Title: Hogwarts Legacy
Developer: Avalanche Software
Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
Release Date: (Initial) February 10th, 2023
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Hogwarts Legacy is one of the most anticipated–and controversial–games of 2023, selling 12 million units in the first two weeks and generating $850 million dollars in sales. If you are on the fence of playing this game, please check out my review below and see if it’s for you.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Boss Rush Network believes in the right of individuals to boycott or to enjoy games of their own choosing, and this review will only focus on the gaming experience and content. It is our goal as gaming enthusiasts and content producers to provide only objective commentary, rather than engage in political discussion, which is outside the scope of Boss Rush Network.
Synopsis
Hogwarts Legacy is sometimes referred to “that Harry Potter game”; however, it is far from it. Yes, this title shares the same universe, but it takes place in the late 1800s. You play as a new student, entering as a fifth year–something uncommon and has piqued the interest of students and professors alike. Hogwarts Legacy tells the story of a Goblin rebellion led by a ruthless Ranrok who works with a Dark Wizard group led by Victor Rockwood, who’ve all taken interest in your link to a powerful and mysterious ancient magic.
You tune into your ancient magic to uncover the secret behind the Keepers, undergo their trials, and witness memories of a young woman who was in a similar position as you. Those memories become the key to understanding the grave responsibility of protecting such powerful magic, for devastating consequences could befall the wizarding world if it ever falls into the wrong hands.
This action RPG is massive. If you focus on the main storyline, it will take you approximately 20-25 hours; however, you will soon run into scores of side quests, or you may even just get lost in exploring the world. More on that later.
Analysis
Phew. This is going to be an undertaking. So, let’s break this down:
Graphics and Sound
Hogwarts Legacy features a Fidelity Mode (30 fps) and Performance Mode (60 fps). I personally selected Fidelity Mode knowing I would be enthralled with the world-building, and it didn’t disappoint. First of all, the world map was larger than I anticipated. Not only do you explore Hogwarts and Hogsmeade (a little village nearby), but you also have a sizeable area outside of that, which includes the Forbidden Forest, Trolls caves, enemy camps, and other villages. Everything is colorful and detailed. Even the character models are impressive. In fact, I often joke that I can easily see Professor Hecat’s pores. That’s how detailed Hogwarts Legacy is.
Human pores aside, the game does provide such graphical fidelity that I feel like I am wandering around a living, breathing world. Avalanche included many details in Hogwarts castle, from moving portraits to enchanted statues. The textures are spot on, and there are always things you can interact with.
Admittedly, even when playing in Fidelity Mode, I did run into a few graphical glitches. For example, when I initiated the Merlin’s challenge side quests, fireflies would literally appear and disappear from their spot while speaking with a researcher named Natty.
The music matches the game you’re playing. Aside from moments of combat, whimsical sound fills your ears as you perform charms or transfigure items in the Room of Requirement. The sound matches the game’s intent to inspire wonder and curiosity in the player.
Speaking of graphics and sound, let’s talk character selection. There are a decent amount of choices to customize your character, although I’ve heard from friends that it isn’t the most comprehensive. You start with a base and can adjust features like hair, eyes, eyebrows, facial structure, voice and pitch, and even whether you’re considered a witch or wizard.
Gameplay
For a massive RPG, gameplay is overall very intuitive. Aside from standard controls like running, dodging, and jumping, you equip spells into spell slots. You have a max of 16 available spell slots and a total of 34 spells you can learn. While the assignment and casting of spells are easy enough to master, having half the spell slots available (and that’s after you’ve upgraded to that point) can make it a hassle when you are moving from objective to objective. I regularly had to rearrange my spell slots when I am in the Room of Requirement or preparing for a battle.
You also have an items wheel where you can equip support items such as potions or items to assist in battle. Even more importantly, you have a spot for flying on your broom!
The UI is user friendly, with a shortcut to the map. Otherwise, you have a wheel where you can check out equipment, talents, objectives, upgrades, and more. You can unlock warp ports via Floo Flames. This allows for exploration the first go-around, but then allows for shortcuts afterward. Because of how massive Hogwarts Legacy is and what it has to offer, the UI is appropriate for its scope.
