The Wizarding World is one of those intellectual properties that has made a lasting impact on our society. Starting as a humble series of books, Harry Potter took the world by storm and its legacy would be cemented into our culture with the eight movies that followed it. Since then, the Wizarding World’s reputation has taken a few hits, be it with the terrible Magic Beasts trilogy and the terrible, out of touch opinions and beliefs of the author, the world of Harry Potter has earned an air of ill repute; nothing with the Wizarding World attached would be received without scrutiny. Hogwarts Legacy released earlier this year under these conditions, and both fans and non-fans alike condemned the game to lash out against the thoughts of the author, disregarding if the game is good or not. Luckily for the developers of Hogwarts Legacy, fifteen million copies have been sold, with praise coming from gamers and critics.

Hogwarts Legacy was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros Games under the label of Portkey Games. Released initially on February 10^th of this year on current generation consoles and PC, with older consoles releasing later in the year, Hogwarts Legacy managed to overcome the initial controversy to see critical success. Over the course of 32 hours, I played the game on PC and completed the story of the game along with key side quests and character interactions. According to the in-game guide/companion I completed 70% of the challenges and open world activities.

Game reviews done in my style are organized into five categories, with each being graded on a scale from one to five. At the end of the review, all the categories will be summed up to determine the game’s letter grade. The five review categories include: gameplay, story and characters, visuals, soundtrack and sound design and quality of life. Gameplay is game and level design, the quality of the combat, traversal mechanics and skill tress. Story and characters judge the narrative and character development. Visuals discusses the quality of the graphics and art direction. Soundtrack and sound design looks at the original score, sounds, and ambient music that fills the world. Finally, quality of life grades the game on user interface and game stability.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy revolves around the usage of the over thirty available spells ranging from Revelio to Bombarda. Each spell is categorized into different classes; control, force, damage and essential. Every spell has a different effect when it comes to dueling or combat. In addition, each spell is used outside of combat, be it burning away overgrown vines or moving objects to help climb to a higher platform. This multiuse spell list is what makes Hogwarts Legacy’s gameplay unique. In most games I play these features are separate, but here your spells are crucial not only in defending yourself, but to also navigate the world and discover new locations. Combat utilizes a combo system and encourages the player to switch between the different spell types to control the swarms of enemies around you. You can levitate, freeze, petrify, throw, and stun enemies. Certain enemies will have shields that can only break on a certain class of spell while others are vulnerable to some, such as spiders and undead being weak to fire and ice. In addition to your spells, your character can dodge and parry with a counter system and if you are in a tight spot, you can use your character’s connection to ancient magic to deliver a mighty blow that one hits most enemies. Ancient magic builds up through combos and defeating enemies. Puzzles meanwhile are scattered throughout the world and come in a variety of difficulties. While many have a specific spell in mind in their design, you can often find different solutions to solve the puzzle than what was intended.

Hogwarts Legacy’s traversal system is diverse and enjoyable. A fast travel system is in place to get from one region of the map to another, with numerous key locations within Hogwarts itself marked for fast travel, which helps because it can be easy to get lost inside the magical castle, which lives up to the source material. It also helps that the fast travel system comments occasionally based on the location you traveled to. Hogwarts Legacy also has a variety of mounts for aerial traversal options. One of my favorites is the ability to ride a hippogriff through the air and on the ground. It relived my favorite moment from the movies, so it had a personal touch for me. However, the most efficient travel method is the broomstick, it is faster and has better handling.

The one flaw I see from the gameplay is the trait system. After a certain point, leveling up earns you points that you can use on new spell effects, buffs, and extra spell slots. Outside of the extra spell slots, the traits themselves feel tacked on and unnecessary. Other small issues include an inventory too small and the only way to improve it is to grind Merin trials to increase inventory capacity. Enemy variety grew stale by the end of the playthrough yet were still entertaining.

Hogwarts Legacy’s gameplay score is a 4.5/5.

Story and Characters

Spoiler warning ahead for story specifics for Hogwarts Legacy.

The basic story premise of Hogwarts Legacy is the following: you the player have been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the way to the school, you are attacked by a dragon under the influence of magic and stumble upon ancient ruins that are unlocked by a key given to you at the start of the game. There you dive into Gringotts Bank through a secret entrance to discover more about your ability to harness ancient magic and meet the painting of one of the Keepers, protectors of the ancient magic that you can control. However, you are interrupted by Ranrok, the leader of the current goblin rebellion who attacks you using the same power that influenced the dragon. After escaping Gringotts, you arrive at Hogwarts and are sorted into your house; officially starting your Hogwarts adventure. Guided by your mentor, Professor Fig, you must understand your new powers while also studying to pass your OWL exams at the end of the year.

