It's strange to think of a bungled story leaving me so lukewarm on a Zelda game, even if it is a spin-off. But paying off its premise is the burden a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is tasked with. The main reason I dove into Age of Calamity is because I love its world and the history it tries to remember. So for a game to retread them and proclaim to have something new to say when its inspiration's most striking moments come from what it leaves unsaid is a big ask. But my problem with Age of Calamity isn't that it fails to live up to that responsibility. It's that it doesn't even try. It doesn't have the courage to see things through.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity brings some of the same "Warriors" baggage along with it, but as someone who was always into these Omega Force romps, the juice was worth the squeeze. The story was genuinely enthralling throughout and it serves as a great companion piece for Breath of the Wild, while forging its own identity in many respects. I suspect a lot of the alterations are going to be controversial, but I like that they took some big swings and really went with it.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity looks a lot like Breath of the Wild, but it lacks the exploration and puzzle-solving elements that define the mainline Legend of Zelda series. Age of Calamity may not resemble a traditional Zelda game, but it’s not a bad time. The action is repetitive, but also relaxed and comfortable. It trades on your love for Nintendo’s classic franchise, and I was happy for the excuse to return to this version of Hyrule. I still feel like I'm chasing Breath of the Wild's high, and Age of Calamity is a small solace.

Age of Calamity ultimately puts me to mind of the scene at the end of Takeshi Kitano's take on Zatoichi, another fresh spin on a beloved classic, where the entire cast - whether dead or alive - gets together for one big musical number on the same old set. Only this time it's the stars of Breath of the Wild getting together for a good old-fashioned musou knees-up in what's a bawdy and frequently brilliant brawler. Of all the many musou spin-offs, Age of Calamity can well lay claim to being the best yet.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity propose un retour bienvenu au monde sur lequel j'ai passé des centaines d'heure. Son roster de personnages incroyablement varié, ses mécaniques de combat solides, sa progression amusante et l'adaptation intelligente de la vision de Breath of the Wild en font un jeu génial à jouer et découvrir. S'il y a quelques ratés sur les personnages, Age of Calamity reste un gros plaisir du début à la fin.

En proposant une nouvelle fois la formule Zelda revisitée à la sauce Musō, Koei Tecmo offre une préquelle un peu brouillonne à Breath of the Wild : derrière l'esthétique léchée et colorée des cinématiques, qui nous racontent les coulisses d'une histoire dont on connaît le dénouement, Hyrule Warriors : L'Ère du Fléau se révèle finalement un beat'em all de plus dans la longue série de crossover entamée avec l'épisode Gundam en 2007. La présence des nombreux pouvoirs de Link, de ses compagnons iconiques et de quelques lieux déjà mythiques n'y change malheureusement pas grand chose : L'Ère du Fléau s'entend comme une aventure un peu trop bourrine et répétitive pour espérer ratisser au-delà des mordus de la série, qui parviendront à faire fi d'un gameplay encore perfectible pour profiter des innombrables clins d'oeil et explications que leur réserve cette aventure collective. Et pourtant, celle-ci ne manque pas de surprises, entre révélations parfois fracassantes et thèmes musicaux très réussis, qui laissent imaginer ce que le jeu aurait eu à offrir avec une gestation plus confortable. Mais à l'instar des phases en Créatures Divines, L'Ère du Fléau semble bien trop obligé par ses références contractuelles pour parvenir à trouver sa véritable raison d'être.

Difficile de ne pas sortir un peu frustré de ce Hyrule Warriors qui excelle sur certains points et déçoit sur d’autres. Le système de combat fonctionne très bien, mais peine à briller, la faute à un framerate tantôt acceptable tantôt désagréable au possible, surtout en docké. La narration est bien amenée et les cut-scenes sont fantastiques, mais le scénario s’éloigne du matériau d’origine et perd en puissance narrative. Reste que si vous êtes insensible à un taux d’image par seconde qui fait le yo-yo ou jouez exclusivement en mode portable (ce qui ne règle pas complètement le problème non plus), L’Ère du Fléau se révèle être un assez bon Musô. Plaisant à prendre en main et très bien raconté, il pèche principalement par sa technique et par son scénario qui pourra décevoir ceux qui, comme nous, en attendaient trop.

