This Hogwarts Legacy review may contain minor spoilers.
Whew. Hogwarts Legacy. It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years in the build up to its release. Has conversation surrounding a video game ever felt so polarised? Certainly, one could argue that it has had one of the most divisive launches in gaming history.
It stands to reason that the toxic debate afflicting the game has prevented many from judging it logically and fairly. When such toxicity surrounds a piece of media, it becomes more challenging to see it for what it truly is.
That’s why opinions on Hogwarts Legacy as a game seem to be just as inverse as arguments about the Wizarding World’s creator.
Hogwarts Legacy looks to simulate an authentic Hogwarts experience while also providing a world full of friendships to build, enemies to fight, creatures to collect, and spells to learn. On that premise alone it mostly delivers. And many Wizarding World fans will be positively thrilled with it.
However, for everything Legacy does well, an equal number of elements are just so frustratingly average. Alas, it’s nowhere near as bad as any ludicrous 1/10 scores may suggest. But is this a game that sets a higher standard for the genre it inhabits? Absolutely not.
Hogwarts Legacy review: Story
The Wizarding World has so much potential for engaging and thought-provoking stories. It is the backdrop for one of the world’s most popular novels after all. But Hogwarts Legacy‘s narrative leaves a lot to be desired, despite doing just enough to provide a passable plot fit for a fairly generic RPG.
That’s not to say some players won’t find aspects to enjoy. But this tale feels very much secondary, as if it were written out of necessity rather than genuine desire.
You’re a fifth-year student, having recently joined Hogwarts from who-knows-where. In true RPG fashion, you’re given creative control of your character’s appearance and name. Minimal backstory is provided for the protagonist, so you can fill in the blanks with whatever make-believe you like.
Before you even arrive at the school, trouble’s a brewin’. After meeting Professor Fig – your mentor and closest confidant – the journey to Hogwarts takes a layover at Gringotts. There, your character learns of their ability to see ancient magic.
And so begins your quest to uncover the truth about it. This puts you on a collision course with power-hungry goblin Ranrok who is trying to instigate a goblin uprising by utilising the power of ancient magic.
While Legacy‘s story offers hints of enticing conspiracy and historical conflict, it fails to establish a firm grip and remains mostly perfunctory throughout. Sure – you may care somewhat for your own character and their stake in events as they unfold. But few opportunities to influence the outcome of Legacy‘s narrative are afforded, thus there are few reasons to invest in its characters or conclusion.
Gameplay
Hogwarts Legacy excels at its magical combat. Throughout your fifth-year studies at Hogwarts, you’ll learn and perfect a wide variety of spells that can be incorporated into one-on-one duels and large showdowns against numerous hostile opponents.
Spells can be strung together into rapid and diverse combos made up of almost every type of cast. However, it isn’t always as simple as blasting enemies with an onslaught of magic. Often, specific spells must be used to break shields and overcome certain types of foes.
This extra dimension to the game’s encounters forces you to approach them with greater care and attention. Consequently, combat is surprisingly challenging in Hogwarts Legacy and you may frequently find yourself on the losing end of battles.
Unfortunately, stealth is fairly basic by comparison and exists as something of an afterthought. For example, enemies won’t notice if you perform a stealth attack on their buddy right next to them.
Talents
Talents are unlockable abilities in Hogwarts Legacy. They are split into five categories – Spells, Dark Arts, Core, Stealth, and Room of Requirement.
To maximise your witch/wizard’s power, it is essential to allocate your talent points selectively as these abilities can make quite the difference in combat.
There are 36 talent points up for grabs. How you spend them is up to you, and earning them is as simple as levelling up.
Of course, you are free to focus on specific builds for your character if you wish and there is no requirement to spread points equally.
Puzzles
Much like Hogwarts Legacy‘s story, its puzzles also fail to fully engage. They felt just as cursory, dragged down by their own wasted potential.
It is likely they were designed with the widest possible player base in mind. But that doesn’t mean they needed to be so easy.
Two common puzzle types in Legacy are Merlin Trials and locked arithmancy doors. And they are case in point. Merlin Trials are supposedly mythical head-scratchers devised by the legendary wizard himself. But they boil down to smashing/levitating/moving/climbing nearby objects.
