![]() The game tells an almost self-reflexive story about Zelda grappling with the fact that she’s always treated as a sidekick. In Age of Calamity, though, she’s the main character. Breath of the Wild presents a much richer version of the character, but she’s still largely out of the picture for the duration of the adventure. For decades, the princess has played second fiddle to Link as he heroically saves the day. The best example of that comes from the way it handles the series’ titular character: Zelda herself. In its best moments, Age of Calamity excels at delivering sequences like that - ones that deepen my understanding of Breath of the Wild despite not perfectly aligning with its story. Age of Calamity makes it clear that these aren’t just mobile dungeons to be conquered, but true weapons of mass destruction that shouldn’t be taken lightly. They’re wildly fun musou action set pieces, delivering Zelda’s ultimate power fantasy, but they also retroactively add some stakes back into Breath of the Wild. A handful of missions let players actually pilot the beasts, using them to wipe out thousands upon thousands of enemies in the blink of an eye. Even in the finale, they feel more like glowing MacGuffins than war-winning machines.Īge of Calamity is an important missing link in that sense. Players are told that they were once important weapons that could be the key to taking down Ganon, but we never really see their power. When that game begins, the hulking machines are a bit mysterious. With full voice acting and high-quality cutscenes, the action RPG explores the real heroes that have been turned into folk legends a century later in the series’ timeline.īreath of the Wild’s divine beasts get a similar treatment here. Age of Calamity doesn’t just treat them as faceless hack-and-slash characters, but actually gives some insight into who they were before the Calamity. When Breath of the Wild ended, I was dying to know more about characters like Revali and Daruk. Most valuable here is the way Age of Calamity fleshes out Hyrule’s champions, the four heroes who are dead by the time Link awakens from his long slumber. Age of Calamity allows players to experience that era firsthand and spend more time with characters who we’d only gotten flashes of previously. We flash back to some of those moments in unlockable memories, but we only get a few glimpses into the past by the end. History plays a major role in the latter game, with Link trying to piece together what happened before the Calamity. While Age of Calamity’s narrative may not be “canon,” it still expands the world of Breath of the Wild in some crucial ways. Age of Calamity includes some crucial lore and character development that you’ll want to dig into before starting Tears of the Kingdom. While that decision has led some to label it a “cop out,” that doesn’t mean you should skip it entirely. ![]() Let’s just say that Age of Calamity takes a few liberties with the Zelda timeline, crafting more of an alternate history story than a true prequel. Even more polarizing, though, was its story. Musou gameplay always tends to be a bit hit-and-miss with mainstream audiences, so it was no surprise that not everyone was on board with its hack-and-slash combat. Despite gaining positive buzz at launch, Age of Calamity was a bit of a mixed bag for fans.
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