Hogwarts Legacy - Review
Hogwarts Legacy is finally here… and for those who’ve been waiting since their initial announcement back in late 2020 must be feeling excited. The question is will this open-world RPG give players and Harry Potter fans what they want, or will it not meet their expectations in all things magic. Keep reading on to find out our take without any spoilers.
One thing to keep in mind and was clear is the fact that this Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy’s narrative takes place a good century before the events that took place in the Harry Potter series. That means we don’t see or hear any mention of He Who Shall Not Be Named, or any of the main characters we’ve grown to love through the novels and films. This gives the universe a fresh start and the ability to create a narrative that doesn’t necessarily tie together with the existing Harry Potter series. However, through the game you do hear familiar surnames which are obvious easter eggs on lineage, so it’s always fun to keep your eyes and ears out like an eavesdropping house elf. Apart from that and the familiar surroundings of the School (and Hogsmeade), the narrative follows you, a new student who is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a fifth-year student. Within the first few minutes, you realize that you’re unique in that you have a connection to a powerful and mysterious ancient magic. Not only that but you’re naturally gifted and are obviously special. That’s as far as we’ll give away as this game is definitely better going in blind and experiencing the mystery as it unfolds for yourself.
The game lets players decide the path you take on your wizarding or witchcraft journey within Hogwarts, whether it’s training yourself to use spells like a dark wizard or focusing on potions… there’s a range you can focus your studies on and develop abilities and skills. Apart from that, we don’t want to give away what magic and mysteries lie beneath, above and throughout Hogwarts. Just know that the map is sizable enough for you to make some exploration beyond having a butterbeer in Hogsmeade and checking out the school’s library. One thing that’s made transparent is the audience for this game feels as though it’s targeted at a younger crowd, so long time Harry Potter fans may have issues with that.
From the get-go, the game locks you into the narrative that the studio wants you to focus on, ensuring that the story elements that set things up are front and centre. This means that you can’t go out and start exploring the world right from the start, it is a bit of a letdown, but it is understandable. Sadly that is not the only limitations at the start and while exploration is opened, the games character creation suite remains limited for the length of the game. You are given a variety of options, such as hairstyles, eyebrows and such, but there isn’t a lot to discover. Long time western RPG fans of games like Dragon Age or Fallout, will likely find the lack of options quite small and that is a fair call. The game provides you with a number of pre-set faces, but there is no adjustment to the details upon it, so you have to make do with what they provide. Given that this game was billed as your adventure into Hogwarts, not being able to create a person who looks exactly like yourself is a massive let down. Given that the world has a cohesive look to everything, it was likely a design choice, to stop really weird characters from appearing in the game when streamed.
As mentioned previously, it’s absolutely fantastic to see and hear familiar names and locations from the Wizarding World, which should definitely excite fans. In addition, if you’ve been to one of the Universal Studios theme parks, there is a fair chance you would have been through Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade to get a taste of what it would be like to go there. While Hogwarts Legacy provides a complete picture of the school and the surrounding landscape, something that none of the other games have managed to do before, it is the attention to detail that will draw you in. Being able to make your way from the school to Hogsmeade either on foot or broomstick, is a real delight and will make anyone who has longed to make that journey feel quite happy. It isn’t just making that trip to and from the town, you can pop over to familiar places such as the Quidditch field and even the Forbidden Forest, and all the way through the Black Lake where part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament took place during Harry’s time there. To say this game really immerses players into the world is an understatement, which Harry Potter fans would find to be a dream come true.
Fans can also link their wizarding world online profiles to the game, so if you've previously created a profile with your House and want them in the game, Hogwarts Legacy can carry all the information over. However, players who want to change their House (or wand characteristics) are still able to early in the game, which is a welcome touch. It’s also very refreshing to see that there isn’t a divide in students and friendships depending on the House you’re in, though some characters will still cause you grief. If you have read the books or seen the Harry Potter films, you will remember there was quite the divide between some of the houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin especially, so not seeing that here will take a moment to adjust to. Of course, that was a by product of the war that Voldemort was raging on the world and given he is decades off being born at this point, it isn’t something you will need to worry about. All this means that you can see students interact and just hanging out, something that is wonderful to see.
Now this is a game set within a school and classes are a must, so understanding spells is crucial, more so when you get into fights. The games combat is a lot of fun, where you start off learning how to counter and block, as well as being on the offense with a wide variety of spells. As expected, this starts off in your first lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts. As you progress through your time in Hogwarts, you meet a variety of professors, some with familiar names (as previously mentioned), who teach you extra spells to add to your arsenal. However, learning new spells feels a little basic in that you have to use your joystick to move an arrow along a ‘spell movement’ path before the timer catches up to you, so not quite silly wand waving. Though it’s quite basic, it’s nice that they added a little mini-game, instead of just having a ‘learnt new spell’ prompt, though it can be tedious at times. In fact, exploring Hogwarts and using Revelio rewards you with finding treasures, collectibles and even apparel to upgrade your character stats through mini-games and puzzles. And though it might get monotonous at times, any excuse to use spells is always fun as the game certainly does a great job in its effects and sounds, especially if you’re fighting dark wizards, trolls or any type of enemies in combat.
Going back to the map being rather large, ways of exploring can be done either through the Floo network (fast travel) which you’ll have to unlock once when you reach a certain area, or by Broomstick. And though flying through the air and just wonder around the lands of Hogwarts Legacy can be fun, the fast travel option is definitely something you’ll end up using regularly due to the size of maps and time it’d take to fly instead. Whatever the method you decide to travel with, whether it’s via the Floo network on in the air on a Broomstick or a magical creature, Avalanche Software has definitely created a great world.
Something that was evident when the game was announced, was just how stunning it looked. From the characters that inhabit the world, to the world itself, there is detail in every corner. There are some darker areas, both in terms of lack of light and soaked with dark magic and even those have an appeal to them. This isn’t a game where it’s blue skies all the time (though some seasons have plenty of that), there is a sense of real to the world, much of which is down to its lighting. Sure seeing torches flicker on walls is great and spells shooting through the air in duels is fun, but its when you are outside and you see the light of the sun pierce the trees or filter through the windows. The characters you interact with regularly all look great as well and they are rounded out by a pretty amazing voice cast, with some well-known names in there. Wandering around the castle and hearing fellow students having conversations also helps the game world feel more alive and of course, discovering all sorts of magical creatures around adds another layer of charm, more so when you hear them first.
Hogwarts Legacy is a lot of fun and what’s expected for an open-world RPG in its universe. Though it may not be perfect in that it’s a little easy at times, has repetitive fetch quests and puts forth some unique limitations at times, it’s definitely fun. To put it another way, Hogwarts Legacy is for Wizarding World fans as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is to Star Wars fans, you just run around with a wand instead of a lightsaber. If you can look past the little faults it has or are a Harry Potter fan, this is definitely the game for you to immerse yourself into what it's like to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What the game does well is its simplistic yet fun combat system, and letting players explore the surrounding areas. You can easily get lost just exploring the school itself, which is just magical. Whether this game is for you will depend on the subject matter and if the Harry Potter universe is something you’re interested in.
The Score
8.0
Review code provided by Warner Bros Games
The Pros
+Immerses you in the Harry Potter universe
+Exploration of Hogwarts School (and beyond) is a lot of fun
+Learning and casting spells are a lot of fun
The Cons
-Limitations on character creation
-Doesn’t give you the full free-will of an open world due to invisible boxes
-A little on the repetitive with ‘fetch” quests
