It took me more than 20 hours of gameplay in Hogwarts Legacy to discover that beneath its expansive RPG foundation, complete with skill trees, wizard combat, crafting, environmental puzzles, and a plethora of sidequests, it also offers a charming home decorating component with a dash of zoo management. This game turned out to be much larger in scope than anyone might have anticipated, and after completing the main quest and tackling dozens of sidequests over the course of 50 hours, I remain pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality of each individual element.
Certainly, Hogwarts Legacy grapples with a somewhat meandering start and occasional distracting technical issues. However, once I was granted the freedom to explore the entirety of Hogwarts and the vast countryside that surrounds it, I found myself savoring the experience in the same way I did with titles like The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2. I relished the opportunity to leisurely traverse a meticulously crafted world at my own pace, immersing myself in the character I’ve grown increasingly attached to.
Navigating the Complex Magic of Hogwarts Legacy
Often, the enjoyment of a game is straightforward: we like it, it surprises us, I write about it, and it’s fun. However, the pleasure derived from Hogwarts Legacy elicits a unique set of conflicting emotions. I find myself relishing a game that serves as an extension of JK Rowling, a prominent figure who has made transphobic remarks in recent years, using her influence and fame to endorse an ideology that rejects and further marginalizes one of society’s most vulnerable communities.
Hogwarts Legacy isn’t directly authored by JK Rowling or a direct adaptation of her stories. Warner Bros. and Portkey Games, the game’s publishing arm for Harry Potter properties, explicitly state that she played no role in the game’s creation. Nevertheless, it is built upon the rich world she crafted and inherits some of its inherent issues, notably in its portrayal of goblins and “house elves.” Its success is likely to culturally and financially benefit her.
At the same time, it will also benefit the talented team at Avalanche Software, who have meticulously crafted a world that frequently surpasses its source material in terms of quality and inclusivity. Hogwarts Legacy boasts a multitude of simple yet harmonious systems that ensure enjoyment and accessibility:
- Wizard Duels: Offering a unique twist on ranged combat, where precision aiming isn’t necessary, but spacing, dodging, and countering are crucial. Think Batman with cooldowns (and more combat variety).
- Exploration: The game world is surprisingly vast, expanding even further as you gain the ability to freely fly anywhere at any time.
- Loot: Your attire, cloaks, scarves, facewear, and hats possess Destiny-like offensive and defensive stats, but you have the freedom to set your cosmetic appearance to your liking.
- Collectibles: An extensive list of hidden treasures awaits discovery throughout Hogwarts, often concealed behind micro-puzzles. While not compelling enough to actively seek out, they add a sense of fun to your journey.
- Dialogue: Conversations play a significant role, often presenting two or three dialogue choices that allow you to express your chosen personality within certain limits, though they only occasionally seem to influence outcomes.
- The Room of Requirement: Your wizard’s personalized living space offers an array of decoration options, reminiscent of the freedom found in Animal Crossing. As you progress, it expands significantly, becoming a central part of your experience.
A Journey Through Hogwarts Legacy’s Magical Academy
My initial hours with Hogwarts Legacy warmly immersed me in the life of a Hogwarts student: attending classes, forging fast friendships, and engaging in typical teenage mischief, such as late-night library escapades. I particularly relished the seamless integration of learning new spells within these charming cutscenes, eagerly anticipating each return trip to subjects like Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. During these moments, Hogwarts felt like a true home, a place where I belonged. However, as I continued my journey, the game gradually shifted away from the student experience. I couldn’t help but miss the sight of “go to class” in my quest log after mastering all the fundamental spells.
Around the midpoint of the school year, the enchantment of Hogwarts began to reveal some gaps in its fantasy. Despite the world’s responsiveness to your presence, it lacked significant interactivity. While you could pluck an apple from a bowl or enjoy tea in the common room, you couldn’t sit in chairs, partake in a grand dinner at the Great Hall, or engage in casual conversations with fellow students. Eventually, I began to feel more like a visitor in a puzzle-filled museum, a delightful experience in its own right but less fulfilling than activities like wood chopping or storytelling by the campfire in Red Dead Redemption 2.
As the narrative of Hogwarts Legacy unfolds and the stakes rise, it gradually loses its focus on the cozy and comforting aspects of school life. Amidst my wizard’s initial days of attending classes, a mysterious ancient magic, seemingly exclusive to me, starts brewing in the background. Simultaneously, a goblin rebellion emerges, eventually demanding my full attention. I found myself increasingly pulled into quests that led me to the perilous highlands, where danger lurked at every turn, even when all I really yearned for was some quality time with my friends.
In the latter half of the story, the lighthearted student antics of the early days give way to a somber era of wizarding warfare. The same close friend who once joined me in sneaking into the library during the story’s initial act now stands beside me in raiding mines and battling goblins, spiders, and poachers in large numbers.
Navigating Technical Turbulence
Hogwarts Legacy, while a meticulously crafted world, occasionally falters under its own weight, leaving players to contend with persistent technical issues that persistently tugged at my immersion throughout my playthrough. Among these issues, the most prominent is the consistent stuttering that plagues the experience when entering new areas of Hogwarts castle or the bustling streets of Hogsmeade. As early access players have also reported, the PC version often stutters as if your system struggles to handle the game, despite the game not substantially taxing your hardware (in some of the worst instances I encountered, not even 60% of my RTX 3060 was utilized). Surprisingly, the CPU doesn’t seem to be the bottleneck, leading many to speculate that it may be attributed to a shader compilation problem, a recurring challenge in massive Unreal Engine 4 games.
However, it’s worth noting that the reality feels somewhat less dire than it may sound on paper. The stuttering occurrences seldom became a nuisance because they predominantly transpired while traversing between locations, rather than during combat or dialogue exchanges. Additionally, my framerate exhibited considerable variability based on my in-game location, with the lowest point during testing dipping to around 45 fps in the bustling streets of Hogsmeade. Nonetheless, my overall framerate average remained decent (hovering around 60 fps with settings set to medium and DLSS on Quality mode), to the extent that I might not have even noticed the inconsistency had I not enabled a performance overlay. In fact, I spent a significant portion of my gameplay without paying attention to my framerate, and I wholeheartedly endorse this approach to fully enjoy the magical world of Hogwarts Legacy.
On its launch day, Hogwarts Legacy grapples with a noticeable pop-in issue. If you arrive at a location on your broom a tad quicker than the game expects, you’ll witness students fading into existence before your eyes. Soaring high above the countryside can further befuddle the engine as it endeavors to spawn and remove entities below you. The challenges of render distances and streaming budgets are typically managed in most open-world games by keeping players firmly grounded and carefully controlling lines of sight. Unfortunately, Hogwarts doesn’t have the luxury of employing such techniques.
Furthermore, Hogwarts Legacy isn’t just another run-of-the-mill video game. It’s a rare gem in the gaming landscape—an officially licensed blockbuster title that successfully captures the immense scale of an intricately crafted fantasy world that has thrived in our minds and on the silver screen for decades. Nevertheless, Avalanche Software’s impressive achievement is marred by its association with a creator who has leveraged their influence and wealth to undermine the legal and social acceptance of transgender individuals.
If you’re diving into the wizarding world and looking to enhance your Hogwarts Legacy experience, don’t forget to check out our guide on Hogwarts Legacy: How to Farm Gold Quickly for some valuable tips and tricks.
Discover the gaming world through the eyes of Ana Luíza, the dynamic force behind howtoplay.blog. From a casual player to a respected author and redactor, Ana’s journey is a testament to her passion. Her writings transcend ordinary guides, offering deep insights and connecting every type of gamer with the essence of virtual adventures.
