Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity demo impressions thread

[twilitfalchion]

After being rumored to release a demo for the game, Nintendo announced this morning in their new Partner Showcase that a demo for Age of Calamity would immediately release.

This thread is for posting your thoughts, criticisms, and overall impressions of it.

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Having already played it myself, I can say that my overall thoughts are positive. I have some questions in relation to plot and some disappointment concerning performance.

As far as gameplay goes, it feels great. Combat is fluid, fun, and varied, and the chapter objectives are pretty enjoyable to complete. My favorite character to use so far is PayaImpa. Her movements feel snappy and her attacks are fun as heck to pull off. I wish she had a ranged attack, although that may be unlockable as she levels up. Boss fights and minibosses have unique patterns and I like having that little bit of strategy required in approaching each fight. The Sheikah Slate is very fun to use in combat as well, with Stasis being a particular favorite of mine.

The visuals are a mixed bag though. Most of the time, it feels like the frame rate can't keep up with the action on screen, with quite a bit of pop-in, in the grass especially. I realize I'm nitpicking a tad in mentioning pop-in and frame rates, but both of those issues make the game feel unpolished. It's still a month out from release though, so perhaps those technical hiccups could be addressed.

The voices and music are great. I played with the Japanese voiceovers on, and they sounded great to my Western ears. I already knew what the English voice acting would sound like (for the most part), so I didn't bother trying them. Interestingly enough, the same VA who voiced Purah's vocal sounds(?) in BotW returned to voice her full lines in AoC.

Music is good, although I find myself wanting metal covers of the original game's songs. I want some intense music to fight to, not strings or horns. But that's a matter of personal preference.

The story left me with the most questions, since as of now, it looks like AoC will not be canon, exactly. The introductory cutscene implies that AoC takes place in an alternate timeline due to some portal being opened up. How this happens, I don't know, but I'm looking forward to seeing it be explained (hopefully).

That's it for now. I played through the second mission. Definitely looking forward to playing more later.

 

[Azure Sage]

I have extremely positive impressions so far, with one complaint.

Gameplay is extremely fun and easily blows the original Hyrule Warriors out of the water. The combinations of attacks, runes, items, and character actions makes for a fast-paced thrill. I'm enjoying everything I was able to do a great deal. I have no complaints about performance myself, or at least I haven't noticed much. I'm not usually able to notice things like frame rate dips unless its extreme.

The music is phenomenal. It takes motifs from BotW and expands on them with intense reorchestrations, and they're all fantastic. The Hyrule Field Battle theme is my favorite so far. I'm very thankful to have a music player in this game. I'm also really enjoying the character interactions so far. We've only seen a bit of the main trio, but what we could see was great. The cutscenes are gorgeous and interesting. I also love Impa's english voice, she's doing great. And we have to talk about Robbie, oh my god, what a character. I love him.

My only complaint so far is the story supposedly being an alternate timeline with the baby Guardian traveling back in time to warn them. I really did not want this. I want that sad angsty ending where we watch everyone die and solo Hyrule Castle as Zelda. The game was advertised as our window to the events of the Calamity, so changing how it ends is not as advertised and it cheapens the whole thing for me. I can only hope that the forewarning serves to fuel the emotional beats of their failure at the end of the story, because I would actually like that a lot. But I do NOT want them to win in the end. I don't want an alternate timeline.

 

[Ninja]

An hour in, and it’s amazing. Camera controls feel off compared to HW, not sure what it is.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

I've played 2 minutes worth so far, and while the gameplay is fine, I'm extremely sad that it looks like the game might not be canon, it sucked a lot of my hype away.

 

[Azure Sage]

An hour in, and it’s amazing. Camera controls feel off compared to HW, not sure what it is.

Really? I found the camera to be a lot better than in HW. Especially because it actually stays at the level you move it to now.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Really? I found the camera to be a lot better than in HW. Especially because it actually stays at the level you move it to now.

I tried rotating the camera while Link had his sheild up and it'd get stuck, which was odd. Other than that the camera was fine.

On another note, when running straight I noticed the character run slightly to the left, I don't think it's drift on my end, I haven't had any issues in other games. Impa is my fave character to use for sure after playing.

 

[Azure Sage]

I tried rotating the camera while Link had his sheild up and it'd get stuck, which was odd. Other than that the camera was fine.

On another note, when running straight I noticed the character run slightly to the left, I don't think it's drift on my end, I haven't had any issues in other games. Impa is my fave character to use for sure after playing.

I haven't noticed either of those things. I agree about Impa tho, she's easily my favorite playable Sheikah in the series now. That is including Sheik.

 

[Ninja]

Alright so I’ve completed the demo, did some of the side missions, and assisted some shops.

Gameplay is pretty stunning. The surface has barely been scratched and the character introductions and the way they play are really engaging. Impa is an absolute beast, and I’m still getting the hang of her. All symbols activated are awesome. Zelda felt a little slow, especially her first magnesis swing. I feel that she will have great keep clearing and crowd control combos. My main complaint is that the battles were very choppy. I felt that the game dropped below 30fps many times, however it’s a demo and should be fixed by launch.

Story seems neat. I understand that this game is a non canon spinoff, but what they are doing with the characters, voices, should give us more character and personality to everyone, which is what I felt BOTW lacked. Robbie and Purah are national treasures.

Map menu is really refreshing. I like how all battles, quests, and shops are on the map. The mini guardian running away once you select something it’s pointing at is hilariously cute.

Camera controls seemed wonky at first, but I’m getting used to it. Kind of wish the lock on button was somewhere else other than the right analog stick.