Likewise, arithmancy doors can be quickly deciphered by matching the correct symbols and numerical values with the help of a cheat sheet.
Quest puzzles aren’t much better, either. While the Keepers’ trials are more complex and their individual puzzles take longer to solve, it is never long before your character blurts out the solution when “thinking” out loud.
Open world
The prospect of exploring Hogwarts Legacy‘s open world was the subject of much anticipation. And while it’s not quite as “spell-binding” as you might have hoped, it is adequately immersive.
There wasn’t a moment while exploring its vast landscape that I questioned which fictional universe I was supposed to be in. This is Harry Potter’s world and it is unmistakable.
Having said that, the game’s world is made up predominantly of a collection of hamlets, enemy strongholds, and the space in between them. Sadly, villages offer little variety and look largely the same, featuring many nondescript NPCs and market stalls.
While unique side quests can be obtained depending on the hamlet you are in, there isn’t a great enough reason to visit every single one or to get to know their residents.
The open world shines brightest when you are traversing it. Whether that is by broomstick or hippogriff, simply taking to the skies and soaring through the air is a special experience few games can match.
Gear and inventory management
Gear is ample in Hogwarts Legacy, and you’ll spend a tonne of time sorting through it all. However, I’m pleased to say you can fully customise what your character wears from head to toe.
Outfits allow for total freedom of expression, no matter how whacky or out-there your fashion choices may be. And there’s no requirement to hold onto gear just for the way it looks.
When you collect better gear, you can assign the appearance of a different item. That means you can still benefit from any stat boosts without forgoing style.
With that being said, inventory management in Hogwarts Legacy borders on insufferable. Every other piece of gear you collect will be superior to what you are currently wearing. So, you’ll have to go into the menus and swap. If you want to retain the look of another item, you also need to reassign that when you switch to new clothes.
This happens constantly in Legacy, and it isn’t helped by the game’s frustratingly low carry limit. Not only are you forever changing clothes, but you also need to sell or drop items to make room for new ones.
It’s just too much. Dipping into menus every five minutes to change your gear is no fun, even if the outfits do look cool.
Hogwarts Legacy review: Graphics and performance
There’s no other way to say it. Hogwarts Legacy is simply stunning. The world Avalanche Software has created is sumptuously rich and detailed, complete with awe-inspiring landscapes and intricately crafted interiors.
Hogwarts is cosy yet colossal. Neat yet messy. Warm yet freezing. It all depends on the circumstance. The castle itself is lovingly realised and it was clearly pored over with immense attention to detail.
Meanwhile, landscapes in Legacy aren’t disparate – but they flourish on-screen despite all being a bit samey. As mentioned, there is no better way to experience Hogwarts Legacy than from the sky where its expansive beauty can be fully appreciated.
Disappointingly, Legacy‘s recurrent performance issues undo some of the goodwill earned by its satisfying visuals.
Frame rate drops are common (even in Performance mode), particularly while inside cluttered rooms and when the in-game action picks up. At times, performance hiccups genuinely made me question whether Legacy will be a good fit for last-gen hardware.
Invisible walls are also irritatingly frequent, as are minor visual and character model bugs. Nevertheless, I didn’t encounter a single game-breaking issue or hard crash during my time with Hogwarts Legacy.
Hogwarts Legacy review: Verdict
Hogwarts Legacy will satisfy any Potterhead’s cravings for magical adventure. After all, this may be the closest fans ever get to attending Hogwarts themselves and it is all thanks to the commendable efforts of the developers at Avalanche Software.
Hogwarts has been exquisitely recreated here and it is the perfect setting to build your own Wizarding World story, even if your influence on the game’s middling plot is limited.
Similarly, Legacy offers little of significance as a role-playing title. It is jam-packed with genre tropes to its detriment, and is bogged down by inventory management, uninspired settlements, and generic NPCs.
Given the sheer scale of controversy surrounding this game and the division it has indirectly stoked, it is a shame the finished product can be boiled down to one underwhelming half-word: mid.
Hogwarts Legacy is a testament to the dedication of its creators and is worthy of its source material. But it could’ve been so much more. Instead, it settled for everything we expected and is destined to be remembered for the poisonous debate that preceded it.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
Version played: PS5
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