Playing Hogwarts Legacy is a reminder that few fictional worlds are as bewitching as Harry Potter’s. In 1998, my Mum hande me a copy of Philosopher’s Stone Sorcerer’s Stone in the US. That first chapter sucked me right in its magical universe. I was hooked for life.
Or so I thought. After the core book series wrappe up and there were no more movie. Adaptations coming, my emotional connection diminished. The overstuffe spinoffs. Along with author J.K. Rowling’s inflammatory comments about transgender people, sucked the remaining fun out of the franchise, and I figured it was time to move on.
Hogwarts Legacy Rekindles That Harry Potter Magic
All that baggage fell away as soon as I started Hogwarts Legacy, which hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X. Series S and PC on Friday (it’s available in early access from Tuesday, and arrives on other consoles in the coming months). This open-world action RPG game. Develope by Avalanche Software, is designe to let us live out our fantasies of enrolling at the iconic School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a new student.
Having played the PS5 version for 10 hours, it captures the wonder of the early books. With an intriguing original narrative, engagingly varied gameplay and intricately designe world to explore.
Hogwarts Legacy Rekindles That Harry Potter Magic
Back to basics
The game sidesteps the narrative restrictions of Harry’s story by jumping way back in the timeline, to the 1890s. After creating your character, you’re whiske off on a brief opening adventure before reaching the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Even though you’re a new student, you’re starting your magical career a little late and enroll as a fifth year. That’s presumably because having a wide-eyed first year, just 11 years old, explore dangerous caves, learn dangerous spells and battle dark wizards would feel kinda weird.
Hogwarts Legacy Rekindles That Harry Potter Magic
The customization options are a key element in living out your wizarding world fantasy, and they’re a joy. You can choose your character’s gender and appearance. Then you’ll pick and alter your wand (don’t worry, the one you start the game with is a loaner) and broom.
You also get sorte into a Hogwarts house (Slytherin FTW), base on a series of questions you’ll answer shortly after arriving at the school, but you can have a do-over if the initial selection isn’t to your liking.
The house you end up in doesn’t seem to change much beyond the common room. Your uniform and some throwaway lines. Though teachers mention house points in some classes, you won’t actually be competing for them in the game.
Living in a wizarding world
The development team’s love for Harry Potter is apparent in every aspect of Hogwarts Legacy, but shines most brightly in the world and its characters. Every teacher, student and location feels distinct and real, with a peppering of familiar names like Weasley and Black to make fans feel comfortable.
Each character is richly written, cleverly voiced — Simon Pegg plays the unpleasant headmaster — and visually diverse, so talking to them and learning about their backgrounds is fascinating. (It’s frustrating that you can’t pause during cutscenes though.) This characterisation is woven through the main story and its side quests, which range from investigating one of the castle’s mysteries and sneakily grabbing potion ingredients to wandering into a dangerous cave.
Students gather at the foot of the stairs in Hogwarts’ stone entrance hall in Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts is full of characters to meet and secrets to discover.
Your customized avatar’s voice acting is solid, but occasionally a bit flat — like you’re overly polite or reserved. That’s preferable to listening to a realistic teenager, though. The character models are convincing enough, but the eyes sometimes move unnaturally and feel unnerving.
The nearby village of Hogsmeade isn’t quite as big, but it’s still full of fun diversions.