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You play as a student at the most famous magical school of wizardry, and will follow along the expected milestones of the academic year—you’ll attend classes, learn new spells and skills, help both teachers and classmates and unravel a mystery regarding a powerful enemy. It’s as Harry-Potter-esque as it gets. If you loved the movies and books, this game is a must-play.
The gameplay is just as you’d expect for a student in the HP universe, complete with the selection process in charge of a talking hat, socializing with (or antagonizing) your colleagues, wandering around the castle and getting into trouble. Short of impersonating Potter himself, this is the closest experience you will get to enrolling in a Hogwarts school year. Of course, there is no Voldemort, but the story is sufficiently similar, and you will still feel like the prophetically-foretold boy who lived.
You can customize your student’s looks, clothing and even your magic wand and broom. The options are not a lot, but still serviceable enough. Naturally, you can belong to any of the four Hogwarts Houses, and you will be given the corresponding uniform and colored accessories. You’ll find a lot of clothes in your adventures, and each item provides different bonuses to your character. Interestingly, you can change the looks and keep the features, which means that you can always look the way you want, and have the combat perks you most like or need. This is an excellent feature.
Despite the emphasis on the wizarding experience, I believe the star of the show is Hogwarts itself. The castle is huge, rendered beautifully, and chock-full of secrets and places to explore. Ever wanted to wander around the school and grounds and see the places barely mentioned in the movies? Now’s your chance. And it’s every bit as fantastic as you imagine. Discovery is the name of the game, and every single location you’ve heard of in the books is here, and then some. Mind you, this is Hogwarts, not London—so no Ministry of Magic and such. Want to dare visiting the Forbidden Forest at night, looking for the dangerous arachnid lair? Try your luck at finding the common rooms of the other houses? Venture into the Library’s forbidden section? You can do all that. NPCs are quirky, diverse and in tune with the Potterverse. You will finally get to meet Peeves!
Interestingly, there’s no curfews or hard enforced rules. Considering this is a school, and the importance of norms in the movies, this is weird—but perfectly understandable, from a gameplay standpoint. Still, there are moments when stealth is the better approach to trouble, and the student is perfectly capable of hiding and defeating opponents while unseen.
Unlike with many games these days, I found myself avoiding fast travel almost every time. It’s nice to walk to the surrounding villages, and even nicer to fly there on your magic broom. You will find merchants, wild animals, rogue trolls, abandoned ruins and dark wizard camps. You can even explore ancient tombs, and there are many puzzles scattered all over the place for you to solve, courtesy of the late Merlin. Solving them will grant bonuses that aid you in several ways.
The story is interesting, usually predictable and mildly convoluted. It also echoes Potter's journey with small twists here and there. The dark figure of the mysterious looming enemy is still present, only this time the goblins play a bigger part. As usual, there are undertones of real-life problems, like racism and segregation.
An interesting choice regarding ethics is the use of the Unforgivable Curses. This topic is dealt with somewhat lightly, but the implied values and decisions are still there. Will you become a pre-teen murderous criminal and use these curses indiscriminately? Your choice. As for me, I decided I wouldn’t—and this meant a whole branch of the skill tree was unavailable to me. While you can’t pickpocket and rob to your heart’s desire, you can most definitely steal from every home in Hogsmeade, even in front of the owner, with no consequence at all. From a modern gaming perspective, I expected something less immersion-breaking.
The music is fantastic. Not Williams, but deeply reminiscent of his work. Once again, the similarity was pushed to the limit, stopping only short of exorbitant royalties. You’ll recognize the notes and motifs over and over, and it’s never invasive in terms of gameplay. Some comments from your character can get repetitive, though—and the flu stations suffer from the same.
The Room of Requirement is at your disposal as your main base of operations. You can decorate it to your heart’s desire, and gradually expand its size and functionality as the story progresses. Different props and magical stations will become available to find or purchase, and you can place them wherever you want. Eventually, you’ll get your own magical spaces to keep fantastic beasts like the famed magizoologist of the movies. The potion-making mechanics, however, are cumbersome and—at least to me—almost completely unnecessary.
True, there is little variety in the enemy department. Combat mechanics are a bit simplistic, but serviceable. The student is not very agile, but it works well. Sometimes the enemies will feel bland. Unlike Voldemort and his minions, these guys lack depth and personality, and you will frequently end up fighting and defeating mindless golems and statues that always act and look the same.
The graphics are really beautiful. And not only the world: the map, the cards, everything contributes to the gorgeous look of the game. A general sense of quality can be seen everywhere. The details are wonderful and always in line with the Potter universe.
The voice acting is excellent, varied in mood and accents. The only ugly detail is the sound editing, especially the pitch slider for the main character’s voice, but this is also present with other characters and even cats. This produces weird sound aberrations that are sadly somewhat common.
I did encounter a pair of bugs, but not game-breaking ones. In a weird case where my character clipped into a wall because I tried to use the broom too close to it, the reverse action solved the problem. I am aware of the complaints by other players, but for me it was a stutter-free experience, with no crashes at all, although texture popping can break the immersion from time to time. Loading times are not annoying save for the "shades loading" that always happens at launch.
I used the Xbox One wireless controller to excellent results.
In terms of mechanics, Hogwarts Legacy is plagued by a sign of the times: lots of errands, collecting items, fetching quests, and the like take place in a very large open world. The beautiful castle and scenery help in that department, and you've got travel points, a flying broom and a magical steed to aid you in your travels. Thankfully, there are no microtransactions, gems, crystals, or any other annoying token currency so common today. Sadly, no Quidditch!
I could not help but to feel a little empty at times—in Hogwarts Legacy, the sense of “game-ness” is a bit painful, given the wondrous world and potential for immersion. The game could be much better with a bit more complexity, from more interaction with the environment to maybe better customization options. However, the game is complete and functional as it is, and I understand why these design decisions were made.
The price is a little high to my liking, but with a 15-20% off it would be fair.
Playing Hogwarts Legacy has left me a sense of wonder I have seldom felt in a game lately. Even the story itself evokes that of Harry, and purposefully so. But it works. If you are a Potter fan, this is a must buy. You'll thoroughly enjoy the experience. This is the best alternative yet to be a Hogwarts student.
Charmingly recommended.