Approached with the knowledge that this is a full-featured side-dish, you'll have a very good time hacking and slashing your way through Calamity Ganon's minions in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity; just remember that despite its sparkling presentation, it is still not a Zelda game. What it is is a brilliant Zelda-infused Musou experience filled with varied and satisfying combat and Breath of the Wild additions that work beautifully within the boundaries of the Warriors template. The care and attention given to detail here is hugely impressive. We found performance to be adequate and, crucially, it didn't affect our enjoyment throughout — just be prepared for a slideshow once the pyrotechnics start in two-player co-op. In many ways, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity could be exactly the game you need right now. It offers a stop-gap opportunity to revisit a world and characters we adore. In a particularly calamitous year, Animal Crossing's calming alternative life was all well and good for a time, but there's definite catharsis in grabbing the Master Sword, sprinting out there and giving all the prowling nasties a sound thrashing. It's a story of old friends and enemies coming together to triumph over incredible adversity; yep, we'll take one of those now, please.

Humorously, aside from the technical issues, a lot of my problems with Age of Calamity echo the ones I had with Breath of the Wild. The Divine Beasts are solidly the weakest part of the campaign and the inventory is a little clumsy to manage. That all being said, the totality of this Musou game is soundly enjoyable. The confidence on display in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity echoes the earned success Nintendo has found after Breath of the Wild and the Switch. This is a refined and tight action-packed experience that delivers an excellent mix of Zelda lore and creatively ridiculous brawler gameplay.

Avec Hyrule Warriors : L’Ère du Fléau, Koei Tecmo et Nintendo nous permettent de découvrir une aventure, une histoire, une épopée à laquelle on ne s’attendait pas forcément tant elle nous embarque intimement aux côtés de Zelda et Link face au Fléau Ganon. Bien que techniquement daté, c’est grâce à son scénario et sa mise en scène que L’Ère du Fléau arrive à succéder sans trop rougir à Breath of the Wild et réussit là où d’autres titres auraient été jetés aux oubliettes. Après The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, bien qu’étant un tout autre type de jeu, Hyrule Warriors : L’Ère du Fléau nous permet de pouvoir patienter avant de découvrir la suite tant attendue, nous l’espérons, pour 2021. Lorsque le jour viendra où il faudra abandonner l'univers de Breath of the Wild pour un autre épisode de la saga The Legend of Zelda, nous ne serons pas prêts. De notre propre aveu, chaque retrouvaille avec cet univers est un véritable plaisir et nous exhortons Nintendo à continuer à développer ce merveilleux monde qui a vu le jour en mars 2017 et qui s'étend une nouvelle fois aujourd'hui avec Hyrule Warriors : L'Ère du Fléau.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is full of highs and lows. From one moment to the next, it can be a lot of fun. Farming and fighting are each entertaining independently, but the systems supporting those central concepts feel unrefined. Combat is cool, but the pacing interrupts its momentum. The rice-based progression is interesting, but the story and characters are not. All of these trade-offs prevent Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin from delivering its full bounty, though you can still reap the benefits of its novel combination of ideas.

I do need to stress that I wouldn't buy Sakuna solely for the simulation side if that's what is speaking to you most, as it's not really the main focus. This is an action-platformer first and foremost. It's a long game. You'll spend a lot of time caring for crops, but you'll spend even more time fighting fiends.
 
Sakuna outstays its welcome, but I'm okay with that, to an extent. Even though the combat encounters and level design fail to ramp up and stay fresh, I was captivated for a good long while. I never fully checked out even when the game was at its most repetitive. There's a time, place, and mood for this.
 
If a quirky action game with RPG progression and relaxing agricultural activities seems like your kind of thing, trust your gut on this one. The Nintendo Switch version is solid enough for me to recommend it.

Spoiled harvest goddess Sakuna finds herself banished from her opulent celestial home to an island overrun with demons. In the untamed wilderness, she must rediscover her birthright as the daughter of a warrior god and harvest goddess by weathering the elements, fighting monsters, and cultivating rice, the source of her power. By her side in this forbidding place is her guardian Tama and a group of outcast humans. Together, these unlikely companions must join hands to tame both the soil and the demons of Hinoe Island. Switch version reviewed.

Developer Edelweiss put in the hard task of implementing such a system in a way that can coexist and add to the platformer beat-’em-up genre. The team did as much research as possible to honor this ancient craft and even went as far as cultivating rice in their own homes. This game oozes respect for the art of rice farming, a staple in Japanese culture, and in so doing, it becomes a true ode to the historically important craft. The work that they and the amazing localization team at XSEED Games put into Sakuna is a marvel.

