Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Nintendo Switch) Preview

The demo ends just as the second chapter begins, and this chapter is all about the recruitment of the Champions. There's a mission in each corner of Hyrule, each dedicated to Daruk, Revali, Urbosa, and Mipha. They have been glimpsed in action in promotional material before, so recruiting them as playable characters is not a surprise, although there are surprises linked to each.

In classic Musou fashion, each of the Champions has its own unique special ability and fighting style. Daruk can curl up into a ball, then roll, bounce, and smash through legions, while Mipha can summon geysers of water, then flow through them, peppering enemies with a rain of speedy hits that destroy defence bars in no time. The Champions also all use the same Sheikah slate as Link, but they all do so differently. The same four abilities fans have become well accustomed to are still there: Magnesis, Cryonis, Stasis, and Remote Bombs - but with a twist and flair unique to each particular Champion.

When the battle escalates and Ganon's forces become too much for the Champions, they summon the Divine Beasts, and this is a big surprise. There are missions where the Divine Beasts are controllable, too. These gargantuan creatures smash through entire armies, laying waste with huge attacks that look fantastic - raining Magma from the sky, hammering the ground with wave after wave of energy attacks.

The second chapter also opens up tonnes of extra side-missions and opportunities to power up each of the characters. Those who have played the demo will understand how this works. The map is scattered with icons that can consist of side-mission challenges, along with shops and character quests. Delivering specific items can open up shops to purchase new goods or, best of all, can unlock power-ups for each character - adding hearts or extra blows to a combo. Not to mention the side-missions where a specific challenge needs to be overcome. Again, those who have played the demo will have seen the takeout of 300 Bokoblins as Link using only remote bombs, but there are so very many more. Some are seemingly simple but offer up a considerable challenge, especially on higher difficulty levels.

To manage these means taking advantage of everything the map has to offer. Visiting the blacksmith to fuse weapons into more powerful forms, as well as finding cooking recipes to knock up a meal before a stage and give stat bonuses to every one of the three-character party (like movement speed increases, defence increases, attack damage boosts). Tracking down gear that will give assistance in specific environments is great fun.