Hogwarts Legacy had some high highs, low lows, and a whole lot in-between. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to say about the game, as it ended up being a fairly mediocre experience.
As for the good, holy hell, the world they created is incredible. Just walking around Hogwarts, seeing the scale and attention to detail, was awe-inspiring. It was very immersive just walking around the castle as a student, which was exactly what I was hoping for out of the game. This extends to the open-world as well. Walking around Hogsmeade and flying around the map on my broomstick made me smile just a little bit every time. I am willing to make the claim that the broomstick is one of the best methods of open-world traversal in a game I've played. So yes, the playable space of this game is amazing. It's a shame then that the things you do in the world are boring and uninspired.
This is where I, unfortunately, have to address the negative points. There is so much worthless, time-wasting content in the open world. If it was just a boat load of Merlin Trials that dotted the map, it'd be fine, but then you add like ten more lifeless, copy-paste map markers with lame incentives to complete them? I am less forgiving of that. Most of this game's content felt like padding for the sake of extending runtime rather than actually giving the player something meaningful and interesting to do. This extends to the gear system. I am so sick of being handed piles of differently colored gear with minimal statistical differences in open-world games. It never adds anything. At least the different clothing options were cool, I just didn't need them tied to the limp gear system. Combat was occasionally interesting but was more style than substance. The story was also extremely forgettable, which sounds like it should be impossible given all of the interesting ideas you can use from this IP. I, sadly, found myself mostly mashing through dialogue through most of the game. The Sebastian questline was the one exception to this. These quests prove that the game is capable of compelling stories, characters, conflicts, and choices, and it's a shame that potential didn't extend anywhere else. I feel like that sentiment sums up this game. Hogwarts Legacy had some incredible potential, but it failed to live up to it in most respects. It feels like this game exists in-between the tension of developer passion for the IP and publisher mandates. I kind of wish this game was instead a smaller-scope Hogwarts student life sim instead of this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink game we got. I did have enough fun to see it through to the end, but just barely.
Huh. I guess I had more to say than I thought.
As for the good, holy hell, the world they created is incredible. Just walking around Hogwarts, seeing the scale and attention to detail, was awe-inspiring. It was very immersive just walking around the castle as a student, which was exactly what I was hoping for out of the game. This extends to the open-world as well. Walking around Hogsmeade and flying around the map on my broomstick made me smile just a little bit every time. I am willing to make the claim that the broomstick is one of the best methods of open-world traversal in a game I've played. So yes, the playable space of this game is amazing. It's a shame then that the things you do in the world are boring and uninspired.
This is where I, unfortunately, have to address the negative points. There is so much worthless, time-wasting content in the open world. If it was just a boat load of Merlin Trials that dotted the map, it'd be fine, but then you add like ten more lifeless, copy-paste map markers with lame incentives to complete them? I am less forgiving of that. Most of this game's content felt like padding for the sake of extending runtime rather than actually giving the player something meaningful and interesting to do. This extends to the gear system. I am so sick of being handed piles of differently colored gear with minimal statistical differences in open-world games. It never adds anything. At least the different clothing options were cool, I just didn't need them tied to the limp gear system. Combat was occasionally interesting but was more style than substance. The story was also extremely forgettable, which sounds like it should be impossible given all of the interesting ideas you can use from this IP. I, sadly, found myself mostly mashing through dialogue through most of the game. The Sebastian questline was the one exception to this. These quests prove that the game is capable of compelling stories, characters, conflicts, and choices, and it's a shame that potential didn't extend anywhere else. I feel like that sentiment sums up this game. Hogwarts Legacy had some incredible potential, but it failed to live up to it in most respects. It feels like this game exists in-between the tension of developer passion for the IP and publisher mandates. I kind of wish this game was instead a smaller-scope Hogwarts student life sim instead of this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink game we got. I did have enough fun to see it through to the end, but just barely.
Huh. I guess I had more to say than I thought.