The Hogwarts Legacy review embargo has lifted, and it turns out a lot of people like being an open-world wizard. The game has been in development for many years at Avalanche and is Warner Bros' b
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The Hogwarts Legacy review embargo has lifted, and it turns out a lot of people like being an open-world wizard. The game has been in development for many years at Avalanche and is Warner Bros’ big attempt to establish the Harry Potter gaming universe. Fans have previously had the movie tie-in games, but this is entirely its own thing and distinct from the ongoing film franchise.
Review code for this one only arrived a few days before embargo, so some sites have not yet posted reviews, but of those that have the reaction is near-universal positivity. Hogwarts Castle comes in for particular praise, with nearly everyone digging the game’s recreation of the iconic wizarding school, but everything from the imaginative missions to the quickfire spell combinations of combat seems to have impressed. PC Gamer’s review is in progress (opens in new tab), and here’s a roundup of what the critics are saying.”In nearly every way, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play.”
IGN: 9 (opens in new tab)
“In nearly every way, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play. Its open-world adventure captures all the excitement and wonder of the Wizarding World with its memorable new characters, challenging and nuanced combat, and a wonderfully executed Hogwarts student fantasy that kept me glued to my controller for dozens of hours. It’s certainly weighed down by technical issues, a lackluster main story, and some poor enemy variety, but even those couldn’t come close to breaking its enchanting spell over me.”
“Bursting at the seams with hobbies to pick up.”
Evening Standard: 4/5 (opens in new tab)
“The game is bursting at the seams with hobbies to pick up. Have a liking for Potions? Spend hours growing and scavenging ingredients from around the game’s huge world map (comprising a hefty slice of the Scottish Highlands around Hogwarts) to brew new ones. If animals are more your thing, why not tame a Thestral or Hippogriff–or something even more exotic like a Mooncalf? And for the combat-inclined, there are also multiple bandit camps to find and wipe out, and, though it’s really not hard to do, it’s also fun.”
(Image credit: Portkey Games)”[Has] a spark that’s long been missing from Harry Potter games.”
Metro: 4/5 (opens in new tab)
“That combination of lush scenery and apparently limitless things to do within it, lends proceedings a spark that’s long been missing from Harry Potter games. Freed form the baggage of the original canon, you’ll still bump into Weasleys and various antecedents of modern era Hogwarts, but the story is never beholden to them, which is a refreshing change of pace and something the Star Wars franchise ought to be watching with keen interest.”
(Image credit: Portkey Games, Warner Bros.
