Nintendo, Koei Tecmo and AAA Games Studio have revealed an all-new Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment spin-off prequel to Tears of the Kingdom, coming to Switch 2 this winter.
The game will follow the narrative of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which saw Zelda transported back in time to the distant past and the formation of Hyrule and the Imprisoning War.
Expect plenty of Musou-style combat shenanigans, and it will be fascinating to see how the game incorporates other characters – after all, Zelda is the only main character we really know. What will be interesting is the shift in developer, from Musou’s leading lights at Omega Force to a new studio at AAA Games Studio.
The last game in this spin-off series, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, told a prequel story to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, depicting the grand battle to try (and fail) to save Hyrule from the rising evil forces. When the main Zelda series has always been about delving into dungeons and defeating bosses one-by-one, it’s a great change of pace to see the huge wars between the massed forces of good and evil.
In our review of that last game, we said, “Age of Calamity is, for all intents and purposes, a prequel to Breath of the Wild. It might be a spin-off in a separate genre, but it’s clearly a labour of love, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through one of the most interesting periods of Hyrule. If the first game was a love letter to the Zelda series, this not only improves on this concept in every way, but stands as one of the best Zelda games, period.”
In other Zelda news, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are both being given the Switch 2 Edition treatment, receiving paid upgrades for the launch of the Switch 2 on 5th June that will improve resolution, frame rate, add HDR, and more.
