At Tokyo Game Show 2025, we got a chance to play Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment on the Nintendo Switch 2. The upcoming game takes players back to the Imprisoning War, a time period that was only briefly shown in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This new Warriors title aims to tell the full story of the battle against the Demon King during the founding of Hyrule, answering questions about what really happened during this ancient era and how it shaped the kingdom’s future.

Our demo lasted about 30 minutes and began with Princess Zelda, Rauru, and Mineru exploring a hidden cave. This section served as a tutorial for the game’s basic mechanics. Additionally, we learned how to use the Flame Emitter weapon and how Batteries work to restore energy—systems that players familiar with Tears of the Kingdom will recognize.

Combat and Controls

The battle system follows the classic Musou style that the Warriors series is known for. The Y button handles regular attacks, while X performs charge attacks that can be chained into combos. B is used for dodging, and ZL lets you guard. The R button activates Zonai Devices, which give you four unique skills mapped to Y, X, A, and B. During the demo, we tested the Flame Emitter, the Bow of Light, and Piercing Light—each delivered strong area or continuous damage that proved useful against tougher enemies.

The first major boss we faced was the Captain Construct. To win, we needed to use special attacks to break its shield. While this encounter felt like a tutorial-style fight, it showed off an important game feature: bosses display their elemental weaknesses on their shields. This lets you plan your attacks carefully based on what elements they’re weak to. After breaking the shield, you can perform a Weak Point Smash to deal major damage and knock the enemy down.

Another key part of the game is the ability to switch between characters during battle. Using the D-pad, we swapped between Zelda, Rauru, and Mineru. Rauru stood out in particular, using light-based magic attacks that work like a magical lancer, letting him keep enemies at a distance while dealing damage.

Final Thoughts

From our time with the demo, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment looks like a solid continuation of the Warriors series. It combines large-scale, satisfying Musou combat with a connection to one of the Legend of Zelda’s most mysterious time periods. Moreover, players interested in uncovering the secrets of the Imprisoning War will want to watch for this game’s release on November 6, 2025.