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Exploring the Magic of Hogwarts Legacy: An Enchanting Adventure Awaits!

2K View2023-02-13

Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action role-playing game set in the magical world of Harry Potter. Players step into the shoes of a Hogwarts student, learning spells, exploring the iconic castle and its grounds, and discovering the hidden secrets of the wizarding world.

For years, fans of Harry Potter have been eagerly waiting for a game that captures the magic of the series. While there have been some decent LEGO Potter games and even a disappointing Quidditch game, none have lived up to the expectation of being admitted to Hogwarts and exploring the secret world of witchcraft and wizardry. That is, until now with the release of Hogwarts Legacy. The open world map perfectly captures the essence of Hogwarts, the spellcasting combat is truly impressive, the characters are endearing, and the game is overflowing with countless activities to keep players entertained for hours. Despite its technical limitations and lack of enemy variety, Hogwarts Legacy is a triumphant return to the Wizarding World.

The storyline of Legacy, like many other Harry Potter tales, is full of holes but asks players to just accept the magical world for what it is. Players start off as a fifth-year witch or wizard who transfers to Hogwarts for unknown reasons and embark on a journey filled with classes, combat, and flying on a hippogriff. The character creator offers a variety of options to create your perfect wizard, but with limited voice options. You soon find yourself caught up in a conflict between the Wizarding World and an evil goblin and discover that you have special magical abilities. While some parts of the story may be eye-roll inducing, such as the lectures from dead characters in paintings, the fantastic cast of characters makes the good-versus-evil conflict enjoyable, even if it's not entirely original or profound.

Memorable and Endearing Characters

The majority of your interactions in the game will be with classmates who become your friends, accompany you on various missions, and assist you in improving your magical abilities. Most of them are instantly memorable and endearing, such as the cocky and flexible Slytherin, Sebastian, or the clever and steadfast Gryffindor, Natsai. Spending time with these characters and enhancing your relationship with them through various questlines made my experience at Hogwarts even more enjoyable.

J.K. Rowling Controversy

The elephant in the room with regards to Hogwarts Legacy is its creator, J.K. Rowling, whose recent comments on transgender people have left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Harry Potter fans. Some have even called for a boycott of the Wizarding World, including the game, though Rowling was not directly involved and there are valid reasons to believe that the developers at Avalanche do not hold the same views. Regardless, IGN has always supported human rights causes and will continue to do so, allowing people to make their own choices through their spending.

As critics, our role is to determine if Hogwarts Legacy is enjoyable to play and why. The ethical aspect of playing the game is a separate but crucial question. Thus, as with most cases, we choose to address the views of the franchise creator separately from our assessment of the work of the hundreds of game developers, and evaluate Hogwarts Legacy on its own merits. The behind-the-scenes context can then be weighed according to individual values in addition to the evaluation.

Surprisingly, I found myself eager to spend time with my professors, such as Professor Fig, who serves as a mentor and a sidekick, and the witty charms teacher Professor Ronen, who made me love him with his teasing. Each character feels like a critical part of the school and can be found roaming the halls engaging in their own activities, allowing you to spend time with your favorite professors. This is a huge and crucial aspect of the Hogwarts fantasy, and Hogwarts Legacy executes it exceptionally well.

The Wizarding World comes alive in Hogwarts Legacy.

One of the best parts of Hogwarts Legacy is the world itself, which is bursting with all the elements fans of the Harry Potter franchise could ask for. From exploring the halls of Hogwarts and its hidden paths to flying on a broomstick in the Forbidden Forest and delving into dark caves lit by magic spells, the developers at Avalanche have masterfully brought the Wizarding World to life. Although the immersion can be disrupted by the game's performance issues, such as inconsistent frame rates, lighting fluctuations, and pop-ins, the world still manages to captivate players with its spellbinding beauty.

However, the game is not without its faults. Despite being a next-generation game, Hogwarts Legacy still suffers from loading screens when opening doors, which can be disappointing for players who were promised a seamless experience. Additionally, the game can be glitchy, with characters and objects getting stuck in the environment and awkward moments during conversations. While these glitches are not game-breaking, they do happen frequently enough to be a nuisance.

The spellcasting combat in Hogwarts Legacy is truly outstanding.

As someone who previously found the wand-wielding action in the Harry Potter movies to be unimpressive, I was concerned about the prospect of playing hours of spellcasting combat in Hogwarts Legacy. But I was happily proven wrong - the combat is outstanding. It's more than just shooting bolts of light from a wand, it requires strategy and finesse. To win, you need to dodge enemy attacks and execute creative combos. For example, you can draw enemies towards you with the spell Accio, set them ablaze with Incendio, then blast them away with Bombarda. Stringing together spells to make your foes look foolish is endlessly entertaining, especially when you unlock perks in the talent tree that modify your abilities to fork to nearby enemies or turn into area of effect attacks.

