What this game does great is just how detailed the world is, particularly Hogwarts. You can spend quite a lot of time simply walking the halls of Hogwarts and discovering its secrets; seeing iconic locations from the franchise (particularly locations from the books that never made it to the movies) was downright amazing. You can tell that the game was made by people with a genuine passion for the franchise. Presentation-wise, Hogwarts Legacy is beautiful and enchanting. This also goes for the sheer amount of customizability in how you want your character to appear, with a ton of clothing options and transmog to make everything seamless.
One thing that does deserves a special shoutout is the Room of Requirement. To some, this is where the game truly shines, as you can spend hours on end customizing the Room and breeding your favourite beasts. I did not engage with this part of the game that much personally, but I was truly impressed by it.
Story-wise, Hogwarts Legacy started with an absolute bang, with a seriously impressive intro that would make any Harry Potter fan shiver with excitement. Cool new characters are introduced, such as the different professors, the two main villains, and fellow students. However, most of these characters simply don't get enough screen time and there is a serious lack of connection with them because of this. The main story itself is one big disappointment: it felt like it dragged on while not giving us enough. This also goes for the majority of the side content, as it feels like generic filler that could've been much better. There are definitely some standout quests but they are just too few and far between.
This ties into probably the biggest fault of the game: a lot of stuff just feels really shallow. Hogwarts Legacy's world is huge and seemingly full of exciting stuff to explore and do. Unfortunately however, it falls victim to the "Ubisoftification" of open world games, where it feels like there is content for content's sake. There is an absurd amount of collectibles, and there are even game systems that seem like useless afterthoughts, such as upgrading and weaving traits into your gear. Of course, you do not have to do this stuff as it is entirely optional, but Hogwarts Legacy does feel like quite a small game when you take this content away.
As for the gameplay side of things, the combat and the variety of spells you could use is quite fun. You can come up with interesting spell set combinations to fight enemies who use different types of shields and in theory have different weaknesses and strengths. However, the combat gets very repetitive very quickly when you realize that your different spell combinations are not necessary to do well in combat, as you can find 4 spells and use those same spells for most of the game. The enemy variety is also severely lacking, making combat more of a repetitive button mashing exercise rather than an engaging activity that takes advantage of what sets these enemies apart.
At the end of all this, I would still recommend this game, but only barely. While gorgeous and extremely detailed when it comes to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, expect an otherwise generic open world game with shallow writing, characters, and activities. If you're a Harry Potter fan, it's pretty much a must have for experiencing Hogwarts alone. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, consider buying it on sale.
One thing that does deserves a special shoutout is the Room of Requirement. To some, this is where the game truly shines, as you can spend hours on end customizing the Room and breeding your favourite beasts. I did not engage with this part of the game that much personally, but I was truly impressed by it.
Story-wise, Hogwarts Legacy started with an absolute bang, with a seriously impressive intro that would make any Harry Potter fan shiver with excitement. Cool new characters are introduced, such as the different professors, the two main villains, and fellow students. However, most of these characters simply don't get enough screen time and there is a serious lack of connection with them because of this. The main story itself is one big disappointment: it felt like it dragged on while not giving us enough. This also goes for the majority of the side content, as it feels like generic filler that could've been much better. There are definitely some standout quests but they are just too few and far between.
This ties into probably the biggest fault of the game: a lot of stuff just feels really shallow. Hogwarts Legacy's world is huge and seemingly full of exciting stuff to explore and do. Unfortunately however, it falls victim to the "Ubisoftification" of open world games, where it feels like there is content for content's sake. There is an absurd amount of collectibles, and there are even game systems that seem like useless afterthoughts, such as upgrading and weaving traits into your gear. Of course, you do not have to do this stuff as it is entirely optional, but Hogwarts Legacy does feel like quite a small game when you take this content away.
As for the gameplay side of things, the combat and the variety of spells you could use is quite fun. You can come up with interesting spell set combinations to fight enemies who use different types of shields and in theory have different weaknesses and strengths. However, the combat gets very repetitive very quickly when you realize that your different spell combinations are not necessary to do well in combat, as you can find 4 spells and use those same spells for most of the game. The enemy variety is also severely lacking, making combat more of a repetitive button mashing exercise rather than an engaging activity that takes advantage of what sets these enemies apart.
At the end of all this, I would still recommend this game, but only barely. While gorgeous and extremely detailed when it comes to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, expect an otherwise generic open world game with shallow writing, characters, and activities. If you're a Harry Potter fan, it's pretty much a must have for experiencing Hogwarts alone. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, consider buying it on sale.