Man, I hate how this game became the posterchild for 'any press is good press' -- I don't wanna get into the controversy but I promise I got this at a discounted price :p
Hogwarts Legacy is pretty good ngl. I completely understand how some (many) may call this a typical overpopulated open world game, filled to the brim with 603 collectibles which is at least 400 too many yada yada, but idk, it just clicked for me.
A few years ago I had a similar experience with Assassin's Creed Odyssey where I just got so sucked into the world, so addicted that spending 10 hours collecting shit went by in a flash because it just never stopped being fun, right up until I platinumed it after what was essentially a 3-week binge.
If you can't tell already, the similarities in structure between this and that had me hooked instantly. It looked overwhelming at first but once I was in it finding 10 field guide pages within seconds of each other, oh yeah, it was all coming together. [side note I did play AC Valhalla too but I dropped it bc holy shit that was too much]
Hogwarts was not too much :) In fact, it's about 1/3 the length of AC Odyssey, so honestly I'm sorry but this game was tailor made for me lol.
I've already talked too much and I've been lost in this game for so long I'm just gunna speed through the actual points I have to make.
The story is fairly safe overall, the ancient magic angle works well to explain how your lil protag can be so strong in a way that doesn't feel out of place. What does feel out of place, however, is how little the characters react to some of the things that happen. One of the first scenes in the game has someone die in front of their friend and literally 2 mins later he's just like "ahhh, so this is what he died for" -BRO!? Your boy literally just bit it right in front of youðŸ˜
The setting is pretty great in my opinion, the open world gets a bit samey but it's not humungous or anything so you can still find your way around. Hogwarts Castle though? Chefs kiss honestly. There are little hidden passageways and secrets and shit all over the place. The magic definitely wears off over time, but even when it does it's still just, neat. There's nothing annoying or whatever, no waiting 20 mins for stairs to move, very well crafted.
The nostalgia is undeniable, inevitable, it's the whole reason this game was given a Hogwarts theme at all lets be honest. It's not overdone, it's not in your face, it's (for the most part) its own thing that us millenials and older zoomers can be like "ayo, it's the thing!" but than widdle baby zoomers can just be like "lol frogs in a choir" - everybody wins :p
The combat was actually a lot better than I expected. This, again, worked similarly to AC Odyssey but the variety of spells and combinations you can do with them was fun. Enemies having shields that needed certain types of attack to break was nice and the duel challenges in every battle were a great way to keep you trying new things without being distracting or overbearing.
The characters are kinda funny in this, a lot of them are pretty stiff or seem like they're gunna be more important than they are lol. But others are pretty well fleshed out and the three relationship questlines especially were nicely done. Sebastian is sure to be a favourite due to his arc but Poppy is my child and I hope she's in every sequel until she passes the torch to Molly Weasley as sweetest bean.
I think that'll do it anyway I've already turned my short review into a short novel. Overall I think this is a genuinely decent, maybe even good game that many people can and should enjoy, even if not as much as I did :)
P.S. This game has a glitched quest that's preventing me from getting 4 trophies, and a glitched trophy that's not recognising my final merlin trial. These 5 trophies are all I have left and I'm going to cry.
Fuck J.K. Rowling.
Hogwarts Legacy is pretty good ngl. I completely understand how some (many) may call this a typical overpopulated open world game, filled to the brim with 603 collectibles which is at least 400 too many yada yada, but idk, it just clicked for me.
A few years ago I had a similar experience with Assassin's Creed Odyssey where I just got so sucked into the world, so addicted that spending 10 hours collecting shit went by in a flash because it just never stopped being fun, right up until I platinumed it after what was essentially a 3-week binge.
If you can't tell already, the similarities in structure between this and that had me hooked instantly. It looked overwhelming at first but once I was in it finding 10 field guide pages within seconds of each other, oh yeah, it was all coming together. [side note I did play AC Valhalla too but I dropped it bc holy shit that was too much]
Hogwarts was not too much :) In fact, it's about 1/3 the length of AC Odyssey, so honestly I'm sorry but this game was tailor made for me lol.
I've already talked too much and I've been lost in this game for so long I'm just gunna speed through the actual points I have to make.
The story is fairly safe overall, the ancient magic angle works well to explain how your lil protag can be so strong in a way that doesn't feel out of place. What does feel out of place, however, is how little the characters react to some of the things that happen. One of the first scenes in the game has someone die in front of their friend and literally 2 mins later he's just like "ahhh, so this is what he died for" -BRO!? Your boy literally just bit it right in front of youðŸ˜
The setting is pretty great in my opinion, the open world gets a bit samey but it's not humungous or anything so you can still find your way around. Hogwarts Castle though? Chefs kiss honestly. There are little hidden passageways and secrets and shit all over the place. The magic definitely wears off over time, but even when it does it's still just, neat. There's nothing annoying or whatever, no waiting 20 mins for stairs to move, very well crafted.
The nostalgia is undeniable, inevitable, it's the whole reason this game was given a Hogwarts theme at all lets be honest. It's not overdone, it's not in your face, it's (for the most part) its own thing that us millenials and older zoomers can be like "ayo, it's the thing!" but than widdle baby zoomers can just be like "lol frogs in a choir" - everybody wins :p
The combat was actually a lot better than I expected. This, again, worked similarly to AC Odyssey but the variety of spells and combinations you can do with them was fun. Enemies having shields that needed certain types of attack to break was nice and the duel challenges in every battle were a great way to keep you trying new things without being distracting or overbearing.
The characters are kinda funny in this, a lot of them are pretty stiff or seem like they're gunna be more important than they are lol. But others are pretty well fleshed out and the three relationship questlines especially were nicely done. Sebastian is sure to be a favourite due to his arc but Poppy is my child and I hope she's in every sequel until she passes the torch to Molly Weasley as sweetest bean.
I think that'll do it anyway I've already turned my short review into a short novel. Overall I think this is a genuinely decent, maybe even good game that many people can and should enjoy, even if not as much as I did :)
P.S. This game has a glitched quest that's preventing me from getting 4 trophies, and a glitched trophy that's not recognising my final merlin trial. These 5 trophies are all I have left and I'm going to cry.
Fuck J.K. Rowling.