"I love magic."
After years of hype, hysteria, threats, and trolls, Avalanche Software's most highly anticipated title of the year, Hogwarts Legacy is finally released to much excitement and anger from across the board. Hogwarts Legacy has thoroughly risen above its expectations and has set the standard for the rest of 2023, but it didn't get there without plenty of criticism and boycotting along the way.
Hogwarts Legacy peaked at a record-breaking 1.27 million concurrent viewers since its early access release date for the deluxe edition users on Tuesday, February 7 (which we had a copy of!). This meant it surpassed Cyberpunk 2077 as the most-watched, single-player role-playing game of all time on the streaming platform.
But those views on Twitch did come with a healthy handful of toxicity surrounding its release due to controversial comments made by the author who started it all, She Who Must Not Be Named. Many Twitch streamers who live-streamed Hogwarts Legacy were met with fans and boycotters, many of whom seemed to think that attending a digitally-recreated magical castle to relive one's childhood dreams is in some way benefitting someone else.
As it was already announced that She Who Must Not Be Named had no direct involvement in the creation of Hogwarts Legacy, it must be said that "her team" are. As vague as that is, it is safe to assume that she will still retain royalties from every copy of the game sold. It is up to you whether or not you want to play Hogwarts Legacy after reading this review but know that you are not a bad person for wanting to see what living the life of a Hogwarts student must be like.
Side Note: as a fan of the Wizarding World universe and all it has to show for, I am in no way a fan or a supporter of She Who Must Not Be Named after what has been said and done. With that said, I am a firm believer in 'death of the author' so this review is based on what the developers, Avalanche Software alongside Portkey Games and Warner Bros were able to do to recreate Hogwarts and the entire universe surrounding it.
Back at Hogwarts
Having played read all the books on multiple occasions watched the films, and most of the Harry Potter video game series in my youth, Hogwarts Legacy was a great "reboot" to what the first five set out to be. While originally a sandbox-style game that allowed players to explore most of the castle and some of the outer areas, Hogwarts Legacy showcases what fans know and love about the books and its cinematic counterpart and introduces us to a new wizarding world in great detail and splendour.
To start you off, you'll first have to go through a short introduction as to why your character is a 15/16-year-old entering his fifth year of school. You'll soon encounter a goblin rebellion along the way that is somehow connected to your character. The introduction and tutorial also provide great visual detail and charm in terms of what the devs have waiting for the players.
Once you've gone through that short 10-minute run-through, you're greeted with a cinematic shot of Hogwarts in all its glory and wonder. And the moment you've sorted yourself out with the Sorting Hat, you're free to explore the castle in its entirety as well as the outer grounds. This also includes the neighbouring town, Hogsmeade as well as the Forbidden Forest and many other nearby villages, settlements, camps, and dungeons.
Of course, some areas will be locked or restricted as you will have to progress along with the story to unlock them. This was something I learned the hard way, having spent a good two hours aimlessly walking around the entire castle and exploring every corridor, hidden passage, as well as accessible room.
Built for the solo RPG player who loves to explore the entire map, Hogwarts Legacy is the type of game for you; an added benefit if you're a fan of the Wizarding World and what it has to offer from its lore. The entire region of Hogwarts and its surrounding areas are free for players to explore, which is made even easier once you have your broom or flying companion. The game also doesn't lock you in a box in terms of having to attend daily classes to learn or upgrade new items and skills.
While we went into it with the idea that it would be a little bit like Rockstar Games' Bully, Hogwarts Legacy was certainly not the case as players will only have to attend select classes as part of the game's quest line to learn new spells or unlock better items. And in keeping with the game's storyline of the player attending school in the fifth year, classes will also have optional quest lines in the form of assignments where when accomplished, players will unlock more spells and perks.
Players will also interact with NPC throughout the school as well as the grounds. This includes fellow students and classmates, professors, vendors, and the like. The game does include a relationship-building element that will grow depending on your interactions with these selected NPCs. Most of them will be students from other houses and you can grow your relationship with them to be your fellow companions when it comes to certain missions and duels as well as offering new abilities and unique dialogue options.
As a whole, Hogwarts Legacy has managed to encapsulate everything that fans and readers alike know about Hogwarts castle and brought it to life.
Good Work Devs
Ever since its inception, Avalanche Software has stood true to its words that the game was made for everyone to enjoy, enunciating on inclusivity for all. It has also distanced itself from the Wizarding World's creator, citing that she has no direct input or involvement in the game. Of course, with her team still involved, I'm sure she knows what's going on.
With that said, the devs at Avalanche Software have done a great job to ensure that players from all walks of life can enjoy Hogwarts Legacy without having to feel like they are in some way supporting its creator. This starts from the get-go in the character creation menu where players can create their character to be however they are.
