This review contains spoilers
‣ 7/10 – Imagine getting killed by a kid with a stick screaming Avada Kedavra at you.
‣ Thoughts: Hogwarts Legacy can be reviewed and rated in two ways. I tried to look at it as a complete package, but it does one aspect better than the other. As an open-world action game, it feels undercooked in many areas, and I felt the development shortcuts everywhere. However, as a Harry Potter game it is everything a kid could’ve asked for.
I’m not a big fan of this franchise, nor do I care much about it, but this world was so masterfully recreated I immediately felt immersed. Exploring the castle and its surrounding areas feels rewarding and exciting. Every corner has something special and worthwhile. It is truly a dream come true to some. Flying around on your broom and customizing the massively interactable room of requirements is not something I expected to get in this game. Thankfully, there is plenty of activities to partake in and enjoy. Capturing random beasts and then naturing them in your secret rooms is a great addition and will add more gametime than expected. All in all, the game provides a decent Hogwarts student/magician experience and throws you around the entire place without many shortcuts, but if you look at this as an open-world title the curtain starts to crumble.
Firstly, there’s the story and its characters. You only get 14 main story quests and all of them could be done quickly, but you are gatekept by specific requirements that are only met with the completion of side quests. These side quests do feel integral, but by the end of the game I got tired of chasing down paintings and lost beasts. On top of that, all the fun stuff like brooms, griffins and other unlockable additions to your arsenal are locked behind these main quests. So, if you fuck around doing side quests you might not have a broom for like 10 hours or more. With that said the game encourages you to do side quests but you are also discouraged to do them too much because you will miss out on fun upgrades unlocked in the story. They keep this formula going for so long that you literally keep unlocking new stuff till the end of the game when it doesn’t even matter anymore. What I’m getting at is, everything feels rushed and there are many corners cut for no real reason. Quidditch is not around for a pathetic nothing burger excuse. Main characters are game ended without any buildup. Relationships that you build go nowhere. The story just ends with a simple speech cutscene and 5 kids dancing in a circle celebrating their house victory. Villains are only on screen for a total of like 10 minutes. You can’t even take the O.W.L exam. Gear has no meaning besides being swapped out with a bigger stat. Beasts only provide upgrade materials but can not be utilized in any other form. Main characters are not unique and have the same facial presets that are used on all the NPCs making them feel insignificant. I swear I saw Professor Fig manning the shop in Hogsmeade… And many other complaints and undercooked features I could name. Like the student life being only a small portion of the whole game etc.
In any case, I still enjoyed the game a lot. Like I said, it is a great Harry Potter experience. Yes, the open world and its activities are repetitive and rarely rewarding, but they do keep you engaged. Flying on the broom is way more flexible than I could have predicted, but sadly the beasts control like dog water. I hope the sequel if there’s one goes bigger and gives us even more stuff to do around the castle. This is a great blueprint and probably the most immersive Harry Potter franchise recreation. I learned more about the world from this game than I did from all the movies.
‣ Thoughts: Hogwarts Legacy can be reviewed and rated in two ways. I tried to look at it as a complete package, but it does one aspect better than the other. As an open-world action game, it feels undercooked in many areas, and I felt the development shortcuts everywhere. However, as a Harry Potter game it is everything a kid could’ve asked for.
I’m not a big fan of this franchise, nor do I care much about it, but this world was so masterfully recreated I immediately felt immersed. Exploring the castle and its surrounding areas feels rewarding and exciting. Every corner has something special and worthwhile. It is truly a dream come true to some. Flying around on your broom and customizing the massively interactable room of requirements is not something I expected to get in this game. Thankfully, there is plenty of activities to partake in and enjoy. Capturing random beasts and then naturing them in your secret rooms is a great addition and will add more gametime than expected. All in all, the game provides a decent Hogwarts student/magician experience and throws you around the entire place without many shortcuts, but if you look at this as an open-world title the curtain starts to crumble.
Firstly, there’s the story and its characters. You only get 14 main story quests and all of them could be done quickly, but you are gatekept by specific requirements that are only met with the completion of side quests. These side quests do feel integral, but by the end of the game I got tired of chasing down paintings and lost beasts. On top of that, all the fun stuff like brooms, griffins and other unlockable additions to your arsenal are locked behind these main quests. So, if you fuck around doing side quests you might not have a broom for like 10 hours or more. With that said the game encourages you to do side quests but you are also discouraged to do them too much because you will miss out on fun upgrades unlocked in the story. They keep this formula going for so long that you literally keep unlocking new stuff till the end of the game when it doesn’t even matter anymore. What I’m getting at is, everything feels rushed and there are many corners cut for no real reason. Quidditch is not around for a pathetic nothing burger excuse. Main characters are game ended without any buildup. Relationships that you build go nowhere. The story just ends with a simple speech cutscene and 5 kids dancing in a circle celebrating their house victory. Villains are only on screen for a total of like 10 minutes. You can’t even take the O.W.L exam. Gear has no meaning besides being swapped out with a bigger stat. Beasts only provide upgrade materials but can not be utilized in any other form. Main characters are not unique and have the same facial presets that are used on all the NPCs making them feel insignificant. I swear I saw Professor Fig manning the shop in Hogsmeade… And many other complaints and undercooked features I could name. Like the student life being only a small portion of the whole game etc.
In any case, I still enjoyed the game a lot. Like I said, it is a great Harry Potter experience. Yes, the open world and its activities are repetitive and rarely rewarding, but they do keep you engaged. Flying on the broom is way more flexible than I could have predicted, but sadly the beasts control like dog water. I hope the sequel if there’s one goes bigger and gives us even more stuff to do around the castle. This is a great blueprint and probably the most immersive Harry Potter franchise recreation. I learned more about the world from this game than I did from all the movies.