Update #2: And it's live!
Update #1: The demo has been leaked on the Switch news feed, but it's not available to download yet.
Original Story [Tue 27th Oct, 2020 16:30 GMT]: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is out on Switch in less than a month, but a tweet from Kelios on Twitter (thanks Game Revolution) — which features apparent screen-grabs of a page from Nintendo's Korean website — suggests that a playable demo of the game is incoming.
According to the page (which now leads to an error message), the demo will be released alongside a new trailer for the game and a bunch of new details about the return to the Hyrule of the past — one we first visited in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
According to online translations and further investigation, you'll be able to play through the title's prologue and carry your progress over to the full game should you decide that, yes, I do want to explore Hyrule again, thank you. Take a look at the relevant tweets below, along with the rather amusing (and potentially spoiler-y) translation courtesy of Google:
While none of this has been confirmed officially, it certainly seems a solid sales tactic to employ and would likely hook people back into the world of Breath of the Wild who may have been sitting on the fence until Koei Tecmo's game is out. People seemed to enjoy the Pikmin 3 Deluxe demo which became available without warning — and this is Zelda!
If a demo for HWAOC (the acronym that nobody's using) is going to drop before release, we'd expect to see it soon; Age of Calamity is launching in less than a month's time on 20th November.
Would you be up for dipping your toe into Age of Calamity with a demo? Is a taster pointless to you because you've had your pre-order in since it was first announced? Let us know with a comment below.
[source twitter.com, via gamerevolution.com]
Comments (110)
Age of Calamity! Scream insanity!
All you ever gonna be's
another great fan of me! Break!
(In my head. EVERY time.)
With Cyberpunk 2077 delayed to December 10th, this game will have more breathing room.
I definitely need a demo for this game. The story looks fantastic, but I’ve never played a warriors game before, and I want to know if I’ll enjoy the gameplay before I buy it.
Hope it’s true, that would be a very pleasant surprise for tonight/tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow tho, I’m so close to beating Tokyo mirage and this will definitely pull me away from it
All games should have playable demos in this day and age, there is no excuse to not have one so people know if your game is worth it.
Definitely have to try this out. This looks a substantial improvement from the first game in terms of staying true to Zelda presentation wise while injecting the gameplay with Team Ninja's sense of energy and style.
@TheFrenchiestFry Not to mention it's the first spin-off to be considered canon in the timeline.
Ooooooh yes please Nintendo.
Would be welcome, while BotW is one of my favorite games I couldn't get warm with Fire Emblem Warriors, so I would like to check out if I would enjoy AoC
It seems that it won't have online gameplay.
@PoorGeno Word
having a demo for Hyrule Warriors:Age of Calamity is a excelent idea to show people, if they really want to play this game(i already decided i gonna have this game).
@Jokerwolf Dude. PC Games used to have demos.. There was this awesome CD Magazine called Club Kidsoft that had lots of software on it (though geared for kids and pre teens). There were only 4 volumes done because it had a crappy keycode system which you had to call them and get an unique code for each game and only get it once. If your computer changed or you lost your game they didn't give it to you again unless you rebought it!
The concept didn't sit well with a lot of people so after 4 volumes it was over!!!! But I loved the exploration as it had activities as well!
Here is the volumes on Archive one of them is an ISO the rest are torrents sadly. https://archive.org/download/club-kidsoft-vol3-issue4 Actually I forgot if you click on the show all you can just grab the .Bin and Cue files but I had to resort to PCEM using a Win98 image from Archive.org. https://archive.org/details/win98se_201801
https://pcem-emulator.co.uk/ which Archive.org has the necessary bios chips to make the program turn in.
And you can enjoy your childhood demos and games from Archive.Org again. Most of the titles on Archive.org work on Win98 only.
@Giancarlothomaz I'm not sure why people are surprised at demos. We used to have demos in the 90s all the time. Some were magazines you could buy at the store others came in cereal boxes. Key point: Land Before Time Activity Center (A very fun game) was in the form of a demo on some cereal I bought and was 20$ to buy but you could try 2 or 3 activities (luckily the 3D maze was one of them showcasing it's strong points. The funny thing is if you browsed the CD folders you could find the entire music library to play on Windows Media Player including movie files as in game you earned movie clips doing the activites that required a certain amount of 'tree stars' but the clips were freely available on the disc explorer. Even if you don't have the full product.
Already preordered but I would very much like to have a go early + see if they have made the co-op a little more more robust!
