Hogwarts Legacy Review
So, Hogwarts Legacy, a game set in the magical world inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, has officially been released. While there are still a few hiccups, Hogwarts Legacy has exceeded my expectations for a game based on a film franchise. Let's review some of the highlights, lowlights, and my expectations for Hogwarts Legacy.
When we talk about Harry Potter, or more specifically, Hogwarts, what immediately comes to mind is the distinct characteristics of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Each house was founded by one of the four founders of Hogwarts, bearing their name. The Hogwarts founders all valued specific personality traits, which is reflected in the sorting of students into houses. Like everyone else, I was excited to find out which house I would be sorted into. I remember back in the day when I was still exploring Pottermore, answering "twenty-eight" questions with my limited English skills, and how ecstatic I was when the result placed me in Gryffindor. I hoped that the house sorting system in Hogwarts Legacy would be more extensive and explore our personalities in more depth. However, to my disappointment, Hogwarts Legacy only asks one question. Perhaps the game developers didn't want to delve too deep into this aspect, as it is part of the tutorial, and having an overly lengthy tutorial might discourage players and lead to refunds within the first two hours. A plus point for the game is that after being sorted into a house, you can choose again.
The beginning of the game also left a somewhat negative impression on me, as the character suddenly finds themselves starting their fifth year at Hogwarts. Starting in the fifth year has its advantages, such as explaining how we can quickly master new magic like a prodigy and allowing us to use forbidden spells without too much scrutiny. However, the game doesn't provide a specific explanation for why our character suddenly appears and starts their fifth year at Hogwarts. Speaking of learning magic, ever since the game was teased, I was hoping for a feature to confirm if I pronounced the spell names correctly, as pronunciation is quite important in the wizarding world.
With today's advanced technology, integrating a pronunciation recognition system like what the English learning app ELSA has done into the learning and even combat aspects of a game would be truly fantastic. Coupled with the fact that the DualSense controller on the PS5 now includes microphone functionality, I believe implementing such a feature would not be too difficult. Speaking of the DualSense controller, I'd like to discuss the underutilization of the Haptic Feedback by the developers of this game. When I first learned about the game through a trailer on the PlayStation channel, I hoped the game would excel in immersing players in its world through tactile sensations, a sensory experience that only games can truly harness. My expectations soared even higher after experiencing The Last Of Us - Part 1. Naughty Dog did an exceptional job bringing players closer to the in-game world through tactile feedback. Every line of dialogue, character emotions like anger, gentle speech, or tension, all transmitted to the DualSense controller, making me consider this as a truly essential privilege that a game should have. In Hogwarts Legacy, the haptic feedback is not fully utilized and is somewhat lacking even when compared to games from previous generations. There is no discernible difference when stepping on grass or walking within the castle. During cutscenes, Hogwarts Legacy also provides little to no tactile feedback to the player's controller, significantly diminishing my gaming experience.
When adapting a book series into a film, I vividly remember Chapter Eight titled "The Deathday Party" from the second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." It recounts Harry Potter being invited to a party celebrating Nearly Headless Nick's 500th deathday. This event was not included in the film, possibly due to the film's runtime constraints or the difficulty and cost of creating a party scene with various ghostly characters. However, a video game can easily overcome all of these limitations. Fortunately, Hogwarts Legacy does an excellent job in portraying the magical world in all its grandeur and excitement, delivering the Hogwarts castle experience that we've been eagerly anticipating.
Perhaps the reason for not focusing on the tactile experience is that with limited development time, the developers opted to make the most of the current generation console hardware for graphics. While there are a few places where the contrast is quite low, resulting in a lack of depth in certain scenes, character and object details are not well-defined when viewed up close. However, when looking at the overall picture, Hogwarts Legacy is visually stunning.
The game also runs smoothly with just the right processing power on the PS5. I recall a game like Plague Tale - Requiem, where Asobo Studio struggled to optimize the game for current-generation console hardware, leading to unstable frame rates and poorly handled depth of field. Hogwarts Legacy, on the other hand, is different. The game runs smoothly at 60fps with the Performance graphics setting and maintains stability at over 30fps with the Fidelity graphics setting that includes ray tracing. The absence of excessive elements that could overload the rendering engine allows the game to feature numerous impressive scenes while still running smoothly. Importantly, the game experiences very few visual bugs, with only one minor cloak-related bug observed, which did not significantly impact my gaming experience. Although hardware optimization has been well executed, Hogwarts Legacy still has some disappointing aspects, such as less-than-ideal character voiceovers, and sometimes the character's lip sync doesn't match the dialogue.
