A vast prairie to explore, leaving the wonders of the castle behind and the shield already anchored to the left arm, faithful companion of new, epic experiences. Link who juggles a battlefield plagued by the presence of hideous hairy beasts, bordering the opulence of a spectacular manor to the south and to the north with a dazzling sun.
The same light, coincidentally, that the demo of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity seems to shine forth.
An interesting, different, in some ways unexpected perspective.
Nintendo that entrusts to the wise hands of Koei Tecmo one of its most blinding jewels, handing him the keys of a franchise among the most beloved of the globe, which performs a double down in some sensational ways, investing the house of Ninja Gaiden of the arduous task of frescoing the events of the narrative preamble leading to the events narrated in the seminal The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. Although in a specially reduced version, the demo of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity amazes and surprises on several fronts.
The first thing that catches the eye is the qualitative level of what flows on the video: the levels look like those of the title which is inspired by. A substantially stable frame rate, which suffers from some slight decline only in the most agitated situations or in those in which the alpha effects forcefully push on the accelerator, manages to sustain an action that already now seems to represent the best that has been offered in recent years by the genre.
Good draw distance and compelling animations make the polygonal models of the protagonists shine of the virtual fight, finely detailed and luxuriously adorned. The only slightly sore notes, but which could improve in view of the final release, would seem to be significantly less detailed settings of the fauna that populates them and the excessive blur that intervenes perhaps a little too soon, gripping any animated object and not placed a few meters away from the hero. And then there's the excellent soundtrack, greedily anchored to the stylistic features of the franchise from which Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity draws its entire lifeblood.
Joy-Con in hand, the symphony does not seem to change: The era of calamity is the most profound one proposed in recent years by any Musou. The battle system, in particular, mixes the usual combos, parries and dodges - able to open up the possibility of launching a deadly counterattack if performed with the right timing - with peculiarities such as the exploitation of the main skills of each of the protagonists of the work.
Whether you choose to slice boblin using the extraordinary skills proposed by the Sheikah tablet, rather than to take advantage of the particular skills of the warrior on duty, the integration of each playful element would seem to be close to perfection. Like so many pieces of an enchanted puzzle. The ability to switch characters on the fly allows the voluptuous gamer to quickly cover considerable areas of maps that do not differ in size and density from those proposed in the very first Hyrule Warriors for Wii U. The ability to give orders to the AI ruling heroes while not directly controlled. Little exploited, at least in the missions proposed by the demo, gliding and jumps.
Speaking of immersive experiences with a different flavor, the second stage of this demo of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity introduces an interesting mechanic, linked to the need to activate some dormant guardians who, if awakened, can stun the fierce one. placed on the heels of the heroes for the duration of the level. A fresh and adrenaline-pumping run and fight, without a shadow of a doubt.
The game mechanics also offer the opportunity to dedicate yourself to the discovery of hidden collectible items: in addition to the classic materials distributed in droves by killing the enemy scum, directly from Breath of the Wild the iconic and mysteriously dislocated korok seeds return. In short, an obsessive attention to detail, which transpires from the mission selection menu: instead of proposing a simple list, Koei Tecmo has well thought of distributing the various levels and the different challenges housed in the binary code of Hyrule Warriors: The era of calamity in a vast map, obviously reproduced through visualization on the Sheikah tablet.
From this section, which effectively acts as a hub between one raid and another, it is possible to access the Offline multiplayer mode for two players. On the map will also be indicated the shops, which can be visited to make the necessary upgrades in terms of equipment and consumables in view of the heated battles, as well as some individuals who, net of seeing their requests met, will be able to reward the gamer by providing extra hearts and decidedly bonuses. tasty.
Three quarters of musou, the rest of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We could not define otherwise a titanic production like Hyrule Warriors: The era of calamity which, already from this demo, promises sparks. It probably won't be able to convert new adepts to the Dynasty Warriors genre, but it certainly seems to be one of the candidates for the best hack and slash of the year right from the start.
► Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a Graphic-Action-Musou Adventure game developed by Koei Tecmo Omega Force and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 20/11/2020
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a beautiful game that cannot be missing from your collection: we have decided to evaluate it with a 88%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Review of Hyrule Warriors: The era of calamity