Lovers of Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon may not find this game to be exactly the kind of farming they enjoy – it's more like, you know, actual farming, with all the tiny changes in fertiliser recipes and water temperature that farming requires. But for anyone who needs to practise mindfulness, patience, and appreciation for the small things (all 2,000 of them), Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin may just be the therapy you need.

It turns out the farming might be my favorite part of Sakuna: Of Rice & Ruin, though, despite my issues with fertilizer. I didn’t think a video game could give me such an understanding and appreciation of rice farming, but this game did. Rice farming is as much an art as a science, it’s beautiful, and it’s calming. Sakuna and I were both learning the value of hard work and an appreciation for doing it well. Now if only I could catch more frogs...

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin comes with a decent price tag, not as much as Nintendo’s big staples. However, it’s more than reasonable for Sakuna. In just under a month of playing, and I’m still hooked. Even as someone who generally dislikes platformers, Sakuna has ticked all the right boxes for me. My love of farming, mixed with the fighting style, makes for a complete and fascinating game.
 
I will be recommending this game to pretty much everyone. It has a bit of most things but manages to incorporate it all smoothly. Other games can feel jarring when mixing playstyle or genres, but Marvelous have succeeded, almost expertly.

Fuser donne le vertige tant les possibilités de création musicale proposées sont nombreuses. Tout part pourtant d’un gameplay en apparence simple (quatre CD sur une platine), mais où le seul fait de mélanger des morceaux qui n’ont en apparence pas grand chose en commun suffit à faire hocher la tête. L’ensemble s’étoffe ainsi considérablement tout au long de la Campagne, sorte de tuto géant dont le rythme souffre d’ailleurs de la nécessité constante de vous apprendre de nouvelles mécaniques (au détriment du reste). Vous serez ainsi en mesure d’appliquer des effets, faire les meilleures transitions ou encore gérer des CD secondaires. De quoi maîtriser le gameplay de Fuser, pour ensuite créer votre propre tambouille en Freestyle, et pourquoi pas partager le tout avec la communauté. Harmonix livre ainsi un titre beaucoup plus axé sur la création que Guitar Hero ou Rock Band, même si l'exécution pure a aussi sa place en Campagne ou en Battles. Un vrai plaisir pour ceux qui aiment (ou voudraient) faire de la musique à base de brick et de broc.

At its best, Fuser feels like the most promising attempt yet to bring back the glory days of social music gaming. The tutorial-like campaign scratches the itch for fast-paced rhythm-based score chasing, while the Freestyle mode could be turned into a true platform for content creation in the right hands. But a dearth of replayable game modes, lack of local multiplayer, and an exhausting grind to unlock more tracks can really kill the vibe.

From the creators of Rock Band and Dance Central comes Fuser - a nonstop virtual music festival where you control the music! Combine elements of the world’s most popular songs to create your own sound or partner with friends on epic collaborations, then share your amazing mixes and headlining performances with the world!

Fuser does what it says on the side of the box, but there could have been a more compelling foundation to keep you going past the point where it feels like you've done it all. Which, in this case, can be quicker than a lot of other rhythm games.
 
Is the plastic instrument industry dead? I hope not.

Overall FUSER is a worthwhile game if you have an interest in music or just want to experience a unique entry into the rhythm genre. Its technology continues to impress me even if the gameplay has a tendency to get a bit stale after long play sessions. There is a Freeplay option that is a really fun way to mess with the game’s music library, and it may even be a cool thing to put on at a party to let guests mix and match songs at their leisure. Technical issues aside, the Switch seems to be the perfect place for this game, as it being easy to transport means the party can go wherever you go. I don’t think FUSER will set the world on fire quite the same way some of Harmonix’s earlier titles did, but I think it’s definitely a game worth looking at.

Fuser is a weird little thing that has fantastic moments turn into awful ones at the drop of a beat. But when the awful moments are still incredibly fun, does it really matter? If you don't take Fuser too seriously, it could be one of the best rhythm games out there.

- Added Spanish audio.
- Fixed issue where proceeding further became impossible after certain operations in the menu screen of the two-player mode.
- Fixed issue where proceeding further sometimes became impossible when changing characters at a certain point in some of the scenarios.
- Fixed issue where proceeding beyond the loading screen sometimes became impossible after defeating an enemy with a certain procedure in some of the scenarios.
- Fixed the issue where the screen display got corrupted and controls apart from the HOME Button stopped responding after certain operations in the materials selling menu.