HYRULE WARRIORS: AGE OF IMPRISONMENT: THE IMPRISONING WAR, ONE THOUSAND MONSTERS AT A TIME
8.0 of 10 bananas. Koei Tecmo's Switch 2 exclusive tells the Imprisoning War that Tears of the Kingdom only showed in flashbacks. Slick musou combat, Zonai gadgets, and the best story in the spin-off series, held back by repetitive missions and plain maps.
By the Alpha. Switch 2 game card listing. Updated Nov 4 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2 only (developed by Koei Tecmo, published by Nintendo, released November 6 2025). It does not play on the first Switch. The Amazon button is the Switch 2 physical game. At my Nov 4 2026 check it was sold and shipped by Amazon.com at 69.00 dollars, about the launch price. Sellers and prices change, so look at the seller before you pay.
Get Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment for Nintendo Switch 2 on AmazonStore check, Nov 4 2026: new copies on offer, sold and shipped by Amazon.com. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.
Sit with me a moment. In Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda falls into the distant past and we only see pieces of the war that followed. This game says: go fight it yourself. And then it throws a thousand monsters at you, and somehow it is the most moving Hyrule Warriors yet.
What It Wants To Be
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a musou action game, where one hero cuts through huge armies. It is a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom, telling the war against Ganondorf in ancient Hyrule. You play Zelda and a roster of allies, capture bases, and fight bosses. New Sync Strikes team up two heroes for big combined attacks, and Zonai devices add gadgets to combat. Two players can team up in split screen.
What Works
Critics placed it at 79 on Metacritic from 105 reviews, the best score in the spin-off series. Nintendo Life called it the best entry in the series to date. The combat is deep and approachable, the story gives the Imprisoning War real weight, and the Switch 2 keeps the frame rate steady even with huge crowds on screen.
What Breaks
Listen well. Missions get repetitive, especially later in the campaign, and many maps are narrow corridors with little sense of space. Bosses are less fun than the crowds. Co-op split screen runs at 30 frames per second. One major outlet called it shallow and repetitive. And at 69 dollars, it is still full price.
Who Should Play
Play it if you loved Tears of the Kingdom and want its backstory, or if you enjoy smashing armies. Skip it if repetition wears you down; Zelda fans who want puzzles should wait for Ocarina of Time on Nov 5.
STRENGTHS
- Best story in the series
- Deep, approachable combat
- Sync Strikes and Zonai gadgets
- Steady performance on Switch 2
HONEST COSTS
- Repetitive missions
- Narrow, plain maps
- Weak boss fights
- Co-op drops to 30 fps
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