crystals that can be detonated for area-of-effect ice damage.
- Magnesis levitates and bunches enemies together, incapacitating them momentarily.
- Remote Bomb functions in much the same way as it does in Breath of the Wild, but with more charges.
- Stasis stuns enemies temporarily.
These abilities were introduced in Breath of the Wild, where they are primarily used as puzzle-solving tools. Age of Calamity recontextualizes them as explicitly and viciously offensive, borrowing from BOTW while still retaining its musou combat focus. This works from a gameplay perspective, but also from a narrative one: Age of Calamity is a prequel to Breath of the Wild, and Link learns these abilities through the Sheikah slate, which is in Zelda's possession in Age of Calamity. Since Age of Imprisonment takes place before Tears of the Kingdom, and players can play as Rauru, who is the source of Link's Fuse, Recall, and Ultrahand abilities, it's more than conceivable that such abilities will be featured in the musou spin-off.
Ascend is also granted to Link in TOTK courtesy of the Zonai arm, but since this is used purely for traversal, usually in indoor spaces, it seems less likely that it will appear in Age of Imprisonment.
How Ultrahand and Fuse Might Work in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Much like the aforementioned crossover abilities from Breath of the Wild, Fuse, Ultrahand, and Recall would likely need to be reworked for use in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. Rather than an obstacle to implementing such abilities, this could be an opportunity to demonstrate their different dimensions. Characters like Rauru and Zelda are more adept with magic than Link, after all.
Perhaps Ultrahand could be streamlined, allowing players to "construct" prefabricated siege weaponry or other instruments of war on the fly, while Recall could be used to reverse an enemy force's advance, sending them back to where they started. For its part, Fuse could be used in preparation for battle, serving as a justification for some sort of weapon-crafting system. Through such means, Age of Imprisonment could make the most of its source material, smoothly and cleverly integrating the skills Zelda players grew so fond of in Tears of the Kingdom, rather than completely ignoring them or only paying them lip service.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 84%
- Released
- November 6, 2025
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
Battle hordes of enemies in the untold story of the Imprisoning War
Fight the war for Ancient Hyrule! Step on to the battlefield as Princess Zelda, King Rauru, and other legendary heroes as you fight to reclaim your homeland—and live the story of Demon King Ganondorf’s invasion that was only briefly alluded to in The Legend of Zelda™: Tears of the Kingdom game.
Fight alongside new and familiar heroes to defend Hyrule from the Demon King
Princess Zelda is not alone in this war! Join Mineru, the Sages, and even some brand-new heroes in battles against Ganondorf’s forces. Combine powerful Zonai Devices with your heroes’ signature abilities to take down powerful bosses and their legions of minions.
Team up with a friend in two-player local co-op via split screen or GameShare
Join up with a friend for two-player local co-op, and you can spread out to cover more ground as the war unfolds—or stick together and combine your powers to smash the opposition. Play split-screen on a single system, or on two separate systems via GameShare*—either way, only one person needs to have the game.
Tap any The Legend of Zelda series amiibo™ for extra items
Scan any The Legend of Zelda series amiibo figure** to get in-game rewards including crafting materials and other items that you might find helpful in your quest to defeat the Demon King!
Use save data from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to get additional weapons
If you have save data from the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity game on your system when you play, you’ll receive a High Guard’s Claymore. If you have save data from the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game, you receive a High Guard’s Sword. These weapons can be redeemed after returning to the Hyrule map upon completion of The Howling Tempest mission.
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda, Dynasty Warriors
- Genre(s)
- Action, Hack and Slash
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch 2