@johnvboy Nintendo is way behind the times in this. Remember shareware?
@ToadBrigade This definitely should be a shareware title!
There's so many other big releases out this time of year I can't take a punt on a game I might not enjoy - I'm not a big fan of the warrior games.
A Demo will definitely help me to decide if this is worth picking or not.
I'm on the fence for this game. A demo would be very welcome.
@Olddantrucker I know, but I just mean as of gaming now I have to illegally download a lot of games just to try them out and that is on developers and publishers. If I cannot test your game then what else are we supposed to do? Playing a game is a far better than any video review to tell if you want to play a game through.
Already preordered it, but would it be pointless? Ha! I'll most likely play through a demo 20+ times
I can manipulate the Shinsu as a companion through 4 young girls?
Thanks, Google Translate 👍
Calling it now: Partner Showcase on Thursday with the demo for this getting dropped and a new trailer, since Nintendo didn't put one out this week and Koei Tecmo is publishing in Japan (could be akin to the situation with Cadence of Hyrule in the first showcase)
Yes, please. Not only all games should have demos but all demos should carry your progress to the game should you decide to buy it.
Preordered already, but I don't mind being able to play a bit of the game early.
@ToadBrigade I tried one years ago, everyone just stood there waiting to be killed, weird/boring experience.
I’d also welcome a demo to see if they are any better nowadays.
Is this the first Zelda (related) game to get a demo?
@westman98
No - Hyrule Warriors on 3DS got a demo
Already preordered so, whatever...
@Grumblevolcano
Well Cyberpunk isn't coming Switch so it and Hyrule Warriors never shared the same room to begin with.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Black Ops Cold War now have more breathing room.
Being that its not a proper Zelda game I would have waited for a sale, A demo might persuade me to get it full price or like Pikmin 3 it might persuade me not to buy it full price.
Just hope the demo is 2P. In the meantime, I have tons left to do on the old Hyrule Warriors. If I can ever get in the mood to play it again.
Why tho? We dont need to wait 8 years for its release
Preorder is on lock but a demo would not be turned away...
Well, at least now that Cyberpunk is delayed again this game will have my complete and full attention, so that's a good silver lining
I'd certainly love a demo for HWAOC. (Acronym used 😜)
Sure, demos are always welcomed
A demo for a Warriors game is not that necessary, since all of them play- more or less- the same. The only thing that can convince me to buy the game is its interesting art style and Zelda storyline.
Excited to try the demo as I've never played the original! Very pleased Nintendo's giving us more demos recently.
I was so devastated when I saw that the demo wasn't released yet... They'll most likely release it together with a new trailer
Ordered this with Boss Deals on ebay for less than 40 quid. Never played this style of game though so shall eagerly be awaiting the demo.
I'm calling a surprise Nintendo 3rd Party Showcase Direct thingy for today/tomorrow.
@frabbit I think the discover tab changes daily so that screenshot does suggest Partner Showcase for today (see how it says "Pre-order now!" for Bravely Default II despite no preorder being up).
So pumped for the demo! Hopefully before the end of the week!
@Grumblevolcano "Partner Showcase" - that's the one!
@Grumblevolcano Yep, it would fit since they seem to do those once per month.
This is a trend 1 pikmin gets one and now zelda gets one maybe monster hunter will get one
Leaks: "I am...inevitable"
Even though Age of Calamity has managed to avoid rumours and leaks prior to its announcement, it still manages to find itself leaking out a demo.
@Nicolai It translated the same for me.
"HWAOC (the acronym that nobody's using)"
I always use the acronym on twitter, written as HW: AOC to mess w/ the Repugs. 😂
@Grumblevolcano @frabbit Wow you guys are good, congrats on the Partner Direct prediction. Wouldn't' happen to know the election results would you?
Meh not in the mood for this. I already have played enough Dynasty Warrior type of games
Already downloaded! To bad I have to run out, will try when I get back
@rjejr First time for everything
Won't download. Will wait for full release.
Still working on my backlog.
Have a ton of games to last me a decade😁 "kidding". But really need to complete some games before more comes out.
Ha all you have to do is just smash the attack buttons.
@frabbit So, no early election results then I suppose? 😁
This one better have wolf link as a fighter..
I'm downloading this now, it's the only game I've wanted for the past 5 month's on the Switch.
It's been bad.
Anybody else was a bit underwhelmed after playing the demo? Doesn't look, control and run too good ... or am I imagine things?