As briefly mentioned in the synopsis, you have a main storyline you follow that explores your connection with ancient magic. Objectives include interacting with key characters in the game such as Professor Fig, Sirona the bartender, and Percival Rackham. You must learn required spells, take classes, and undergo four Keeper trials. These trials are shared by four Keepers, those that knew about the powerful ancient magic. As you progress through these trials, you also unlock the memories surrounding another fifth year student, Isidora Morganach–someone who was in a position that you are in now.
True RPG elements shine as you gain XP through main and side quests, battling enemies, and excelling in classes. As you level up, you earn talent points. Talent points can be used to upgrade skills in the following categories: spells, dark arts, core, stealth, and Room of Requirement. There is also a good deal of socializing you can do with fellow classmates and choose different response types.
A note on combat. After some practice, it’s a lot of fun creating combos. There is no shortage of ways to handle enemies, whether you are supplementing with potions, utilizing magical plants to aid in the fight, stupefying an enemy after a successful parry, or summoning Ancient Magic once the meter if full. However, it’s not flawless. The aiming and targeting is less intuitive. There are times where I am focused on a higher level poacher, and I need to knock their defenses down with the right type of spell (via color coding), but if another enemy runs by or I shift my camera angle, my target could change! Then, I hit the wrong person. The manual way to aim (LT then RT) was too cumbersome, so I took the risk with the auto targeting.
There are also come incredible side missions, especially ones with your fellow students, Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, and Sebastian Sallow. With them you take down an illegal dragon fighting ring, battle down nasty poachers, and dabble in..Dark Magic to save a cursed girl. Another one of my favorite side missions is the one currently exclusive to PlayStation: Minding Your Own Business. This involves taking over a store in Hogsmeade, but not before enduring a dark and frightening challenge.
Sometimes it’s challenging to keep track of it all, and even when playing in Normal difficulty, you still need to manage your resources. For example, money isn’t easy to come by, and ingredients at Hogsmeade are expensive! I had to work hard for items or upgrades, and it made me feel accomplished at the end of it all. As I logged more hours into the game, I also lost steam with looking for all the treasure chests in the world, as most consisted of outfits, and I wished there was a little more variety of rewarding the player for exploration. Traveling to animal dens and enemy camps were the most fun for me. Regardless, the Field Guide was a clever means to keep tabs on your objectives on the map.
Finally, I wanted to touch base on the ending (major spoilers avoided). Victor Rockwood was a mediocre boss that proceeds Ranrock, as it felt like an overpowered poacher with lackeys trying to get in your way. It was still fun, but I thoroughly enjoyed the epic battle with Ranrock. In the beginning sequences, the school teachers rally to help you prevent Ranrock from obtaining a dangerous source of power left by Isidora. He unfortunately takes a monstrous form, and the final showdown is between you and him. There were several stages to this fight, and it incorporated a lot of what I learned and used in the game
The ending felt a bit mild, truncated even, when compared to everything that led up to this point; however, I want to credit post-game play and a secondary ending that is worth pursuing.
Overall, there are a variety of things to do in Hogwarts Legacy. The world is your magical oyster.
Final Score
If someone who never read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies–someone who knows nothing about this universe–played this game, they would still thoroughly enjoy Hogwarts Legacy, and that is a large factor in this scoring. Avalanche was able to design a gorgeous fantasy world of witchcraft and wizardry that anyone can enjoy. In fact, I could guarentee you they would’ve concluded this was an inclusive title–inclusive of all genders, races, and sexual preferences.
On the other side of the coin, Harry Potter fans would enjoy the title because of several Easter eggs and references such as Nearly Headless Nick, Peeves, and familiar family names like Weasley and Black.
Hogwarts Legacy is a living, breathing world that sucks you in the moment you are sorted into your own House! This game allows you to live your fantasy of going to Hogwarts, making friends, and casting spells. The controls were intuitive, and the quests were engaging.
There were times certain graphics glitched out. I also wished there were less “clicks” to assign spells to spell slots since the ones you use in the Room of Requirement are much different that ones you use elsewhere. And sure, the battle system’s targeting could be refined. Most of what I considered “needs improvement” are nit-picky, and I genuinely believe Avalanche knocked this IP out of the park. I highly recommend this title.
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