Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Has Very Similar Map To Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity borrows several elements from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the prequel game doesn't stop at just its characters or art style. The Breath of the Wild map has made the jump to the new game, and some of the attacks at your disposal will look very familiar.

Showcased during a Nintendo Treehouse Live gameplay presentation on October 7, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity includes a rune system that uses multiple abilities directly lifted from Breath of the Wild. They include a stasis move for freezing targets in midair and the ability to summon blocks to redirect enemies or deal massive damage. Zelda herself makes heavy use of the runes for her combat style.

Other playable characters featured in the gameplay footage include Urbosa, who is playable for the first time ever, as well as Impa. While Urbosa makes heavy use of lightning attacks and can even recharge her weapons after a perfect combo, Impa uses ninja-like abilities and can summon a powerful frog. She can also dash between targets with lightning speed, making her perfect for dealing with multiple powerful enemies.

You'll select your stage from a map that is basically identical to the one in Breath of the Wild. It's far different from what other Warriors games have used, but it should help Zelda fans feel right at home. You'll even use the enormous towers when selecting which region to explore.

Resources remain a huge component in Age of Calamity, and they're used for everything from accessing new areas to building weapons, and even cooking. Yes, you can learn new recipes for powerful buffs in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Would it really be a Breath of the Wild prequel without this? One resource you won't have to worry about are breakable weapons, as they are invulnerable this time around. That's sure to please some players while making others very angry. No one wins.

Nintendo promised during the stream that we'll also get to learn more about the backstories of certain characters, as well as their relationships that weren't thoroughly examined in Breath of the Wild. This includes how Urbosa and Zelda's late mother knew each other. Though there was more dialogue in Breath of the Wild than some past Zelda games, these relationships were certainly not fully explored.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity releases exclusively for Nintendo Switch on November 20. If you preorder the game at GameStop, you'll get a cute little Guardian keychain.