Hogwarts Legacy Review: A Triumphant Visit to the Wizarding World
For Harry Potter fans who have been eagerly waiting for a truly exceptional Harry Potter game since they were in third grade, Hogwarts Legacy is finally here. This action-adventure RPG captures the magic of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry like never before.
Although it may not be the most technically advanced game, its spellcasting combat, charming characters, and vast world are stupefyingly good.
A Fantastic Character Creator
The fantastic character creator in Hogwarts Legacy has plenty of options for players to craft their ideal wizard, and as soon as they do, they will immediately become entangled in a conflict between the wizarding world and an evil goblin.
Additionally, the player will soon discover that they have supercharged magical abilities that allow them to do extra cool stuff that is not explained. However, the player will spend most of their time with classmates who become friends and help the player hone their abilities as a magic user.
Most of these characters are memorable and endearing, such as Sebastian, the cocky Slytherin, and Sigh, the clever Gryffindor. Spending time with these characters and improving social links through relationship quest lines makes the player’s stay at Hogwarts all the more enjoyable.
An Immersive World
The world of Hogwarts Legacy is packed with nearly everything that fans wanted in a Harry Potter game and more. Players will find themselves wandering the stone-cobbled halls and secret passageways of Hogwarts, flying around the Forbidden Forest on a broomstick, and exploring dark caves lit only by the glow of the Lumos spell.
The developers at Avalanche have captured the look and feel of the Wizarding World so well that players will be amazed just by being there, no matter what trivial errand they are on.
However, the immersion can be occasionally broken by the game’s dicey performance, including frame rate inconsistency, lighting issues, and aggressive pop-in while moving around quickly.
Fantastic Spell-casting Combat
As someone who finds the wand-whipping fights in the Harry Potter movies fairly dull, the author was initially concerned that Hogwarts Legacy’s spellcasting combat wouldn’t be able to hold their attention.
However, the combat turned out to be fantastic, challenging, and captivating. The trick to the combat is dodging and countering enemy attacks while pulling off creative combos.
For example, players can pull enemies towards them with Accio, light them on fire with the close-range Incendio, then blow them away with the explosive Bombarda spell.
Chaining together abilities to make enemies look like complete fools never stops being amusing, especially as players unlock talent tree perks that enhance their skills with modifiers.
Many of the combat encounters are legitimately challenging, and the author died their fair share of times while trying to show off a new set of spells or by neglecting to see a goblin sneaking up behind them.
Improving skills and figuring out which spells work best for the player is an entertaining process filled with experimentation.
Final Thoughts
Hogwarts Legacy is a triumph for Harry Potter fans who have been waiting for a truly exceptional game. Its spellcasting combat, fantastic character creator, and immersive world are stupefyingly good, and the characters are charming and unforgettable.
Although the game may not be the most technically advanced and has a lack of enemy variety, these issues cannot cast a decendo charm on this triumphant visit to the Wizarding World.