The expansive, open-world game Hogwarts Legacy was developed by Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software. I thought it was totally up my alley since I like the notion of exploration and collecting when I look at open-world games. In addition, having read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies a long time ago, I was excited to see how Avalanche would interpret the mythology and concepts. I should note that we are just now publishing our Hogwarts Legacy review since our code arrived right before the Deluxe Edition's early access period began. Because of the time, I decided to concentrate mostly on guides, which ironically enhanced the experience. If I had just worked on the main campaign in order to publish a review as quickly as possible, the tale would have been quite different.
Notice: Although there are debates over the game, this
Hogwarts Legacy review only considers its positive aspects. You may read an article from our pals at Escapist Mag to find out more about these concerns.
Antiquated magics and rebellions
You may take on the role of a witch or wizard with the capacity to detect Ancient Magic in Hogwarts Legacy, which is set in the 1800s—long before Voldemort and Grindelwald rose to power or Harry Potter and friends embarked on their adventures. You may customize some options, like your House or wand, by taking a Wizarding World quiz before you ever begin to play.
After that, you are assigned to your House, and whatever House you choose, the campaign proceeds much in the same way. The Common Rooms, a few exclusive quests, and the costumes may alter somewhat, but that's about all. As you go, you find out about Ranrok's goblin revolt, whose schemes you are intimately involved in.
When it comes to most fantasy games, the story is typical. Though some of the side missions, such story arcs involving other kids, piqued my curiosity more, there are some intriguing nuggets scattered throughout, such as a memory built like a sketchbook.
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Numerous references and callbacksIf you like the Harry Potter books and movies, then Hogwarts Legacy is similar to entering a dream world where those media are vividly portrayed in video game splendor. The campaign's opening moments alone give you an idea of what to expect. The professor and your character are riding in a carriage drawn by unseen forces. But, your character's first excursion into the fantastical realm isn't nearly as perfect as Potter's. Before you even reach the sorting hat, you quickly come into contact with dangerous creatures, enigmatizing mysteries, and mystical monsters.Throughout the campaign, there are allusions and callbacks that are certain to make people smile or chuckle, such as summoning a broom to rise or bringing out a Mandrake and levitating a feather. There are some that you would find by accident, such a set of armor that destroys the one next to it or headmaster pictures who scold you for being too noisy. The girls' restroom, which acts as the entryway to the Chamber of Secrets, may even include an engraved snake emblem.Captured using AnyBet365
In Hogwarts Legacy
, the castleThe castle in
Hogwarts Legacy is unquestionably maybe the most magnificent structure I have ever discovered in a video game. It has an air of grandeur, with the castle seeming to have personality of its own.You may discover how each room or wing is linked by walking up the Grand Staircase and seeing how fresh steps appear in front of you. Room A leads to Corridor B, as you may have read in a few book lines or seen when you looked at the Marauder's Map in the movies. But here you are, dashing down these corridors while using Revelio to ping the map every two seconds in case anything interesting or hidden is around the corner. Additionally, you would see that the castle and its surroundings would vary as the seasons did. The Great Hall's appearance throughout the winter months and the Christmas season (as shown in the main photograph) is an excellent illustration.The only possible drawback is that, rather than feeling like a Hogwarts student, you feel more like an explorer or adventurer. Indeed, you go to courses and make friends. Unfortunately, story-advancing missions and open-world exploration take precedence over the courses themselves. Though I had hoped for a little deeper immersion—the main character begins as a fifth-year student, after all—those are nonetheless good concepts.Captured using AnyBet365
Animals and riddles
In addition,
Hogwarts Legacy is crammed with riddles. The answer to these
Symbol Doors, which feature animals that match numbers, would need some arithmetic. Similar to that, certain tasks call for you to use spells. Examples of these include
pushing and pulling blocks,
gathering moths with Lumos, learning Alohomora to open boxes, and stopping a clock tower's spinning pendulum.Captured using AnyBet365Moreover, the game has a noteworthy location known as the
Room of Requirement. To really make it your own, you may alter the color schemes, add decorations, and enchant the gear parts. You may also place gadgets that grow carnivorous plants, make potions, and produce money.You also get Vivariums, in case that wasn't enough (do you recall
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?). These serve as animal shelters where you may bring the enchanted animals you've captured to be trained and cuddled. Among them are Graphorns, Thestrals, Hippogriffs,
Unicorns, and more. Since cats are amazing, it goes without saying that my favorites are
the Kneazles. Indeed, similar to
Pokémon, there are
Shiny variants as well, but the majority of them just vary in color.Captured using AnyBet365
Always in flight
You'll spend the first few hours in
Hogwarts Legacy attending lessons that mostly consist of simple activities, picking up spells along the way. You'll go through the Forbidden Forest, visit Hogsmeade, choose up clothing with transmogrification possibilities, and simply hang about at your leisure. Everything changes when you
