I finished it yesterday together with my sister and we enjoyed it quite a lot.

The story is about Cody and May, a married couple whose relationship has broken apart. They want a divorce but their daughter Rose isn't so happy about the news. Fortunately, she found the "Book of Love" beforehand and she makes a wish to it hoping that her parents would settle their differences. And it seems that this Book of Love is listening because it transfers Cody's and May's mind into puppets which were made by Rose and it introduces itself to them as relationship therapist Dr. Hakim. Dr. Hakim sends the two on a journey through their home on which they have to work together to get their bodys back.

Overall, the story was quite alright. It was charming but both my sister and I think that the story was a bit underdeveloped. In our opinion, it didn't deal enough with the problems in Cody's and May's relationship and some parts solved themselves too easily. However, I think that at least to some degree the developers chose to handle things like that because it would have been hard to design compelling gameplay around those topics. So instead of having sections which are just not fun to play, they left it out to create an overall better game. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the story with its bizarre but entertaining characters.

In terms of gameplay, there is nothing to complain about. It Takes Two is a coop game so you always need two players to play it. You can either do that locally on one device or through the internet. One player takes control of Cody, the other one plays May. During gameplay, the screen is splitted vertically and you can see the characters on their respective half. It Takes Two is more or less a typical action adventure with puzzle elements. You jump, climb and swing through levels while solving different kinds of puzzles. Those puzzles are the best part of the game because you need collaboration and cooperation to solve them. For example, some puzzles require precise timing so both players need to come up with a system to get it done correctly. On other occassions, you need to arrange certain moves in a specific order to get to the end of a puzzle. Generally, it worked out pretty well and my sister and I had some pretty fun moments even when things didn't work out as we expected at first.

Furthermore, the game offers a lot of variety. Pretty much every Level offers a new, specific item for Cody and May, which differ quite a lot from each other but you can combine their effects for differents usages. You can find a good example for that in level two. In that level, Cody receives a resin gun which... well... fires resin kinda like a Gatling Gun. That resin sticks to enemies and different surfaces alike but apart from adding weight, it doesn't do much. That changes however if you add May to the fray. In that level, she receives a sniper rifle which shoots matchsticks and those can inflame Cody's resin. So consequently, the level is filled with puzzles in which Cody has to spray enemies and objects with resin while May has to shoot them with her rifle in order to defeat enemies or start a mechanism. There are lots of other gameplay implementations like that one in It Takes Two making it quite fun to go through the game.

The technical side however isn't the game's greatest strength. Maybe it's because we played the Switch version but at least on that console, it is not the best-looking game out there. I noticed frame drops and reloading textures quite frequently. The art style is pretty nice though and the voice acting was done quite well too. Nevertheless, I didn't like the fact that the game splits the screen vertically. Because of that, you can't see what is happening around you leading to confusion or disorientation. In some cases, you don't even realise that you are under attack by an enemy because you can't see him coming.

In conclusion, It Takes Two is a pretty fun coop game. The story is solid and the gameplay is superb. Furthermore, the latter is not too complicated making the game very beginner friendly which was quite helpful for my sister who doesn't play video games that often. Because of that, It Takes Two is a good game to introduce new players to video games. It is also leveling the playing field bringing players of different skill levels on the same page. You could say that this game unites people and that is probably the greatest strength of It Takes Two.

I beat it yesterday and I have somewhat mixed feelings about the game.

On one hand, I really liked how Majora's Mask overall structure differs from other Zelda titles. In its core, the game still utilises the formula "go from point A to point B, grab new gear, defeat a boss in a dungeon and go on to point C", but this formula gets mixed up by various side quests. Those quests usually task the player to help a character with a specific problem. In some cases, it is very easy to accomplish that goal, you just have to be on a specific spot at a specific time. But than there are some quests which involve several different characters and you have to interact with them in a specific way in order to complete the quest.

Probably the best thing about these quests is the amount of personality within them. Although you don't get that much information about characters or other stuff in general, it is enough that you are interested about what is going through those people's heads. Because of that, they don't feel like a checklist you have to complete, but rather like genuine duties you want to spend your time on because it's worth it. It's not easy to achieve something like that since even today, many games struggle to accomplish something like that and besides that, it also conceals the fact that the game offers just 4 dungeons.