If you have a Pottermore account that is linked to WB Games, you can also transfer all your current account details over to the game. This includes your avatar, house, wand, and companion.
Avalanche has also gone a step further in ensuring that even if the story is set in 1899, people were very much a lot like us, even back then. You get to also meet a trans character, who also happens to be the proprietor of a popular establishment just on the outskirts of Hogwarts. And given that this was set way back in the past, it's safe to say (in my eyes!) that this is canon.
The Actual Gameplay
Amidst all the positive and negative reactions that have been said about Hogwarts Legacy, it's a pretty good game to start in 2023. The story is decent with great ties to other lore within the Wizarding World while also having enough depth to keep it focused on itself. But of course, it does get dry and stale after a while with having to speak to numerous amounts of people while absorbing so much information.
Having said that, this writer has only accomplished about 20 per cent of the total game, so about one-fifth of the way there. Given the limited information I have about the overall trajectory of the story, all I can say so far is that it's easily one of the best story-driven open-world RPGs I've played in a long time. While not so much of a fan of the genre, Hogwarts Legacy was good enough to draw me in and has kept me hooked for the past week. If you're truly interested in what the Wizarding World has to offer over a century before the events of Harry Potter, Hogwarts Legacy is a great starting point.
One thing to note though is the side quests. While some do offer gold and items for completing certain tasks, many are just for cosmetics. The entire premise of the side quests feels redundant after a while too with many of them being fetch-and-grab missions with a few monsters thrown in.
However, this does make flying such a thrill, even if the broomstick controls are a little janky. Having your right analogue stick be both for ascending/descending as well as the camera makes it hard to steer and can be a little disorientating at first. You'll get the hang of it after a while and through different brands of broomsticks as well as customisations, it'll be a blast to soar across the castle for hours on end.
Imagine running through a forest, not knowing there is a sudden drop and just free-falling before equipping your broom mid-air. While a sensation like that can never truly be replicated in real life, it's still something pretty cool to do in a video game. If you're into that sort of thing.
As for its battle system, Hogwarts Legacy does have a fairly smooth way of going about it. The wand movements along with the flash of a curse or a jinx were particularly satisfying to both the eyes and ears. The motion capture for your character's wand movements looks way too clean for a 15-year-old wizard... that's all I'm saying.
Puzzles upon Puzzles
Given that it is an open-world RPG, the whole point is for you to get out there and venture about. Hogwarts itself gives you just that with plenty of puzzles and secrets, just waiting to be discovered. This includes magical portraits, winged keys, as well as flying pages scattered across the game. The castle itself is a welcoming place to get sucked in with the various chests lying and secrets lying about. There are also puzzle doors all around the castle with their very own side quest to it.
There are also dungeons, camp raids, and nesting sites for you to work your magic on, which are also a great way to get valuable loot and EXP. Some do come with their level requirements so do take heed before trying to attempt a troll that was a few levels above you. I also didn't happen to have a certain spell with me just yet, so that was also a bummer. Merlin also makes an appearance in which you have to find and complete his trials that are all over the vast map to earn yourself rewards.
And honestly, that is just the tip of the iceberg with Hogwarts Legacy. There are many layers to this game that I've yet to explore and cannot wait to do. The game offers plenty for you to see, do, and accomplish. However way you go about it is absolutely up to you; even if you decide to not finish the main quest line and just want to roam about, that's good too. And the game doesn't stop you from that.
Some Misses Along the Way
For all the highs Hogwarts Legacy brings, there is still work to be done for the game. Being able to skip cutscenes properly would be a great start and having a better layout for the map system will go wonders. And to one-click, all notifications, especially the non-essentials, should be a must-have for most given the amount of information one can find.
They could also look to upgrade on the technical side of things, like its loading system. A lot of it happens right behind doors in Hogwarts with short, but frequent pauses that disrupt the entire flow of the game for it to load whatever is happening next. And we all know how developers just really love doors.
And while wizarding duels in themselves are fun and slightly challenging, being able to get the right combinations of spells to use and interchange on-the-fly can be a bit of a hassle. Having to constantly press the right combination at the right time while dodging and casting Protego, all the while swapping around only four presets with four spells to choose from.
For all the wonder and splendour that Hogwarts Legacy brings, there is still some work to be done, some of which are hopefully through patch updates. But one of the most disappointing facts about the game is that there is no quidditch cup in Hogwarts. For all the exploration and spellcasting it offers, the one thing many fans wanted most was not even included in the game. And for some half-assed reason for that matter!
But if at all, quidditch could very well return as a DLC that hopefully, will come included with the game when it's ready and not for a price.
This is an ever-updating review that will have more to say as the game progresses.