Edit: Nevermind, seems like I am not alone in this and whole Reddit is shocked.
@Yanina Thats how demos are But If they add wolf link im buying idc if its bad.
This should be a next gen switch release. I can already see the fps issues in aerial combat.
@siouxrunner15 absolutely! The Switch is so underpowered at this point it really can’t handle anything other than decade-old game remasters.
Actually enjoying the demo, I must be doing something wrong!
Wow, the demo is a shocker. I didn't expect it would run amazingly but it's super rough.
i've been really busy with school all day, i can't wait to check out the demo when i wrap up
Meh. Didn't like the gameplay...
So I'll have to watch the story on YouTube... :/
@rjejr I predict Kamala Harris will be the real winner in a year or two.
That demo runs like absolute crap. It reminds me of Hyrule warriors running on the original 3DS before I upgraded to the new 3DS. Hopefully this will be improved before release.
The gameplay is messy but fun, as expected from a Musou game
Yes, it sure has low framerate. I hope it's only for the demo and not for the official release .. or at least they will fix it in the future. with a patch.
@frabbit Biden turns 80 Nov 2022. I predict he takes that opportunity to step down, any sooner might seem weird, but that's about halfway in and a nice birthday gift to himself.
And really, nobody should be President into their 80s, even in our aging society that is not representative of us in the US. Really hoping after this election they put in a ceiling to balance the 35 floor. 69 on election day, not b/c of the cheap sex jokes, but any older than that you're looking at way too old at the end of a second term, 77 or 78. Maybe 70 to remove the innuendo. But that's it. World changes fast.
Yes, I have been giving this all way too much thought lately.
I didn't like it all. Tedious button mashing. :-/
God, Nintendo's holiday lineup is incredibly weak this year.
Can't wait for all the people that skipped the first Hyrule Warriors but are hyped for this because it's a prequel to BOTW to hate this game from the demo and pass it, because it's still Hyrule Warriors.
Perhaps the poor demo performance is a sign that a Switch Pro is on the way?
@rjejr I’m from Scotland and we’ve got our own problems, but yours do certainly make the news over here haha. So I’m not entirely ignorant but yes, I’ll refrain from commenting any further
@frabbit I was going to suggest not commenting any further b/c of the location but didn't want to come across harshly. And yeah, some of us know about Brexit over here. BBC World News.
I enjoyed it, very much what I expected. The performance was very bad though. I don't think those that are claiming it's just button mashing actually played very long. Those big moblins hurt a lot and you had to dodge quite a bit.
@MetalMan isn’t that just a different button to mash? I played thru a couple min before switching over to work (is there no way to save progress without auto save?). Will play thru whole thing before deciding, but I’m worried it’ll get repetitive REAL quick. And, hopefully, the story elements will make it worth the effort.
@Jokerwolf : well that’s why developers don’t do demos any more. Stats show more people are put off buying a game they were going to buy by the demo, than people who weren’t going to buy deciding to buy based on demo,
Mainly because those in later camp aren’t even likely to play the demo if they had no interest in game in first place
@Clammy honest question, do the stats show thats because the games suck or because the demo doesn’t allow player to get full grasp of game based on demo restrictions that they would receive with the full version ?
Yeah this one isn’t for me. Nice to revisit the world of BotW here but the gameplay just doesn’t keep my interest.
@Jokerwolf Did you ever play demos in the 90s? If so what was your first one? Did you enjoy the shareware days where things came in with other stuff often? When you bought sound cards or video cards you'd also get a FULL game with it designed to max it out! One game we got that way was Star Trek Voyage Elite Force absolutely free with it! No it wasn't a demo it was the full version from start to end!
@Xaessya Good! No people cussing each other with foul language ruining that 'magical Disney moment' moments.
@TexanSansei I wonder if players will exploit a lot of glitches here? Dad had an idea of taking the divine beast to the edge of the world and seeing if they could fall off or go beyond the boundaries. I wonder if players will try to do exploits? Or perhaps take on to Lurline Village by the coast and stomp all over it and smash all sorts of things to pieces! Nice thought at least!
The Korok seeds don't fit this type of game. It's an odd addition
Weird headline. Name one Switch demo that isn't free. 🤔
I've got it! I'm really enjoying it so far, but the performance isn't as stable as I thought it would be.
Funnily enough, this reminds me of Hyrule Warriors Legends on the base 3DS, where it was almost unplayable compared to the New 3DS version.
