Hogwarts Legacy (2023)

Almost perfect game. In terms of overall vibe, environment and gameplay, it's spot on.

A few things that I was missing (on PC):

More or bigger spell slots. It is absolutely inexplicable that I have to adjust my spell slots when I need light for a moment or when I want to take care of the beasts for example

I didn't really feel like the conversation choices I made really affected my environment.

It's missing something,

Games that treat you as the messiah, where every event is built around you, make the world feel unreal. Reality is a world where your place and goals overlap in interesting ways. The gravity given to the protagonist breaks my immersion in the game consistently.

The need to add "ancient magic" fundamentally takes away from the base magic of the world. Is real magic not enough?

The devs fundamentally misunderstood what was cool about harry potter magic. It was the few times where the fights were interesting, giant snakes and dragons, not expelliarmus and avardacadavra.

The game is rendered well, but feels more like a tour than a game. The storytelling is... lacking heart and engaging character dynamics. You play a nothing person.

I feel like the open world genre is a trap, it limits the quality of story, I really wish it would go and die in a hole and we can go back to getting good games again.

It doesn't grab me, or pull me into the world. I really want to like this game, but I feel like the gameplay loop was just really poorly imagined.

Why is harry potter of all series using the following as it's loop:

• destiny's gear system - thus rendering all item collection meaningless
• Fetch quests
• what on earth is this half assed talent system, in 2004 Fable released with an engaging and imaginative magic system. Where is that in this game. Why am I playing rock paper scissors instead of casting spells
• Let me say that again: why, in a game about magic, is magic the least developed aspect of the game.
• the fundamental point of an open world game is that I have a clear motive to increase my power, and augment my character. If that system is not developed, the progress in the world has no tangible effect on me.

It's like the dev was like, yes, we need every trope mechanic from the past 10 years. Let's ram them in there. Coming from playing chained echo's to this feels really bad. Why is a solo dev game so much better than a triple-A title from one of my most beloved IP's.

Third-person action RPG set in the Harry Potter universe.

You follow the story of your own protagonist who learns that he can see traces of ancient magic and set on a journey to uncover its secrets of it. The main story is very linear and the choices don't do anything. It's not very interesting IMO and sometimes illogical. It's very underwhelming to say at least. Side stories/quests aren't better either, although Sebastian's side story is where the game really shines; Natty's and Poppy's were ok at best (Why didn't any Ravenclaw student get a side story? Did they count Amit's stargazing collectibles & one trip to the goblin mine as his whole story? If yes than SMH...). The open world is very big, detailed, and beautiful (especially Hogwarts and Hogsmeade) but it has that Ubisoft's dullness and emptiness. I mean first time exploring stuff you'll be amazed at the details (especially after unlocking broom), but later you'll realize that most activities there are just collect-a-thons with little effect on gameplay (NO quidditch and magic chess?!). Is it just me or UI isn't very intuitive? (gameplay elements are fine, but the main menu stuff feels just slow and requires way too many clicks - Hogwarts map especially: without fast travel and tracking figuring out which floor is it or pinpointing the exact location is a nightmare). The combat system feels fun at the begging but gets repetitive way too easily. I mean it has some depth like spell combos, enemy has a certain weakness, etc. but it feels like different concepts put together and they don't mix well together. Worth pointing out is: the bad keybind system (only 4 slots in 1 bar?!), dodging (especially during troll fights, 2nd hit always hits me even after teleport dodge), also (I don't know if that's PS5 fault) I sometimes felt input lag, especially when trying to cast shield between attacks.

I don't know if I overhyped myself for this or expected way too much from it. Maybe choosing action RPG as the main genre was the biggest mistake. It just felt too casual/simple.

This feels like Elden Ring: Harry Potter Edition. The comparisons between the two didn't do this game any favors.

For the record, I am not a HP fan. I read the first book and saw a few of the early movies, but I'm fairly clueless on the lore and the characters.

I mean, this game is fine. If you like open world games, you'll probably find something that appeals to you. If you love HP, I'm sure you'll appreciate all the touches this game has.

But after playing the masterpiece that is Elden Ring, I think I'm going to have to hold out on open world games until the next Zelda comes out in May, because I think nothing else is going to live up to it.

Done for now with Hogwarts Legacy. If I could do it over again, I think I would have completed the story as quickly as possible. Then I would have completed all the side quests and highlands exploration and finish off with the castle exploration. Because while the highlands/open world general area is fascinating, it pales in comparison to the majesty of the castle itself and its immediate surrounding areas (Hogsmeade as well, couldn't get enough of that idyllic town).

I had completed most of the castle exploration by the time I finished the main story, so the collectathon after that ventured very close to the realm of tedium since most of it was in the highlands and the various caves and hamlets. I was missing just a few items by the end and I was close to getting frustrated at wondering which ones were missing and where they could possibly have been; I ended up having to consult a few guides, which I was really hoping to not have to do for this game. I don't like having to consult guides in general and think that if a player needs to use a guide, it's probably because the user experience is lacking (of course, there are always exceptions to that idea, and that idea is just my opinion).

Now that I've spent enough time with it, the charm has worn off a bit and I have no trouble telling what things I loved and what things I didn't. The sheer number of Merlin trials is a little ridiculous (I think there are like 95 if I'm not mistaken) and feels as though they were carpeted across the open world to create points of interest. After that many occurrences, the puzzles lose their novelty. I also didn't really see the point of the Ancient Magic traces. It's another thing that felt like it was put into ruins to give you a reason to explore them.

But sometimes, it's fun to explore things and there just not be anything. I don't know, just not every single thing in a game needs to reward you with loot or coins or something. If your world is interesting enough - and Hogwarts Legacy very much is - then the sheer act of exploration is inherently rewarding and satisfies all on its own. Loading the open world with relatively meaningless collectibles and junk gear, for the sake of nothing much other than to tick a box really takes away from the novelty of exploration and makes it arduous. I think a better approach would have been to rework the gear system such that there are unique items with unique individual properties, pretty much exactly how FromSoftware does it, and then stick those in various places throughout the world.

The boss battle at the end was tedious, inexcusably so. Just not well designed.

Sebastian's quest got to be really tedious too. I understood the gravity of it but it really felt like it was starting to drag about halfway through. Or maybe I just didn't care enough.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts about what I didn't like about the game. It's still solid as hell, and one of the better gaming experiences I've had in the last few years. And again, from a sheer games development perspective, Hogwarts Legacy is a triumph. There were so few bugs or glitches and the ability to travel seamlessly throughout the castle and open world is still astonishing when I think about it.

Hogwarts Legacy gets a 9 out of 10 for me. It deserves no less and would deserve more, if it weren't for some of the collectables and puzzles.

50% in.. enjoying the storyline and the quests... but there are little things that just don't gel with me:

1. why can't i rotate the "world map"?
2. can't skip conversations! that's so simple. every game has this function
3. very aggravating that the "open lock" spell is not available until almost mid-way.... logically/narrative-wise, that doesn't make sense
4. shitty camera during battles
5. why do we need both joystick to control separate things while flying??