The Legend of Zelda Confirms November Nintendo Switch Return

Anticipation around this edition of the Nintendo Direct has been pretty high and it hasn't disappointed so far, particularly for Legend of Zelda fans.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment now has a release date, and in a huge sigh of relief for us Zelda enjoyers, we only have to wait until 6 November.

The game allows players to take part in the epic battles of the Imprisoning War for the first time, in what promises to be one of the most action-heavy releases to date.

Age of Imprisonment has flown somewhat under the radar amongst all the furore around the 40th anniversary of Super Mario and the release of Silksong, but it really is one of the most interesting potential releases of the year.

The game is an amalgamation of The Legend of Zelda's character and world, with the gameplay made famous by Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series, with the latter being the developer here as well.

We don't know too much about the premise, but what has been confirmed is that Princess Zelda is teleported back in time to the era where Hyrule is founded using her Secret Stone.

The game is also set to feature Tears of the Kingdom's King Rauru and Queen Sonia in protagonist roles, as you all team up to stop the ever nefarious Ganondorf from invading and taking over.

This latest Nintendo Direct presentation showed off more of the gameplay and the Dynasty Warriors influence is clear, with Zelda free to cleave through hordes of enemies with relative ease.

You'll also be able to call on allies taken from the creatures who inhabit the land, each of which have their own devastating set-piece abilities.

It also confirmed new mechanics like Zonai devices, which are large objects the player can carry which output front-facing damage using wind, fire and other damage types.

The emphasis on allies is furthered by the Sync Strikes system, which are essentially special attacks that deal devastating damage, but vary depending on the character pairing.

Lastly, and perhaps most excitingly, Nintendo confirmed that split screen co-op will be part of the game at launch, something that makes a lot of sense considering just how important it will be to use multiple characters in different combat scenarios.

Pre-orders are available from today, 12 September, in the Nintendo eShop, with the game playable on only the second generation of the Nintendo Switch console.