Along your journey you will meet many students who will accompany you on the journey; Sebastian Sallow, Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting and Amit Thakkar, a student from each house. Each of these characters of their own quests and motives that you can explore. Natsai Onai wishes to bring the local Dark Wizards to justice in remembrance of her father who died protecting her. Sebastian Sallow will go to any length to cure his sister, even if it means delving into dark magic. Poppy Sweeting wants to protect the magical beasts that inhabit the lands from the poachers that exploit them. Over the course of the game, you form bonds with each of these companions. For me Sebastian was the most impactful and his questline was the best and most heartbreaking, during his story he uses the Unforgivable Curses in attempts to use an artifact, only to turn his family and friends against him. I ended up turning in Sebastian for his actions where I believed he could repent.

The main questline revolves around you completing trials to learn about your connection to the ancient magic and its potential of evil from the Keepers, who after each successful trial sheds more light on why the secrets are so coveted. Unfortunately, Ranrok and his goblins are after the same magic to overthrow wizardkind. A former Keeper that held the same power as you, Isidora Morganach, attempted to remove essence of pain from her students and father and stored them in a repository. Ready to use this power to build a better world, the Keepers were forced to kill Isidora and scatter her memories, so that the ancient magic repository remains secret. The conclusion of the story comes down to one final showdown against Ranrok under Hogwarts, where after absorbing the repository turned into a dragon. However, during the battle Professor Fig dies and his funeral marks the end of the game, but if you play through the short post-game, you’ll reach the true ending where you claim the House Cup for your house.

The story for Hogwarts Legacy, though simplistic, was enjoyable. But the side quests with your Hogwarts friends is where the story is truly impactful. The main questline at times was predictable, but offered encouragement to play through the gameplay loops and did not drag the game down. There were emotional highs and lows that left an impact on the gaming experience for the better.

Hogwart Legacy’s story and characters score is a 4/5.

Visuals

Hogwarts Legacy is portrayed beautifully, delivering breathtaking sights and visuals. The art designers at Avalanche did a wonderful job in translating the visuals from previous media into their video game. Familiar locations like Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest are brought to life with brilliant color that applies to both the environment and the creatures that live there. In my opinion however, the graphics and performance of Hogwarts Legacy performed best at a distance. Closer up, there were signs of frame drops and poor character models, not to say that these were terrible, but nothing to write home about. Though the art direction of the game taking the known Wizarding World into the 1800s is a brilliant addition adding wardrobes and technology from the time into the game as a breath of fresh air for the franchise, these are only minor additions to an otherwise already fantastic world. Character expressions during cutscenes and conversations were also a flaw in the graphical performance of the game as they appeared wonky and unrealistic at their worst. Small details and easter eggs from the books and other pieces of lore were presented in great detail. In combat, the effects of spells on enemies, such as freezing them with ice, didn’t hinder the graphical performance and were a welcome surprise.

The graphics of Hogwarts Legacy overall performs well with the exception of the occasional hiccup and the character models. While the designs of the aesthetics are good, facial features are their downfall. Environmental graphics and design are the graphical strengths of Hogwarts Legacy.

Hogwarts Legacy’s graphical score is a 3.5/5.

Soundtrack and Sound Design

If you enjoyed the soundtrack of the Harry Potter movies, then you will enjoy the music from Hogwarts Legacy. Several influences from the movie series’ soundtrack can be heard in the Legacy soundtrack. In addition, many local influences such as bagpipes and other British instruments can be heard in the environmental ambience that adds a magical touch to exploring the Wizarding World. When it comes to sound design, the volume of the game, even if the setting is reduced, can be loud at times. This off balance of volume can be off putting at times but doesn’t ruin the experience. Simple sound effects from tossing a metal anvil at an enemy or the flapping of wings on a hippogriff are done well. Other than the lack of originality in the music, there are little to no flaws with the sound design with the game. In fact, it does its job well in inspiring the player to explore and help transport them into the Wizarding World.

Hogwarts Legacy’s sound design score is a 4.5/5.

Quality of Life

When it comes to the user interface of Hogwarts Legacy, I have a few issues with the control scheme. Since I played the game on PC, the spell activation keys were numbered and switching between spell slots required hitting keys above them, the F1 key for example. This often caused misinputs in intense situations, but I can levy this towards my fat fingers. However, this can still be an issue with keys designated to multiple actions. This can cause the player to act in a way that wasn’t intentional. The UI is functionable and has ease of use that doesn’t get in the way, however some of the selectable options are grouped up too closely that it can get in the way of the desired option. I experienced no crashes or major glitches, however the lack of NPC interaction with the crowds and extras in the game can take away a little from the immersion.

Hogwarts Legacy’s quality of life score is a 4/5.

Final Verdict

Hogwarts Legacy is a great game and offered a very enjoyable experience. I was able to reenact my favorite parts of the films and books. The team at Avalanche created an open world game that allowed the player to enjoy the parts they want to, which is the goal of these types of games. I enjoyed collecting beasts and defeating enemies using a variety of spells. Though in the post-game Hogwarts Legacy became grindy in order to achieve the final ending, the game as a whole didn’t feel grindy or drag. Gameplay is the star of the game with story and characters offering proper motivation to keep playing. Graphics and sound, though not perfect, don’t get in the way of the game. As of now, in my opinion Hogwarts Legacy is a game of the year candidate.

The final verdict to Hogwarts Legacy is a 21/25 or a grade of B.