I actually enjoyed this game way more than I thought I would. I'm not a Harry Potter fan in the slightest - I read the books when I was in school but never enjoyed the films. I only tried the game because my cousin and a few friends played through it and told me they enjoyed it, so I thought I would give it an honest shot and see how far I got with it.
Imagine my surprise then when I was utterly swept up in this game. It just ticked all the right boxes for me - a massive, gorgeous open world with tons of puzzles and exploration and side activities to get lost in (even if the grind to get all the activities and collectables is slightly monotonous).
The magic system is great in that it not only facilitates your combat prowess but also ties into solving puzzles in the world. The talents you acquire also augment your spells in actually meaningful ways and make them more useful. The only bad part of the combat itself is that it does get repetitive as you are doing the same basic thing for like 60 hours, and the gear system seems to have been just an afterthought, to be honest. Luckily you can just glamour whatever you're wearing so that you're always fashionable, and like halfway through the game I had some gold pieces that I just upgraded and never traded out because the increases on everything else were negligible.
The story is probably the weakest part of the whole experience. It's a little bit too cliched and has pacing issues as you have to wait for characters between every step of their questlines. I also wish there were more choices in what type of character you wanted to play morality-wise or more options that encapsulate what house you are in, but, all said, it is entertaining enough throughout to keep you going, and it does have some genuinely great moments and set pieces sprinkled throughout.
I enjoyed a lot of the side missions as well, as they fleshed out some of the supporting cast and the actual world that the game is set in. The best part of the Harry Potter books has always been the world itself, so it was fun to explore more of the lore and setting.
There is just so much here that kept me busy for absolute hours, from combing every inch of Hogwarts for collectables, to flying around the open world, to tinkering with my Room of Requirement to get it just right to suit my aesthetics, to breeding magical creatures and all the rest of it. It truly was a magical experience, and with a better, more impactful story, this easily could have been one of my favourite games from last year.
Imagine my surprise then when I was utterly swept up in this game. It just ticked all the right boxes for me - a massive, gorgeous open world with tons of puzzles and exploration and side activities to get lost in (even if the grind to get all the activities and collectables is slightly monotonous).
The magic system is great in that it not only facilitates your combat prowess but also ties into solving puzzles in the world. The talents you acquire also augment your spells in actually meaningful ways and make them more useful. The only bad part of the combat itself is that it does get repetitive as you are doing the same basic thing for like 60 hours, and the gear system seems to have been just an afterthought, to be honest. Luckily you can just glamour whatever you're wearing so that you're always fashionable, and like halfway through the game I had some gold pieces that I just upgraded and never traded out because the increases on everything else were negligible.
The story is probably the weakest part of the whole experience. It's a little bit too cliched and has pacing issues as you have to wait for characters between every step of their questlines. I also wish there were more choices in what type of character you wanted to play morality-wise or more options that encapsulate what house you are in, but, all said, it is entertaining enough throughout to keep you going, and it does have some genuinely great moments and set pieces sprinkled throughout.
I enjoyed a lot of the side missions as well, as they fleshed out some of the supporting cast and the actual world that the game is set in. The best part of the Harry Potter books has always been the world itself, so it was fun to explore more of the lore and setting.
There is just so much here that kept me busy for absolute hours, from combing every inch of Hogwarts for collectables, to flying around the open world, to tinkering with my Room of Requirement to get it just right to suit my aesthetics, to breeding magical creatures and all the rest of it. It truly was a magical experience, and with a better, more impactful story, this easily could have been one of my favourite games from last year.