Overall this felt like more than a demo. A good amount of content, and it pretty much sold the game for me. Going to preorder it tonight. Really impressed.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Played a bit more and finished up the side missions. I really like how Impa controls. Easily my favorite character, if I didn't like her enough already. It seems like the biggest frame issues happen when there's a lot of grass or greenery on screen. Other areas don't have the frame issue quite as much. I like how you can fuse weapons to create stronger ones and I also really enjoy building Hyrule up a bit with the materials you collect. Overall great first impression. If the technical issues can be ironed out, it's a definite purchase for me. It probably is anyway tbh.

Oh, and getting this face as an emoji to use was a nice bonus.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

I'm enjoying it so far. I like playing as Impa the most, so it's a shame the available side missions only featured Link. I find her symbols ability really fun to use, and she seems really good at dishing out damage whilst constantly dodging attacks, which is nice.

I'm with Az in that I really hope this isn't an alternate timeline in which everything turns out hunky dory. I want there to be real stakes, and real emotional weight. I want to be able to play BotW again after finishing and saying oh yeah, I experienced that!

Gameplay is great. I love the addition of "unique" attacks, basically the gimmick for each character which is on top of their strong attack (which in HW was the source of most character gimmicks) and the runes are awesome. It'll be really fun picking apart each character and figuring out all of the many details and intricacies of their playstyles.

Music is good. Seems more BotW than HW, which is fine probably, since it is a BotW prequel.

I gotta ask though, wtf is with Central Tower? I thought Great Plateau Tower was what activated the rest of the towers but now one is activated and there are not yet any others in sight?

 

[TheHeroofTime]

I really enjoyed it. I didn't have any of the problems with framerate or pop-in that others did, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the technicalities of the graphics to notice, even if it had happened.

Visually, the game is stunning, most of the time. The cutscenes are a mixed bag, though, because there were definitely some shots where some very low-res textures were clearly visible. Other than that, it looked great. The music was incredible, and I love the addition of a sound test menu.

The gameplay was top-notch. I had a blast playing as Link and Impa, and even though I couldn't figure out Zelda very well in the time I had to play tonight, I had more fun with her moveset than I had expected to. It feels like the perfect combination of Breath of the Wild and Warriors. The controls were a bit difficult to get used to, considering that my recent gaming has been strictly limited to my second playthrough of Breath of the Wild, but once I master the controls, I'm sure it will feel just as smooth as any other Zelda game. I also liked how hard flurry rushes are to pull off compared to BotW. They're suddenly a lot less game-breaking, and I really appreciate the change.

The story... well, we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. I can't say with any degree of certainty where in Hyrule they intend to go with this story, and maybe that's a good thing. I was expecting one thing, but maybe it's better to tell a new story rather than retread old ground. I don't know and I'm withholding any judgement until I finish the full game. I will say, however, that this game absolutely cannot override Breath of the Wild. That would just be wrong on so many levels. Breath of the Wild is the original, and Age of Calamity shouldn't get to subvert it or retcon it.

 

[Azure Sage]

I'm enjoying it so far. I like playing as Impa the most, so it's a shame the available side missions only featured Link.

You can select your character on missions like that on the prep screen. You don’t have to use Link for them.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Watching through the demo's cutscenes in English on YT. Tbh, the voice acting ranges from mediocre to bad, like it was in BotW, imo. New voice actors included. Hearing even more voice acting in Zelda makes me wish they had never opted to include it in the first place. It's cringe-inducing at times.

 

[Killjoy262]

This is

AWESOME!
As others said, Zelda seems really clunky. Impa, I'm going to have to get used to. Link, [runs around awinging his weapon around lime a maniac]

The music is gorgeous! 'Nuff said.

I gotta ask though, wtf is with Central Tower? I thought Great Plateau Tower was what activated the rest of the towers but now one is activated and there are not yet any others in sight?

I have a theory on that ties into the little robot. Basically, you notice how everyone, so far, can use the sheikah slate without having to activate the runes? Mostly with the little bot near by? The theory for that is that the robot is the one supplying power for the runes. Same with the Central Tower. When the Calamity hit, if not somewhere during the game, he's deactivated causing the tower itself to become deactivated untill 100 years later. "Buuuuut hey that's just a theory! Aaaaaaat" ZD...
^ If theories don't belong here or are required to be put in the spoiler tags, I apologize.

As far as camera control goes, I kinds of got the BotW type of feel from them, but a little slower. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the vertical only while having a shield up.

 

[Azure Sage]

Ok, now that I've had a night to digest some more stuff, I gotta say, I am in love with the gameplay for everyone we got to use in the demo.

Link is really fun, of course. It's really satisfying to land aerial attacks with him. It's great for clearing crowds. His shield surf is fun and great for closing gaps. I love how fast the dodging is compared to HW, too. His bow could stand to hit a little harder, but the rapid fire is great and the fact that you can hold it until you're done aiming is neat. It's cool how it works like it does in BotW, too; extra damage on headshots and stuns Guardians if you hit the eye. His spin attack is pretty satisfying, too.

Impa is amazing. Easily the best playable Sheikah in the series. I don't like Sheik in HW or Smash, and Impa in HW is ok but not amazing. AoC Impa, though? Chef's kiss emoj. Her speed and dps are insane. Landing that enhanced special attack with 3 active seals is super nice. It's really easy to stay on top of your clones and her character action changes the more clones you have. Her special attacks and rune abilities are all really solid, too. She is extremely fun.

Zelda took some getting used to, but the more I figured out how to chain her combos with her character action, the more impressed with her I got. At first, I thought her dps was too low to get through weak point gauges, but then I used a cryonis detonation to wipe 70% of one in a single hit, and I was like WHOA. She has potential for insane aoe damage, it just takes a bit of setting up. Her rune abilities and her combos have the same effects on combat and the environment, and both can be activated by her character action, so she's really versatile. I like her more than all versions of her in HW.