We initially saw Hyrule Warriors back in 2014 on the Wii U, but now the Zelda-themed spin-off Musou title is back again, this time in shining Switch form. Right beside the updated graphics comes a new split-screen mode and all the DLC from the original Wii U and 3DS versions.
But is that enough content for fans to return to the title? If you’ve already played through Hyrule Warriors Legends on 3DS, this version may not be enough for you. But if you’re a newcomer to the title, Daniel Starkey says in our Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition review that the title is “a great second chance for the strongest Zelda spin-off ever.” Keep on reading for more thoughts on the title from other critics in the industry, or head on over to GameSpot’s sister website Metacritic.
- Game: Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition
- Developer / Publisher: Omega Force and Team Ninja / Nintendo and Koei Techmo
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Release date: Out Now
- Price: US $60 / £60 / AU $69
GameSpot — 8/10
“Hyrule Warriors is a beautiful, chaotic mess of a game. It’s got all the glossy rupees, imaginative monsters, and fashionable characters you’d expect from the Zelda series (and plenty you wouldn’t), topped off with some nods to the medieval hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors series. In place of puzzles and elaborate levels or side-quests, you’re here to do one thing–mess up some monsters.” — Daniel Starkey [Full review]
IGN — 7.5 /10
“Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is a good-quality port of the Wii U game, but outside of much more stable performance and better local co-op it doesn’t add enough new content to make replaying the story mode interesting again if you’ve already tried it. Luckily, the Adventure Mode maps and 16 of the 31 unlockable characters are available from the start.” — Casey Defreitas [Full review]
Nintendo Life — 8/10
“All told, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is a great time-sink game, featuring mindless but fun action gameplay that offers up the potential for dozens – if not hundreds – of hours of content. Though it certainly feels like a game that’s too bloated in places, it manages to balance the Zelda and Dynasty Warriors elements well. Group all of that with stellar presentation and impressive portable gameplay, and you’ve got a game that does a great job of doing something new (and weird) with a classic Nintendo property. We’d give this one a recommendation, especially to fans of the Zelda series who have always wanted there to be some sort of ‘anniversary’ game. Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition may not have a ton of depth, but it’s way more fun than it has any right to be, and you’d be missing out by not picking up this complete edition.” — Mitch Vogel [Full review]
VG24/7 — No Score
“Zelda games are typically action-packed but also fairly contemplative. Sure, Link might be saving the world, but he does so with a little lateral thinking, with swordplay usually second to puzzles. Hyrule Warriors is the opposite, transposing the setting, trappings and characters of the Zelda series into the over-the-top, crowd-stomping hack-and-slash action popularized by the Dynasty Warriors series. Surprisingly, it’s brilliant. That’s the joy of Hyrule Warriors: On paper it all feels a little like it shouldn’t work at all, but in practice it becomes something really rather special.” – Alex Donaldson [Full review]
VentureBeat — 84/100
“I went into Hyrule Warriors with zero expectations and came out satisfied — this is a cool game with treats for Zelda fans, strategy fans, and hack-and-slash fans alike. It’s fun to play in two-level sessions, allocating around half an hour to an hour per level, and between the main objectives, optional missions, and side story quests, there’s an incredible amount to see and do here. That said, the only reason I’d call Hyrule Warriors “good” rather than “OK” is its sheer scope. Around halfway through the Legend campaign, I got tired of mowing down crowds of soldiers, and annoyed by the game’s sub-optimal map and control UIs. But then I discovered the Adventure and Ganon modes, and felt reinvigorated by the title’s potential for variations on the lengthy Legend battles. And the more I continued to play, the more amazed I was by all of the fan service Koei Tecmo and Nintendo included.” — Jeremy Horwitz [Full review]
Destructoid — No Score
“Nearly four years. That’s how long Hyrule Warriors has been out, and very few people have probably 100%-ed it. I don’t blame them! While the core loop is fun and the roster is on point, upgrading every single hero and villain and obtaining every key item for them would take hundreds of hours. I spent a few hundred of my own just working on a few of my favorites, and I’ll probably spend at least half of that on Switch with the Definitive Edition all over again. Hyrule Warriors hasn’t magically mended any of its shortcomings just because it hit Switch. There’s more content to work through (mostly maps) and more characters, but this is basically the same Warriors formula hack and slash it was before.” — Chris Carter [Full review]