⭐⭐⭐.5
Developer (Platform): Avalanche Software (PlayStation 5)
Publisher (Release): Warner Bros. Games (2023)
Length: 20-30 hours
Genres: Fantasy; RPG; Action
Disclaimers:
everything’s pretty PG, but players can learn and use Unforgivable Curses
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: vibe check before playing and buy on sale
👍 Pros 👍
Strong beginning and end
Nails the franchise’s signature visuals and soundtrack
Gameplay can be crisp and satisfying
👎 Cons 👎
Main and side quests are bland
Characters lack any real soul
Bugs and glitches can prevent progression and quest completion
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
The Wizarding World is on the edge of chaos with a goblin rebellion on the horizon, poachers ravaging the Scottish Highlands of magical beasts, and the threat of an old, dark power ready to be unleashed. It’s during this time during the late 1800s that you receive the coveted letter welcoming you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but after a dragon attack disrupts your journey there and a mysterious magic only you seem to be able to wield unearths an even deeper conspiracy, there’s no doubt your year at Hogwarts will be eventful…if not deadly.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
Hogwarts Legacy is the love letter to fans who’ve always held a grudge they never received a real letter to Hogwarts (yes, I’m an adult, and yes, I’m still irrationally bitter) and the developers should be praised for bringing the timeless aesthetics, atmosphere, and stunning soundtrack of the franchise to life from beginning to end. It’s a shame that, in my opinion, the story and characters are an awful shade of bland that mar the experience with a frustrating streak.
🧩 Plots 🧩
A dragon attack kicks off an exciting introduction into Legacy’s world and, when it’s focused, the game can build anticipation. Then the world opens up and the pacing goes to crap. It might sound ridiculous, but Hogwarts Legacy has too much in it. It spreads itself thin across its main quest, side quests, games, puzzles, collectibles, etc. etc. that the core plot struggles to keep its head above the sea of content.
Welcome, finally, to Hogwarts
It struggles for about half of its length, building shaky threads that, while they do come together, are ultimately bland and, sadly, very cookie-cutter. There are some nice parallels between some of the story’s elements and the books/films in the franchise it draws inspiration from, but, and I hate saying it, there were a few times (more than I’d like) where I was just bored.
I will give props to its finale, which is suitably epic and manages to raise its soundtrack into even more beautiful crescendos. Seriously, the last fight’s music? Phenomenal.
It might sound ridiculous, but Hogwarts Legacy has too much in it.
🎭 Characters 🎭
Creating your own protagonist is core to the game’s experience and it works…for the most part. Hogwarts Legacy feels personal and immersive thanks to it, but it’s the relationship between your character and everyone else that shows some startling absence of chemistry. Bland facial animations undercut decent voice acting, but every single character feels like they’re having a conversation with themselves, highlighting that the voice actors likely recorded their lines alone.
Big boy
It’s another area where things do improve during the finale, but, to be honest, I can’t tell if that’s true or if the soaring soundtrack just managed to get my emotions going. The cast itself isn’t bland, with colourful characters and personalities, but each of them can’t help but feel as if they’re trapped in their own vacuums.
…some startling absence of chemistry.
👾 Gameplay and Graphics 👾
Legacy’s actual magic is, well, magic. It’s crisp, responsive, and casting combos out of the excellent variety of spells can produce some satisfying combat encounters. It nicely feeds into the RPG of it all, allowing you to choose what spells fit your style and what magic you want to upgrade with talent points.
Live your magical dreams
Puzzles are packed into the game also and, for the most part, they’re simple yet clever little periods of deduction that provide a nice break. There are just so darned many and the repetition is enough to drive a player mad.
Which brings me to repetition. Hogwarts Legacy is frustratingly repetitive in its dialogue, its main and side quests, its puzzles, and the nooks and crannies that proliferate the Scottish Highlands. There were moments when I was having fun and thought, hey, I’m almost done, that is a good balance with exploration…only to discover the coast side of the map and the hundreds of repetitive activities I’d already spent days completing.
Broomstick travel!
Then, just when you’re at your wit’s end, throw in some bugs and glitches to bring progress to a halt (a good amount has already been fixed by the developer). It’s not as bad a culprit as the likes of Cyberpunk on release, but the immersion breaks from running through a door before the map has even loaded, characters running into and being trapped by objects, and facial animations that reset to blank stares before the characters have even finished their lines build over time.
Legacy’s actual magic is, well, magic…
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Hogwarts Legacy starts and finishes strong, with its middling middle part carried by truly tremendous aesthetics and inspired music. It’s the love letter to fans of the franchise and a world that’s a joy to explore. Do much more than that, however, and you’re in for a repetitive and bland slog through identical dungeons and fetch quests. Clever puzzles do go a way to breaking that up and satisfying combat benefits from a varied but tame collection of spells, but with bugs and glitches preventing some areas of progress, Hogwarts Legacy brought the timeless atmosphere of the Wizarding World to life at the expense of its own identity.
The Phoenix Project 