Furthermore, Majora's Mask offers quite an unique atmosphere. Most Zelda games evoke a feeling of adventure but this one feels rather supernatural, surreal and a bit eerie as well. I welcome it as a change of pace however.


On the other hand, I didn't like the time mechanic that much. Everything in Majora's Mask is based on a 3 day loop. In order to complete a quest, you have to be on a specific location, with a specific item (most of the time a specific mask), at a specific time. However, if you fail to meet these conditions, you have to go back in time to the start of that loop by playing the Song of Time. By doing that, all of your progress is lost. Although all of your acquired equipment stays with you, the rest of your progress is gone (however if you beat a quest in time, it will be noted). Because of that, the game drags on a bit since you have to complete some parts multiple times until you either find the solution for a task or you reach a point in time at which you can proceed with something else. Furthermore, this mechanic can force you in a tight spot. I had such a situation while I was completing the Great Bay Temple. I needed almost the entirety of the cycle to complete the puzzle within the dungeon and it left me with almost no time to finish off the boss. Fortunately, I managed to beat him in time but if I hadn't done it, I would have been forced to restart the entire dungeon.

Additionally, I struggled quite a lot throughout the game. For whatever reasons, many solutions to puzzles just didn't occur to me. I never had so many issues solving puzzles in a Zelda game before...


In conclusion, Majora's Mask is an unique Zelda experience which was somewhat hampered through its time mechanic. At least for me. I don't know why but for whatever reason, Zelda games which incorporate some sort of time mechanic aren't that high in my personal ranking of the series (although this is not the sole reason for that). In any case, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is still quite enjoyable however it is also dated in some areas. At least I do understand why so many people love that game so much. It is a rather long Zelda game and when you beat it, it feels like coming back home from an exhausting but fulfilling journey.

This is the English translation of my review which I have posted on my personal blog. If you want to read the German version, check out this link:

https://gaminggems.home.blog/2021/02/18/hyrule-warriors-zeit-der-verheerung-review/

Story:

As the name suggests, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes place 100 years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. At the beginning of the game, Calamity Ganon just took control over Hyrule when a little guardian awakes in Zelda‘s study inside Hyrule Castle. Unlike his peers, this guardian does not seem to be under Calamity Ganon’s control. He assesses the situation and realizes the destruction that has befallen the land. So he does what anybody in a situation like that would do: He opens a portal and and travels back in time in order to change the future.

However, the past isn‘t much less tumultuous than the present. The little guardian lands in the midst of a huge battle between royal knights and a horde of Bokoblins and Moblins. He is found by Link, who is just a regular soldier in the Hyruliean army at that point in time, and together with Impa, they bring him to princess Zelda. After that, the little guardian is studied, and they soon find out that he comes from a destroyed future of Hyrule. In order to prevent that future from happening, the people of Hyrule start to make preparations to combat the impending return of Calamity Ganon.

In my opinion, the story of Age of Calamity is rather disappointing. The reason being: It doesn’t fulfill what it promised to be. When the title was announced, we were told that the game would retell the story of the fight against the Calamity. Basically, what we saw in some of the cutscences in Breath of the Wild but expanded to a fully fledged story. Personally, I was really interested in something like that. I was pretty sure that you could tell an entertaining story although it’s already known what happens at the end. This concept really has potential, but as I said, Age of Calamity doesn’t do that. Halfway through the game, you will encounter some events that make clear the game doesn’t retell the story, but rather tells its own story set in a different timeline. And although this alternative timeline has its own highlights in its narrative, it’s just not what I wanted from this game. I don’t know why Nintendo chose to advertise the game in such a misleading way but if I had to guess, I would assume that Nintendo wasn’t too confident with the story the developers of Koei Tecmo came up with. Maybe, in order to gather more interest in the title, they agreed on presenting the game like a retelling of the story to ensure higher sales. But keep in mind, this is just speculation and I have no proof for that theory.


