But of course we're not the only ones who have covered the game. While some outlets are holding back until launch day (due to embargo restrictions), there are plenty of critics willing to share their thoughts on Age of Imprisonment.
Let's start near the top, shall we? RPG Site is equally as glowing as us on the game, rewarding it a 9/10, with reviewer James Galizio even calling it "a sleeper hit for my personal game of the year." The story strikes a good balance between Zelda and the other characters, and the game is stuffed full of the best Musou combat to date:
"Age of Imprisonment isn't just a great Zelda spinoff, but confidently stands among some of the singular best games in the entire Zelda series."
Coming down a notch, CGMagazine's Chris de Hoog awards Age of Imprisonment an 8.5/10 and an Editor's Choice, calling the story "a fulfilling complement" to TOTK, with particular praise given to the blend of the mainline game's combat with the Warriors formula:
"Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment had me hooked for its entire 30-hour+ quest, always torn between wanting to see what happened next in the story and seeking out the components to unlock new features for the characters."
Another outlet praising the game's combat is VGC, with friend of the site and NL contributor Chris Scullion awarding Zelda's Musou outing a 4/5. If you're still worried about the frame rate, then here's another review stating that "noticeable" dips below 60fps are "rare:
"The combat is the best in the Hyrule Warriors series to date, and once you’ve reached the credits, about 18-20 hours in, there’s still a hell of a lot to do thanks to a large map filled with side-quests, unlockable characters, and other missions."
TJ Denzer over at Shacknews joins the performance cheers with an 8/10 review, but is less enthusiastic about the sidequests and music. However, the combat is once again the star (we're also big fans of that headline, 'Ultrahanding out beatdowns'):
"Trying out Switch Skills and Sync Attacks between practically every pair of characters were some of my favorite things in this game and I hope Koei Tecmo tries something like them in future games..."
Slipping into the 7/10 scores we have GameSpot's Richard Wakeling, who says that performance issues "are almost completely absent". The downsides come in the form of an inconsequential story and a lack of mission variety:
"The story doesn't feel essential enough to satisfy pure Zelda fans, but by ironing out its predecessor's performance issues and introducing a varied roster of rewarding characters, Age of Imprisonment marks a high point for the spin-off series thus far."
Lastly, Gamesradar+'s Oscar Taylor-Kent is a little more muted, awarding the game a 3/5 citing "underutilized" spaces and "bland maps" with many missions lacking "depth", but combat is "sharply improved" compared to previous Hyrule Warriors games:
"When I have more fun revisiting the less fully featured Age of Calamity, something has gone amiss. They did call it Age of Imprisonment, I suppose – but I wish they'd let me off the leash a little. Zelda's beam sword hungers for more."
Right now, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is sitting on a respectable 78 on Metacritic from 52 reviews (at the time of writing this), but that number will change over the coming days. OpenCritic sits at a similar 77 but from only 18 reviews.
Still, you'll be able to judge for yourself when Age of Imprisonment launches on Switch 2 on 6th November 2025. What a treat, hey?
Let us know if you're excited to learn more about the Imprisoning War in the comments.
