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  1. The original Hyrule Warriors, especially with all of its DLC additions, was a charming love letter to the entire Zelda series in the guise of a Warriors title, but it's the more narrowed focus of this sequel that might have produced a better game overall. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity explores the disastrous conflict 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, when Link, Zelda, and the four Champions prepared to battle Calamity Ganon. Our heroes face hordes of hundreds of Bokoblins, Moblins, and more fearsome creatures in the hack 'n' slash action that Warriors games are known for. The resulting mix of snappy, satisfying gameplay and beloved characters is a Zelda spin-off experience that Switch owners can't miss. As fans know, 100 years prior to the events of BotW, Calamity Ganon's evil power was reawakened, sending the land of Hyrule into turmoil. Age of Calamity begins as Link and Zelda rally the forces of Hyrule to prepare for this threat by recruiting Champions from all corners of the land to wield the ancient Sheikah technology that will help them repel Ganon. Ultimately the plot covers several of the same story beats that players already experienced in BotW, but that doesn't diminish the charm of the cutscenes in Age of Calamity. It's a real treat just to see these characters again—and especially to control them in battle—so regardless of how much this game actually does or does not reveal about canonical BotW lore, the story scenes never disappoint. Warriors games are all about non-stop action, pitting just a handful of heroes against hundreds or even thousands of enemies. Through strings of attack combos, powerful special skills, and a handful of extra abilities, your goal is typically to just demolish everything in front of you in order to capture key outposts or defeat bosses. The game will also occasionally throw in some unique mission goals, such as escorting an NPC—by crushing everything in its path—or activating switches—again usually by destroying every nearby enemy. Age of Calamity feels somewhat less strategy-heavy than other Warriors games (including the original Hyrule Warriors) in that you don't have to worry quite so much about keeping control of the entire battlefield at all times, and the time pressure rarely pushes you. Die-hard Warriors fans might feel the change simplifies the gameplay a little too much, but overall it might be a step in the right direction by focusing on the fun of combat instead of juggling objectives. Regardless of the level of difficulty, the formula is undeniably repetitive but also so wonderfully satisfying. It's pure combat action that allows you to go wild and feel like a one-person wrecking crew. Age of Calamity customizes the Warriors experience with plenty of little BotW touches. The characters are drawn from BotW, obviously, and their unique playstyles are absolutely fantastic. Each character feels distinct, each is fun to use, and although there are some general strategies that carry over across all characters it's a lot of fun to take the time to learn how to use each character to his or her full potential. This also does wonders for making the gameplay feel less repetitive. The details drawn from BotW are also a treat for fans to spot, from hidden Koroks and buried treasure chests to the variety of weapons. Every character can use Sheikah runes and magic rods which provide yet more ways to kick butt. Even the fact that the map is the same as BotW and you start missions by moving your cursor around the map is just a fun touch. It was so easy and exciting to lose yourself in the world of BotW while playing that game, and even though this is an entirely different genre that feeling still carries over. And much like BotW, there's an impressive amount of things to do in Age of Calamity. Aside from the main missions which are already quite lengthy, this game is jam packed with side missions, opportunities to upgrade the abilities of your characters, and the blacksmith system that allows you to fuse weapons together to make them stronger or pass on special effects from one weapon to another. The fusing system could be a little easier to understand, but even if you struggle with it at first it's worth taking the time to level up your weapons. Every time you clear a main mission a whole slew of new side content opens up, and it's frankly hard to pass up the opportunity to do them all. Aside from the obvious benefits of powering up your characters, the gameplay is just so addictive and clearing each little task on the map is too satisfying. On top of all of this there's also the incredible replay value of playing these missions again with different characters, which may be rather repetitive but it's still an absolute blast to dive into the game again and again. Age of Calamity has its share of flaws as well, of course. The most consistent problem with the game is the frame rate which struggles to remain smooth at all times. It's not game-breaking but it's noticeable, which is jarring for a fast-paced action experience. The load times when starting a mission are noticeably long, though thankfully there are no loading screens mid-mission. The camera can also get a little unwieldy, especially when you're near a wall or the edge of an arena, or worse yet a boss retreats into that corner and it becomes hard to keep them in your sights while still dodging effectively. The camera also has pretty poor vertical range, which isn't much of a problem most of the time but it does make split-screen multiplayer feel squished, and of course multiplayer makes the frame rate take an even bigger hit as well. Age of Calamity also gives you the opportunity to pilot the Divine Beasts which ends up being rather underwhelming due to stiff controls and fairly bland level designs. It's still cool to get to control these giant machines but those levels lack the snappy action and depth of the rest of the game. In terms of visual and audio design, the developers at Omega Force absolutely nailed recreating the BotW aesthetic in a different genre. Some frame rate issues aside, the game looks gorgeous and once again it's so fun to see familiar characters and locations in new scenarios. The soundtrack similarly draws from the melodies of BotW but makes them a little more energetic and frenetic to suit the fast-paced action of this game, and the effect works nicely. And it's great to hear the returning voice cast who once again capture these characters so well in every cutscene. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a fantastic Zelda-themed Warriors game that knows just how to play off of the player's love for Breath of the Wild. Age of Calamity beautifully walks a fine line between catering to the aesthetic and feel of that game while still focusing on the wild action of bowling through hordes and hordes of enemies. There are some minor quibbles to be had with some aspects of the game and the fast-paced combat may not resonate with everyone, but for many the combo of Zelda charm and satisfying Warriors gameplay will make for an irresistibly addictive experience. Rating: 9 out of 10 Guardians
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