Gameplay:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is, like the first Hyrule Warriors game, a member of the musou genre. In those games, you take control over a single or multiple characters and use them to fight against an army of enemy forces. Based on that, you can bet that you do quite a bit of fighting in this game. Your objective is to fulfill specific goals which usually involves reaching a certain point on the map or defeating a specified number of enemies. In order to fulfill these goals, the player can take control of 17 different unlockable characters. Each character has access to multiple tools to prevail in battle. The most noticeable difference are the attack combos and special abilities which are unique to each character. Link for example is a classical allrounder. His attacks are great for close combat but he can also use his bow and arrow as his special ability to attack enemies from afar. Revali the champion of the Rito however is a typical ranged fighter. With his special ability, he can fly high above the battleground, using his bow to rain down arrows into enemy lines. Furthermore, each character has a unique special attack which can be unlocked by defeating multiple enemies. A gauge fills up a bit every time you defeat an enemy and once it‘s completely filled up you can unleash the attack. A special attack always deals a lot of damage on a big area so they are especially useful in fights against masses of enemies or to tenderize tough opponents.

Another tool returning from Breath of the Wild is the Sheikah Slate. Anyone who has played the game should feel right at home with the device since it’s granting almost the same abilities as before. That includes an unlimited supply of bombs, magnetism in order to move metallic objects, stasis to freeze enemies in time for a short moment and cryosis to create columns of ice. However, each character uses those abilities in a different way. For example Link throws four bombs successively in the direction the player is aiming at whereas Revali lines up four bombs in front of him, hurling them forward. Due to this variation, it’s also important to learn how each character uses the Sheikah Slate. If used correctly, the Sheikah Slate proves to be a valuable tool for helping the player in dire situations. It is ill-advised to misuse the device and get kicked in the butt while it is in cooldown. It’s not a great feeling, I can tell you that much…

But that‘s not all. There are still two more tools which can be used by any character. You can use these tools only for certain number of times. After that, you have to restock your supply. First of all, there are the magic rods. You get them by defeating either a Fire, Ice or Electric Wizzrobe. After defeating one, you receive a fire, ice or electric rod. You can use them to incinerate, freeze or electrocute an area close to your position; a lifesaver if you are stuck in a pickle. Some enemies are susceptible to a specific element. So by using a rod, you can give yourself some breathing room. Furthermore, the environment is affected by the rods. For example if you use an electric rod while standing in water, the electricity spreads over a greater area damaging more enemies.

Last but not least, there’s a rather unspectacular but nonetheless helpful item, the apple. Yup that’s right. The good old apple. And as you might expect, this apple heals some of the damage received during fights. The good thing is that these apples heal much more damage than their counterparts in Breath of the Wild so you don’t need to gobble up 20 apples to get back on your feet. An apple a day keeps the doctor away as the old saying goes.

So much for defeating your enemies, but what about the your enemies themselves? You can roughly classify them in two groups. Most of your enemies are smaller creatures like Bokoblins or Lizalfos. Those guys aren’t really a threat even if they appear in bigger numbers and are quickly defeated. Still, they can be a nuisance, especially when you are in a fight against a boss enemy. Basically, every monster that is big enough to spit on your head (e.g. Moblins, Hinox, Lynels), classifies as a boss enemy and it takes a bit more effort to beat those guys. Especially Lynels can take a lot of damage while also dealing a lot of it to the player. Lucky for you, those boss enemies have a weak spot, which you can attack after emptying another gauge. You have only a short amount of time to use this chance, but since it deals quite a lot of damage, you should take it whenever possible. There’s also a way to speed up that process. By blocking or evading an attack at the last moment, you can perform a Flurry Rush. Like in Breath of Wild, this move allows you to attack an enemy in rapid succession while he is stuck in slow motion. Those attacks are always depleting the weak spot gauge, so while it’s somewhat dangerous to execute this move, it’s well worth the risk.

In addition to those regular fights, there are some occasions where you take control over the Divine Beats. Like your characters, the Divine Beasts have individual features, but they also have things in common. This includes a standard attack which fires some sort of projectile, a unique special attack, the ability to block incomming attacks, and they have access to a somewhat stronger secondary attack. For comparison, let’s take a look at the Divine Beasts Vah Medoh and Vah Ruta. Vah Medoh always flies in the air and when you control that thing it almost feels like playing a rail shooter. On the other hand, while Vah Ruta is probably the Divine Beast with the slowest movement speed, it can eliminate many different enemies at once. Overall, the Divine Beasts have just a minor role in the game as there are just a handful of occasions where you actually use them. To be honest, I thought about omitting them in this review, but they bring a bit more variety to the table and they have a striking presence so that I couldn’t really ignore them.