Many of the combat encounters are challenging, too. I lost more than a few times while trying to show off new spells or failing to notice an enemy sneaking up behind me. Improving your skills and figuring out the best spells for your playstyle is an enjoyable process that involves experimentation and the occasional mauling. The perfect parry mechanic, which rewards precise timing with a satisfying block, adds another layer of challenge for those seeking an adrenaline rush. Additionally, you'll need to constantly switch up your tactics as many enemies have color-coded shields that can only be broken by spells of a certain type. For example, enemies with a red shield can only be damaged by fire-based spells, so you'll need to keep a variety of spells on hand.

Shielded opponents often necessitate a change in combat strategies.

While the combat system remains engaging, the creatures you fight lack variety. You'll face the same dark wizards, spiders, and goblins repeatedly. The occasional troll or magical armor may be thrown in, but the variety of enemies soon becomes limited. This is unfortunate, as the Harry Potter universe is known for its diverse range of beasts and villains to fight against. However, there is a lack of variety in the enemies you face in Legacy, which is perplexing considering there are other enemy types such as giant frogs and zombies. Although they are present, they are rarely used in the main dungeons or levels, and instead, players are bombarded with a constant stream of spiders.

Managing your spells can be a challenge in Legacy, as you can only have a limited number equipped at a time. Switching between spells is clunky, and it takes time to get used to the process. By the end of the 30+ hour campaign, you will have learned a large number of spells, but organizing and remembering which ones to equip becomes a task in itself.

When you need a break from the combat, Legacy offers a plethora of side activities to keep you occupied. You can decorate your personal space in the Room of Requirement, catch and breed fantastic beasts, practice gardening or potion making, go shopping in Hogsmeade, become a champion duelist, or even explore the Dark Arts by learning the Killing Curse. It's easy to waste hours on these activities, and it becomes a challenge to stay focused on the main story. Despite rushing through the main story in 32 hours, I found it almost impossible to not get distracted by all the side activities. Once I finished the story, I immediately went back to complete more side quests and continue exploring, as there doesn't appear to be a New Game+ mode currently available.

I completed the main storyline in 32 hours, but with a plethora of activities available, there's plenty of time to waste in the wizarding world. It's unfortunate that Quidditch, one of the most iconic parts of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts, is nowhere to be found. The excuse for its absence is that it's been banned for a year due to a pureblood student's injury, but it feels like a cover-up for the developers not having the time to include it.

To take your mind off the goblin threat, there are over 100 side quests to keep you occupied. Not all of these side missions are equally engaging - some are just basic tasks of collecting or killing things that don't add much to the experience. However, many of them feature some of the memorable characters asking for your help in solving their problems or getting into some harmless mischief. These missions provide a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the world, such as attending classes to learn how to deal with plants that try to eat you or helping a bullied classmate. Legacy offers plenty of reasons to soak up the experience of being a student at Hogwarts, and the novelty never wears off, even if the missions sometimes feel meaningless.

Legacy offers numerous incentives to fully immerse yourself in the experience of being a student at Hogwarts.

One of the biggest rewards is the acquisition of new spells, which add to your arsenal and enhance your magic abilities. Completing side quests and tasks can grant you access to spells such as Alohomora, which opens previously inaccessible doors, similar to a Metroidvania game. Collecting spells helps to expand the game's map and make combat more exciting.

In addition to spells, the game offers gear upgrades and cosmetic items to boost your character's appearance. While gear upgrades do not drastically change gameplay, they provide minor improvements and resistances to your character. On the other hand, cosmetic items serve no gameplay purpose but can still bring great satisfaction, especially when you're able to outshine your classmates from other houses. Moreover, you can customize your appearance by overwriting your equipped gear with any cosmetic item you've acquired.

Unfortunately, Legacy's inventory space is a major downside. With a limited capacity, you have to constantly manage and prioritize your items, making it difficult to hoard all the treasures you find. Although you can upgrade your inventory later, it remains a hassle to keep track of everything you collect.

In conclusion, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG fans have been eagerly awaiting. Its open-world adventure encapsulates the magic and wonder of the Wizarding World with its new characters, challenging combat, and a brilliantly executed Hogwarts student experience. Despite its technical issues, lackluster main story, and limited enemy variety, Legacy's spellbinding atmosphere and enjoyable gameplay make it a must-play for fans of the franchise.