Today, Nintendo released an official launch trailer for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity ahead of its November 20 launch. The nearly two-minute clip gives us a look at all the familiar faces from Breath of the Wild making a return – and reminds us this game isn't going to have a happy ending.
The trailer starts with Zelda claiming, "With all of us together, we shall prevail!" And, if you know anything about Age of Calamity, you know that's not exactly true. The game is a prequel to Breath of the Wild, showing us the events that led up to Calamity Ganon taking over Hyrule. While Link and Zelda eventually defeat Ganon, it's not until the final battle in Breath of the Wild that the dynamic duo "prevail."
Age of Calamity's launch trailer continues on in montage form, showing off each of the Champions and the role they'll play in holding off the Calamity. It ends with Zelda finally awakening her inner powers, and cuts to black before we can see much of her in action. You can watch the full trailer below:
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is poised to be one of the darkest games in the entire Zelda franchise. All previous titles have ended on a high note – Link defeats Ganon (or a foe of similar caliber) and peace is restored to the land. That's not the case with Age of Calamity, and its launch trailer does a good job setting the tone prior to release. It'll no doubt be filled with heroic moments, but there's no escaping the fact that the Calamity still takes hold of Hyrule.
Our review found it "drastically improves Breath of the Wild's story" and does an excellent job of fleshing out the backstory of our four iconic Champions. And, aside from a bit of slowdown during intense battles, the frame rate issue noticed in Age of Calamity's demo seems to have been fixed prior to launch.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity launches on November 20 for Nintendo Switch.