get a broom. There's no sensation quite like that first time you climb aboard and take off. I've played various games where you could fly with your character (in a glider, wind current, aircraft, helicopter, or superpower). But even merely riding a broom while taking in the imposing castle and gorgeous mountaintops seems almost too lovely to describe.You wind up assisting a Hippogriff a little later on. What do you think? You are now soaring on a Hippogriff (or, if you have the Dark Arts Pack, a Thestral as well). From there, you would take to the sky, traveling from place to place as the lake's waves lapped under you and a fierce wind around you as you gained sudden momentum. You also notice that, although you have been exploring the northern portion of the map, the whole southern area (
, ) is waiting for you.Having said that, my biggest complaint about the overworld exploring in
Hogwarts Legacy is that, with a few exceptions, most of the places seem quite similar. A vendor, a side quest, and some collectibles may be found in a hamlet to the north; however, similar items can also be found in villages to the south, southeast, and so on.To make each area stand out, I would have like to see each showcase its own individuality. Instead of just a collectible-a-thon, I would rather to think about
The Witcher 3 or
Genshin Impact. There are even more diverse locations in
Forza Horizon 5, and that's a driving game rather than a magical fantasy journey where your creativity is your sole constraint.However, the game takes place in a rural area of England. I don't really know whether there's a lot of variation in terms of habitats because of my little experience of England.Captured using AnyBet365C-c-combo breaker
I haven't discussed fighting in
Hogwarts Legacy until now, and with good reason—I found the exploration and puzzle-solving to be so enjoyable that it seemed almost like an afterthought. The truth is, however, I would have felt differently about battle if I had just concentrated on finishing the campaign for the review. During the campaign, you are introduced to several offensive spells that you may learn by following a pattern. Next, you engage in combat with hostile monsters, generally attempting to breach their shields by performing a matching spell or coming up with a combination. For instance, you may use
Levioso to lift someone off the ground, followed by a few standard blows, then
Accio to draw them in your direction. In addition, you have a stealth kill (
Petrificus Totalus) and a block and counter mechanic (
Protego and Stupefy). You would get quite bored if all you did was soap, rinse, and repeat those procedures.Experimentation is therefore necessary. For example, you may use
Confringo, a fire spell, to shatter and melt a target after casting
Glacius to freeze it. Next, you have a few
ideal talent picks, some of which significantly increase the power of a spell, such as
Incendio, which produces a "flame shockwave." In order to strengthen your arsenal and increase your combo counter, you may also employ Ancient Magic. Some of the animations are also rather inventive; for example, you may have a troll stomp on its own face, downsize a gigantic spider, and then walk on it, or transform a dark wizard into a chicken.Captured using AnyBet365Then there are the Unforgiveable Curses: Avada Kedavra,
Imperio, and Crucio. You may choose to learn them or not, but doing so will alter how you approach the game. This is because of the Curse mechanism, in which opponents are debuffed by Crucio, Imperio, and some other spells. When you perform an Avada Kedavra Mastery talent, every cursed opponent perishes instantly. Indeed, it can eliminate almost any opponent in the game, irrespective of their level or status as an elite or miniboss. Since the Inferi are essentially zombies, they are the only ones immune to it.Combat in
Hogwarts Legacy is, in a sense, fluid and exhilarating, but it's ultimately an arcade experience. While it's enjoyable to finish battles by getting as many combos as possible without being hit, there are very little consequences for inflicting genuine damage on opponents. It's not like you would create a ton of horcruxes after casting the Killing Curse repeatedly, so you could basically do it endlessly. Fighting in this game will disrupt your immersion because of the moral quandaries in the books/movies and Harry's attraction to the "Dark Side," if you will (unless you truly want to be a baddie).Captured using AnyBet365
Some concerns with Hogwarts Legacy
The first of my lingering concerns with
Hogwarts Legacy is PC performance. This is covered in great length in our
optimal settings guide and
technical/performance article. It needs some minor optimization adjustments. Even with my Nvidia RTX 3070, Intel i9-10900K, and 32GB of RAM, I still see occasional framerate drops and texture rendering issues. There were a few hitches, but nothing so bad that the whole game became a slideshow or that some things just wouldn't load. When I'm opening doors to another wing or if I've just opened or closed the menu, they could happen a few times.This game is still stunning, with moments that will leave you in awe, despite occasional drops in frame rate. Which leads me to the next glaring issue: there is no Photo Mode. It's a major omission, in my opinion, because you can't stop the single-player game to snap a clear snapshot of your surroundings. To be honest, switching between HUD settings a lot in order to get clear graphics for the roughly 100 tutorials I've written was a pain.With these exceptions,
Hogwarts Legacy is a video game that provides an unmatched perspective of the Wizarding World, appealing to both new and seasoned fans alike. Not only is there magic at your fingertips, but it's also there in the grand castle you get to explore, the intricately designed and imaginative mechanics, and the expansive universe teeming with mysteries, enigmas, and animals. To put it briefly, you will be enthralled.Screenshot taken by AnyBet365 in one hour.
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