And that’s basically everything you can expect to see in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. You choose a quest and fight your way through to achieve your goals and fulfill the quest. There are several of them in the game. Age of Calamity contains 20 story missions and over 160 additional challenges. Furthermore, you can use materials, which you gain by completing quests or doing other stuff like defeating enemies, to complete over 350 optional side quests. That’s actually all you do; you collect some stuff and turn it in to complete the quest. These side quests are completely optional but it’s worth to do them because the rewards are really helpful. You can unlock new combos and heart containers for your characters, you can use new shops to buy more materials and you receive new recipes which allow you to cook meals that grant you temporary boosts for your characters.

In addition to that, each character levels up over time. Each new level is supposed to make your character tougher and stronger. Even the story quests and challenges have a recommended level to let you know that your characters are up to the task. But personally, I have noticed that the level system is pretty much irrelevant. Let’s take the last unlockable challenge as an example. The game recommends you to start the challenge with characters which have reached level 80. I beat that challenge without breaking a sweat. With a charcter that had just reached level 73. On some occasions, I beat quests although my level was more than 10 levels lower than the game recommended. However, there is one noticeable difference controlled by the leveling system. Apart from materials, you also receive weapons when you complete story quests or challenges. These weapons are stronger if you receive them from quests with a higher level. That’s why I think that the most reasonable thing to do is to complete the optional side quests (you get the materials pretty quick anyway) and fuse your weapons regularly. By doing that, they get exponentially stronger and the difference is much more noticeable than increasing your level alone.

That is all I have to say regarding the gameplay. The game offers a lot of variety since you have so many different characters and tools at your disposal which you can use in combat. However, it can’t hide the fact that the objectives and the overall structure of the quests are quite similar throughout the game. Still, the gameplay is very addictive, and it creates this „I want to complete one more level“ feeling. But on the other hand, it is also pretty blunt. Your combos could end up in a button mashing mania in a short amount of time and you don’t really need specific strategies to complete most of the game’s quests. But overall, I’m quite satisfied with what the gameplay had to offer and to be frank, that is what surprised me the most. I have played some Dynasty Warriors before playing Age of Calamity and in that game, the gameplay bored me within a short time. In this game however, I liked the gameplay so much that I decided to finish the game 100%. Although I started to get bored towards the end, you can still count that as a sign that the game did some things right in its gameplay.


Technology:

From a technical point of view, Age of Calamity is not among the most impressive Switch titles. The game may use the lovely art style of Breath of Wild and it has no major issues fundamentally, but there are some hiccoughs along the way. The most well-known one is the framerate. In situations with a lot of action, the framerate drops quite noticeably. Usually that’s not a big deal because it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the game but towards the end, I encountered a situation where the framerate dropped so much, the game was nearly unplayable. And that is not acceptable. Occasionally, the camera became a problem as well. For some situations like an attack on a weak spot, the game uses a specific camera angle to draw attention to your current action. Sometimes, I had the problem that the game didn’t trigger the new camera angle and stayed in the current position of the player. Another problem emerges if you get stuck between a wall and an enemy. When that happens, you lose sight of your character, making him or her easy pray for an enemy who wants to take a heart container from you.


Conclusion:

In conclusion, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a pretty fun game. However, because of its story and the expectation of it being a retelling of what happened 100 years prior to Breath of the Wild, I think I need to warn those who plan to buy the game once again. The game will not meet those expectations. Instead, you’ll get a fun and addictive game which tells its own separate story. So, before you buy this game, you should think about whether you like that kind of gameplay or not. It’s probably a good idea to test the demo version, which is available at the eShop. In the end, the game did not turn out to be what I hoped it would be, but since it was a fun experience overall, I think that it is a really good game nonetheless.

I award Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity 4/5 stars.