Speaking of dialogue, the in-game characters often engage in serious and forced conversations, lacking the natural flow of communication. Humorous dialogues are scarce and feel almost nonexistent. Conversations in the game can be lengthy and tiresome, possibly partly due to the somewhat lackluster storyline, which revolves around a protagonist with the ability to use ancient magic and a talent for learning new spells. The main character encounters a few friends who help them understand themselves better and aid in their quest to thwart the sinister plans of a malicious creature seeking to exploit their ancient magic. Side quests are not meticulously crafted and often have unsatisfying conclusions. The game also lacks a moral system; for example, using forbidden spells frequently doesn't seem to affect the main storyline's outcome. The ending of the game is determined primarily in the late stages of the game, depending on the time you invest in completing side storylines.
While the game's story is somewhat disappointing, the gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy redeems it, offering a lot of worthwhile elements to discuss.
One of the most impressive aspects of Hogwarts Legacy from the moment the gameplay trailer was revealed is its combat system. Firstly, there's the basic attack, where after three light attacks, you can perform a high-damage strike. However, enemies are never alone, so you'll have two additional mechanics that, in my opinion, work best for combat: dodging and parrying. Parrying, which we saw in the teaser and experienced in reality, is much easier than in Souls games, making it accessible even for new players. However, it's disappointing that there are no special follow-up attacks after parrying an enemy. Dodging in Hogwarts Legacy doesn't make you completely invisible like in Souls games, but there are moments where you can exploit the hitbox from a dodge to avoid a boss's difficult attack.
The spells in the game are also meticulously designed, and the game suggests various combos between the spells. For example, because Incendio has a relatively short range, you can pull enemies closer with Accio and then, after using Incendio, use Depulso to push them further away. On the easy difficulty level, players can easily spam buttons to progress through the game. However, on higher difficulty levels, especially the highest, players will need to master various combos to defeat all enemies.
In addition to combat-related spells, Hogwarts Legacy also features spells related to exploration and puzzle-solving within the game's world. All spells are learned through tasks assigned by various professors from different subjects. With the exception of forbidden curses, which are primarily taught by the fake Moody in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," all other spells are taught through these tasks. Forbidden curses are learned with the help of a Slytherin friend named Sebastian, but don't worry, Sebastian is researching these banned spells for a good reason. While the gradual development of the storyline and learning spells over time is a positive aspect, the content of the spell-learning tasks is not well-designed. Most tasks require you to spend money, something you won't have much of in the game, which can hinder your progress in the main storyline due to a lack of funds rather than a lack of ability to continue the main plot.
The most enchanting aspect of the game, and perhaps the most delightful, is the exploration of the fascinating world surrounding Hogwarts Castle. Wandering through the school and the village of Hogsmeade is truly wonderful, and the game offers a multitude of things to discover. And the game even features this:
Regarding the map, the game provides a large map and a 3D simulation of Hogwarts Castle. The fast travel system is introduced from the beginning of the game, but I'm sure that following directions and taking in the surroundings is much more enjoyable than opening the map and waiting for the game to load. If you get tired of running, rest assured that after a while, you'll be able to fly on a broom to get everywhere (except for a few restricted areas). And if you get tired of flying on a broom, using a cheat code, you can even ride a chimera, a hybrid creature between an eagle and a horse, to explore the world in the game. Speaking of which, although the world of Hogwarts Legacy is vast and large, the content within that world does repeat quite a bit, like dealing with bandit camps or clearing out a spider nest.
However, after these repetitive tasks, there are many rewards in the form of costumes, which can also be upgraded and equipped with gems to enhance your abilities. These outfits allow you to add a personal touch to the adventure, for example, wearing pajamas while exploring dungeons. Additionally, there are hundreds of lore items scattered throughout the map. Collecting them won't make you stronger, but they contain a wealth of information that is extremely useful for Potterheads and will surely satisfy them. Even in the main quest, you have to take a quiz to test your knowledge of this fascinating wizarding world.
VERDICT
In conclusion, as a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, you will undoubtedly feel the emotions of the magical world when you go wand shopping at Ollivander's or ride a broom for the first time. Hogwarts Legacy is clearly a labor of love and attention to detail from its developer, Avalanche Software. Despite its shortcomings, the game is undoubtedly created by Harry Potter enthusiasts, for Harry Potter fans, and it is well worth the long wait. Hogwarts Legacy may not provide a groundbreaking gaming experience compared to other titles, but it certainly offers a wondrous experience that takes us back to the magical world we once knew.
The game could be even better with more attention to the tactile experience and a more in-depth story with more interaction between characters. Nevertheless, it is still a game that justifies its price, even for those who have never delved into the world of Harry Potter before.