Hogwarts Legacy- A Review
I am a long time Harry Potter fan, so when I saw the leak for Hogwarts Legacy back in 2017 I couldn't believe my dream was coming true. When I say I was obsessed with the wizarding world, I mean I've read all the books, watched all the movies a million times, and had a room filled with posters and merchandise. Even now, when someone isn't sure what to get me for Christmas, Harry Potter merch is their safest bet.
The Harry Potter series is what inspired me to become a writer. Hogwarts, a fictional place constructed out of nothing but words, was my home.
I actually cried during the title screen when I began playing Hogwarts Legacy.
So why didn't I love it as much as I thought I would?
By the way, spoilers ahead.
Now, this isn't to say I didn't love the game. Avalanche Software did A LOT right. They stuck true to the source material and dedicated so much to accurately bringing the castle to life. Avalanche Software (not to be confused with Avalanche Studios, the creator of the Just Cause franchise and Mad Max) created mostly Disney games before they took on the ambitious project that was Hogwarts Legacy. So, with this in mind, I decided that I would give them the benefit of the doubt when it came to some things.
What Was Good?
By far, the best feature in Hogwarts Legacy is the castle. They delivered on every promise when it came to it. They even included hidden passageways from the book, like the One-Eyed Witch Passage to Honeydukes. You can explore nearly every part of the castle after you learn all three levels of the unlocking charm-- Alohomora. The attention to detail inside the castle really made you feel like you were at Hogwarts. Peeves pranking students around the castle was nostalgic for book readers, and it gave the movie watchers a taste of what they were missing out on.
My favorite encounter was with the two knights in one of the many corridors. One would be humming and the other would punch him to shut him up. This happens a lot, but if you stop at just the right time then a new encounter is played, where the second knight-- fed up with the other knight's humming-- literally beats the absolute crap out of the first knight, until he is nothing but a few pieces of scrap metal.
Another one of my favorite encounters was with a student who had been stung by a Billywig. Billywigs are magical insects that will inflict a horrible curse on any unfortunate soul stung by it- floating (Don’t worry it's temporary). Two students were helping out this floating student when they realized they had forgotten to write a paper, and they ended up leaving him! Another student wandered up to the floating student, made a casual comment about him being stung, and then left him too.
Unfortunately, you cannot help so you will be forced to leave him as well. Just like everyone else.
The game did a good job at creating funny and lovable side characters. Gamer's favorite character by far is a Slytherin named Sebastian Sallow. He is witty, charming, has a dark secret, and a morbid fascination with the dark arts that stems from a kind heart. His quest line left me feeling more emotion than the main story-- take that as you will; it can be a good and bad thing. Sebastian's story goes to show that Avalanche had it in them to create a narrative that will pull at your heartstrings and leave you feeling absolutely torn.
One of the strongest side quests is the PS5 exclusive quest- the Haunted Hogsmeade Shop. Although you get some benefits from completing this quest-- a shop to sell your items for better prices-- the real gem is the story. Being thrust into this twisted, eerie version of the game was amazing. I loved the puzzles, the mannequins, and the fight with the troll while upside down.
This isn't the only time the developers use simple tricks to change the feel of the game. During one of the trials, you play in a storybook-like environment where everything is sketched out, a call back to the seventh Harry Potter movie where the story of the three brothers is told through a drawn out style.
Character creation was limited, but I was very satisfied with the look of my character during most cutscenes. Despite the creation system not being as in depth as games like Cyberpunk 2077, it still allowed for a wide range of looks that worked for the majority of players.
Combat was a lot of fun. It took a while to get a hang of, since on the PlayStation tapping triangle cast Protego, holding R2 cast Stupify, and doing both cast an entirely different spell. Things got mixed up in the heat of the moment, but by the time you mastered it, you felt powerful.
Avalanche did an amazing job with taking the concept of the Room of Requirement and turning it into a gameplay and story mechanic. The ability to customize the entire room and furniture took up a lot of my time and I enjoyed it. The vivarium that housed the fantastic beast was a wonderful addition. I collected so many animals and the ability to breed and make baby Mooncalves or Nifflers left me overwhelmed with cuteness. It is definitely one of the strongest points of the game.
So . . .
What Was Bad?
"Deek thinks you should be proud of all the potions you've made."
"You can't imagine how inconvenient travel was before I invented floo powder."
"Off on another adventure now, are we?"
If you've played the game, these are just a few of the dialogue lines that are haunting your every waking moment. The amount of overly repeated dialogue drove me insane. It was unnecessary. Every time you entered Hogsmeade, every time you entered a small settlement, every time you passed the floo powder lady.
Did you get the part where I said every time? Maybe I need to repeat it for you, just in case you didn't hear me.
Every. Time.
Another problem I encountered was weak or repetitive loot. I would go out of my way to reach a chest or bag only to find I've received another pair of glasses or a scarf I won't wear. Yay. This might not have been a problem for others who utilized these items, but I personally didn't care for them. But hey, I got a lot of money selling them.
The side quests were generic at best. Most of them were helper quests, where you go and help an NPC and get an award whether you're rude about it or not. But, personally, I felt very little connection to my character, no incentive to explore the world, or do any quest outside of the relationship quest.
The biggest problem for me, that became apparent pretty early on, was the illusion of choice. For an RPG style game, the system for dialogue options always routed you back to a linear story no matter what you said. This is why I call it an illusion. It makes you think you can accept or decline, be good or evil, but in the end you are going to go down the one way street the story is taking you.
Games like Red Dead Redemption, a single player open world game, did this better than Hogwarts Legacy. With a morality system, the choices you made in both story and gameplay ACTUALLY made a difference. And it wasn't even an RPG game.
This brings me to the main story itself. It was weak, cliche, and an utilized an overused fantasy trope. Congratulations, YOU alone are the special one. How convenient that you happened to be in the carriage at the perfect time to see that magical glow. (Admittedly the dragon attack that followed had me reeling, it was unexpected and done well). By the end, whether you choose to be good or "bad", you are going to save the world like the good guy Avalanche wants you to be.
What I Wish It Had
This is mostly personal, but I have seen a lot of other gamers on reddit and YouTube voicing the same ideas as me. The game would be so much more immersive if your character was able to interact with the environment more. At the present moment, the most you can do is pet a cat, or spin a globe. Or another globe. Just a "plethora of globes" as @richardwhite_offical has said. All very muggle things to do. But here are a few more muggle things I wish I could do: eat in the great hall, sit in my bed in my dorm, study in the common room, sit on a couch or bench.
I also felt the classes were lacking. They weren't too bad at first but gradually you have less and less involvement in the classroom. Avalanche had a perfect game to draw inspiration from, as many have already said before me. Bully, by Rockstar, had a classroom system set up that kept the game engaging but also made the player feel like they were a student (I'm starting to think Rockstar would have nailed this game). I wanted potions class to be like PS2's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, where you had to add the right amount of ingredients to your potion and make it the right color in order to succeed.
Another thing the older games did well that I wish was incorporated were minigames. Even PS2's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had minigames, like gobstones and wizards chess. These games are only mentioned in passing, practically teased, but nothing more.
Lastly, I wish I could do more with the friends we made along the way. Besides a few side quests and the longer relationship quest, you don't get much more out of them. One of the greatest things about the Harry Potter series was the sense of comradery, of family, and I don't feel like I get that in Hogwarts Legacy. Sure, your friends are grateful you helped them but that's it.
Hogwarts Legacy was a good game, but not a good RPG game, and in the end your choices do not define the legacy of Hogwarts.
All images captured by me.