This is a genuinely cute way to reexperience the story of Harry Potter if that's something you're interested in. If you've played a lego game you already know the gist, but for anyone unfamiliar, they're basically really fleshed out collect-o-thons that have a ton of replay value and you unlock different characters to play as over the course of the story. This one works a bit differently because instead of unlocking the characters you play as in the story, you open them up in the shop, so unlocking characters takes a bit more effort. The huge cast of characters is kind of nice, but that also means there's a lot people like Michael Corner and Bob Jones the Hufflepuff and stuff like that, but all the most iconic faces are still here so that's good. Hogwarts was kind of a pain to navigate, which you're going to need to do a lot if you want 100%. Other than that they're both pretty good. It's a very good value, particularly on sale, since you're basically getting 2 games for the price of one. If you like lego games and have even a passing interest in Harry Potter, it's definitely worth checking out.

This game is very different from basically every game in the series. The best way I can describe it is that this is the closest that any game in the series has come to capturing the feel of Kaga's games after he left. To say it breaks the mold is an understatement. It tries so many interesting and unique ideas. It doesn't stick the landing on all of them, but the novelty is enough to keep the game engaging. People looking for a traditional Fire Emblem experience will not find it here, and I don't mean that in an elitist "to be fair you need to have a very high IQ to understand Radiant Dawn." It's just a fact. If you're familiar with Shadows of Valentia or Genealogy of the Holy War, and you're ok with how they shake up the formula, then you might enjoy this. Story has some bad moments but is very strong for the most part. It's obviously not worth the comically large price tag but that's beside the point. It's 2022 you can figure it out.

Unquestionably my favorite FE game and I've put dozens of hours into it. An excellent experience despite its flaws.

I did not play very much so take this with a grain of salt. I think this game could be right up someone's alley. Really complex and fleshed out survival mechanics that clearly had a lot of time and effort put into them. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me, and I don't think it will be for most people. It has to be extremely "your type of game" for you to have a good time, since you'll be on the back foot the entire time. If your a die-hard survival fan, this is probably a must-play, but otherwise I would not recommend.

I mean, yeah, this game is a masterpiece. Everyone knows that. I'm a bit more critical of it than most, I think, mostly because I don't think age has been particularly kind to it. The controls feel a little stiff and clunky, and the critical path is occasionally a little too obtuse for me to consider it good design. For example, the part towards the end where you have to just walk through a completely solid-looking wall. But any criticisms I could level at this game are tiny in comparison to its triumphs. It's a very good game.

As a big Telltale fan, I was coming into this with high hopes. Those high hopes were, mostly, met in spades. It tells a compelling story with some excellent characters, and your choices feel meaningful even if they don't always lead to huge branching plotlines. Lee and Clementine in particular are fantastic leads, and the game strikes a near impossible balance of making Clem talk and act like a kid while not being obnoxious or making her feel like a burden. I knocked it a little bit for being rough around the edges compared to later telltale games, but if this is your first experience with their brand, you probably won't even notice.