Hogwarts Legacy
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Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. Embark on a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover magical beasts, customize your character and craft potions, master spell casting, upgrade talents and become the wizard you want to be.
Experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Make allies, battle Dark wizards, and ultimately decide the fate of the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it. Live the Unwritten.
Steam User 830
WB you should stop investing time and money into worthless live-service games, and start releasing more games like Hogwarts Legacy.
Steam User 706
The fact that you can't pause the game during cutscenes and conversations, is very frustrating. The cinematics are long (and sometimes exhausting). If your baby wakes up, If your phone rings, if someone's at the door, if you need to take a pan out of the oven... you can't pause the game! What's the deal with that? Put a pause feature! We have the technology!
Steam User 433
A very fun but not perfect game:
What I liked:
- You don't need to know every Harry Potter book/movie before playing Hogwarts Legacy to get immersed into this world
- Hogwarts and its surrounding areas are built in high detail and provide an awesome atmosphere
- Exploration is fun, as the world is believable and well designed
- The combat system seemed unusual at first but I ended up loving it. Might actually be one of my favourite mechanics of all video games I played: It is fast paced, dynamic and (at first) challenging, but once you get the hang of it, the fluid combat is just satisfying
- Some of the quests were really fun
What I didn't enjoy:
- After an interesting start, the first third or first half of the game felt repetitive and somewhat tedious: To learn Spell X you talk to professor Y but he or she won't teach it to you unless you do some basic fetch quest type of tasks first. Learn the spell and repeat the process over and over again
- This way of storytelling repeated all over the main quest line. The main quest itself would have been several hours shorter, if the people you need information from would just give it to you. Instead, you often end up having to do them some favors first or do preperation work. This does in fact make sense and wouldn't be an issue, but after a few hours you start to notice this repeating pattern. (The second half of the game is more interesting in my opinion)
- The game would have benefited from more depth in terms of RPG mechanics. Meaningful choices, more interactions in the open world. The majority of NPCs in the game are just for decoration (e.g. generic students all over the castle) but only a small amount actually has a purpose for the quests.
Steam User 336
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.
Steam User 408
I completely beat the game thus at this point it doesn't hide any more secrets from me, tho it doesn't change the fact that it had been a huge fun and Hogwarts Legacy was the game I really needed and I don't exclude replaying it in the future as it's become my personal favorite game of the 2023. It's not perfect, but absolutely deserved a positive review!
Pros:
beautiful, addicting world full of satisfying, but often undemanding fights. Using magic was exteremely fun and gave multiple possibilities of having a great combat experience (you can try stealth, defensive plants, potions, choose to learn unforgivable curses or just use mastered spells)
quite nice character development-you can spend talent points on improving your magic skills and upgrading your equipment items.
absolutely stunning beasts and landscapes offering tons of activities, side quests, puzzles, exploration
the Room of Requirements being in general your base where you can prepare your gear, brew potions, grow plants and breed beasts. It can be also decorated both by conjuring items from the collections and by changing its style with the help of your own slave, I mean house elf
engaging and fun side quests full of unexpected twists and sometimes heartbreaking situations compensating for the boring main story
quests unlimited in time or by the main story
despite not giving actual moral consequences of your actions, in some cases you can get a better reward and/or piss off the NPCs
large freedom of action
the possibilities of customizing your character (from their appearance, voice to the gear they use)
various and interesting side characters, at least some of them
fun, but again quite simple puzzles
versatile game for many hours and for every generation. Thanks to the fact that you play as a fifth-grade student, the plot seems more mature and at the same time it gives the opportunity to learn all the basics.
decent optimization, beautiful graphics and atmospheric music
great on Steam Deck!
Cons:
my biggest complaint is in spite of a huge level of immersion, the lack of an actual moral system. We can pour out dark magic all over Hogwarts and no one will even bat an eyelid. And no, we can't be bad per se, just rude. Even if you choose a bad ending and decide to open the repository, except for the mysterious death of Professor Figg, there are no consequences and you can still win the House Cup and be praised for what you've done. There is no penalty for robbing houses or using unforgivable curses. I think the biggest consequence I had was Natty asking calmly BLOODY HELL HOW DID YOU LEARN THIS SPELL
choosing a House is a small matter, apart from making friends from your House faster I suppose or getting an additional quest when it comes to Hufflepuff.
little varied life at Hogwarts, the first night will be the last you spend in your dorm . I feel there could be more interactions with fellow students and more activities within the house you belong to (you can't really storage the loots or use your room). Also the character can't sit, so furniture like sofa and chair are just a decoration.
boring main story. I get you're supposed to feel like a gifted chosen one, but the result was average for me.
no actual storyline from Ravenclaw
there could be more potion ingredients etc. so it'd be more complicated to find them
many NPCs were boring, unlikable and poorly written characters I won't miss, like for example I wasn't even sorry when Figg died
no Quidditch (maybe a chance for a DLC in coop in the nearest future?)
you can't romance Sebastian and Poppy :// but I get, it's a family friendly game
cutscenes in Ancient Magic and Merlin's Trials spots cannot be skipped
no photo mode therefore you can't take beautiful screenshots:(
It was a great adventure that gets you back to your childhood dreams and reminds you that your inner child is still there, evoking many pleasant memories. As a Potterhead I'm really impressed by the whole universe and how smart the devs created a story before the chosen one and only Harry Pottah. Play it and see for yourself:)
Steam User 329
Overall, I enjoyed it. But some downsides
-Your choices don't really matter at all(no alignment or anything)
-Can get really repetitive if you like to 100% games(looking at you Merlin Trials) with very little pay off
-While the outfits can be fun, it becomes a chore after a while
-Very little time is spent in classes and almost zero time feeling like you are part of whatever house you are sorted into
-NO QUDDITCH
-A very big drawback is that the world is empty and there is nothing to see except Hogwarts and Homesmead...but I understand that's what they were aiming for
-It's literally like you're playing a spin-off from the HP movies
"After all this time?"
"Always." ❤
Steam User 212
I enjoyed the game, but definitely wouldn't say it has a re-playable quality. After a while the combat is repetitive, the "treasures" that you find around the map quickly become boring and useless to your leveled character, and the story was a bit flat for me. It has an absolutely beautiful map, and you can tell the creators spent most of their time on that aspect. Anyone who is a Harry Potter fan will enjoy playing this if not solely for the feel of being a part of the Wizarding World. And for those of us still begrudgingly waiting for our letter, this is a nice bandaid to console us for the present.