I thought I'd struggle with this game based on the videos, the demo has confirmed it. Me taking on thousands of enemies while my allies just stand around and neither my allies or enemies do any damage to anything...not exactly fun. I don't like the very different gameplay compared to BOTW, while I know it's a very different game set in the same world and story it just feels wrong there being so many easy enemies with the fighting just being the same button bashing over and over compared to taking on a few harder bad guys at a time in BOTW but being able to explore different ways of fighting them.
Performance also sucks.
@Yanina its the best mix ever and got great action packed muments.and the fackt it has breath of the mild elements is amazing! Its a hack em up for peeple who dont wanna use there brains and relax innit!
@ilh it runs really smooth id say 60fpm as least in tv mood. You prob play handweld moode thats why! Will be better when full version release comes out. 👍
@MetalMan its a hack em up what peeps expect. Its not some crazy tech game and its just a demo. I reckon could be a good game
Demo really threw me off seeing the BOTW graphics but Link moves super fast. I don't think this is really for me, feels like a looser version of the old LOTR games on Gamecube. I don't think I'd pay full price for this.
Awesome news.
I just started downloading Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, I probably won't be able to try it out until tomorrow after work, but it'll give me something to look forward too.
Just tried the first 2 missions. I quite enjoyed it. It's a Warriors game, so it's obviously not as good as BOTW, but you can tell they put a lot of effort into making this. It's just nice to see that it looks and sounds exactly like BOTW, and expands on the original story.
@Pirate1 Good question! I definitely bought DQXIS because of how good the demo was. This Hyrule Warriors demo is similar to that as in it's just the first chapter of the game without any restrictions, so it gives you a pretty good idea whether you'll like the full game or not.
A bad demo would be that Bravely Default II one. It shows too much of the game without any context, and the game itself wasn't polished enough yet, so I gave up after 5 minutes and decided not to buy it even though I liked the first game on the 3ds.
@ilh It gets harder when you have to juggle objectives and the lesser enemies become stronger, at least if the first Hyrule Warriors is anything to go by
@Olddantrucker The player community will always find exploits
@quinnyboy58 I love it too, Link’s a freaking power god
Weird that people are complaining about performance. I played for an hour and noticed nothing problematic. Maybe handheld is the issue?
I was blown away by how polished it was, but the actual gameplay didn't grab me too much. I can appreciate it's good, just not my bag I don't think.
Played the demo last night and I want the full game even more!
@Clammy I have bought quite a few games based on demos over the years, devs should have them it isn't that much work.
I'm glad they made a demo so I could play it, realize I wouldn't like it and not end up wasting money. More games should have demos. In my case it stopped me from buying it but I imagine they do increase sales.
(and I'm not complaining. I'm just saying I didn't like it. Not my cup of tea. Though I will play the demo more and it might grow on me.)
Aside from the framerate, it was a great demo.
Impa plays incredibly well.
@Purgatorium I used to do demos all the time. They often came with other stuff. They were called "Shareware" back then. Often games you bought would have 1 or 2 demos with it. You could choose to install the demos. Nintendo is late to the game but better late then never! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQOzspuCu-E&t (Thomas the Tank Engine VHS 1991 Better Late Then Never Restored) Narrator: Ringo Starr!!!!
@Magitek_Knight I mentioned Lord Of The Rings Conquest before on here. Is that what your refeering to or are you talking about Third Age for Gamecube? I hope it's not like T3A God that was an awful experience I am glad I forgot!
@ilh I think this game is going to wind up being returned again and again and again as people figure it out. I hope this game turns out but so far like Steam mixed reviews are usually NOT a good sign. It's a lot like when weather models disagree on a pattern in the 7 to 14 day range then as you come closer the actual pattern is somewhere in the middle of the two arguments.
@ryobi85 Don't assume things just because someone disagrees with you, I was playing docked. It's a 30fps game that drops significantly below that a lot of the time. https://youtu.be/8QANwbfpV_8
@Olddantrucker I was thinking more of Two Towers/Return of the King with the big battles at Helms Deep/Pellenor fields etc.
Sequence broke the 2nd stage by throwing myself at the guardian as soon as it appeared for like 5 minutes straight, being careful to dodge its attacks. I felt proud of myself for being able to do that, and got a 200 Ruppee reward for my time beating the stage, but eventually went back and completed it as intended. You apparently just unlock Zelda after the stage is completed if you do what I did
Tap here to load 110 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...