Hogwarts Legacy

The first AAA blockbuster in the Harry Potter universe - Hogwarts Legacy - is a sandbox in a large open world, a third-person action game with RPG elements. The events unfold in the 19th century, at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main character is enrolled directly into the fifth year, as he possesses the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the magical world apart.

As the player progresses, they explore the open world, level up their character, learn spells, and brew potions. There is a choice of one of four houses, broomstick flying, various magical secrets, and so on. Popular spells from the "Potterverse" are present - protective dome, invisibility, fireball, as well as unforgivable curses like "Avada Kedavra."

The embodiment of the world follows the canon. Flying on a broomstick allows players to enjoy the landscapes and aesthetics of the world: mountainous terrain, rugged relief with many dense forests and deep caves, cold lakes, and narrow streams, an ocean gnawing at the rocks. Realistic flora coexists with the fantasy fauna of the "Potterverse," exemplified by the Forbidden Forest.

All buildings are in medieval Gothic architecture. Hogwarts is a majestic castle full of large and small halls, cozy living rooms, narrow corridors, spiral staircases, and open balconies, dungeons, and secret hideouts. Hogsmeade is a merchant town with dense low-rise buildings, winding streets, and bustling squares.

Unlike the scattered villages and individual farms around the world, the castle and the village are standalone gaming arenas, with the highest level of detail in spaces and attention to detail in decorations and furnishings. Legendary points of interest are recreated: the Great Hall, the Clock Tower, the Headmaster's office, the "Three Broomsticks" inn, the "Three Broomsticks" shop, the "Sweet Kingdom" confectionery, and others.

The magical atmosphere is enhanced by moving staircases, animated portraits, animated suits of armor, flying scrolls, ghosts chasing each other, house-elf servants, frogs playing instruments, and much more. The life and event generation system presents entire mini-scenes to the player.

As the game progresses, the seasons change. The yellowing and fallen leaves, roofs covered with snow, will be accompanied by decorations and other pre-holiday details in the interiors of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

Contrary to the canon, the narrative of Hogwarts Legacy is safe in all respects. There is no role-playing to be had. The hero lacks a backstory, skeletons won't come out of the closet. Already a successful and talented honor student, he does not need personal growth as the game progresses. Romantic relationships are not allowed, and the question of interpersonal relationships is never raised.

The main plot is a simple story about the Chosen One. He is the only one who feels and can use a special ancient magic, which allows him to find the MacGuffin and single-handedly prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The story is linear from start to finish, lacking drama, intrigue, and unexpected twists, and feels a bit stretched. However, the secondary plotlines and character arcs are better written and more cohesive.

Some time is also devoted to training at Hogwarts. After a few interactive lessons, the player is given complete freedom of action and exploration, with further training shown through CGI videos without the hero's involvement in the process. The choice of house will affect a couple of moments in the game, but it won't create any unique content.

There is no morality system or accountability for actions. You can be cheeky in dialogues and claim loot from side quests, which won't affect the gameplay — friends, teachers, and random passersby only praise the main character. There is a lot of communication, with dialogues lasting up to 5 minutes, but they will only interest fans. There are several antagonists, but their development doesn't go beyond archetypes. They personally have nothing against the hero; he simply gets in their way.

The combat in Hogwarts Legacy is a set of distributed activities. It won't let you get bored, but it doesn't unify all the variety of mechanics into a single system with elemental physics links or other explanations. You can't first drench enemies with rain and then throw lightning, hoping to hit them all. Freezing and shattering with a shockwave won't work either. Flying around in battle on a broom, biting opponents with magic here and there — that's not it.

The protagonist is strictly a wizard running on his own two feet. The basic attack, magical block with parrying, and dodge to evade critical enemy attacks are available at any moment and are necessary to stay in combat. Sometimes you can enter a fight using invisibility magic, although full-fledged stealth gameplay is more of a remnant than a serious aid in passing.

The main damage is dealt by groups of powerful spells, learned separately. Their mechanics are based on telekinesis and pyrokinesis, crowd control, and force impact. Waving the wand, the hero charges a damage multiplier and an ancient magic bar, which can be compared to an ultimate ability. Spamming powerful spells won't be allowed due to cooldowns.

The roster of enemies is small — goblins, humans, infernals, trolls, and many beasts — but the division into subtypes or classes (warriors, guards, rangers, mages, etc.) provides the necessary variety. Enemies have strengths and weaknesses, and by studying them, you can find solutions that allow you to take them down with a couple of wand swipes. Encounters with bosses are more challenging — a large health pool, several phases, their own defenses, and an army of minions ready to assist.

Like all sandboxes, the single-player game uses a set of storyline, main, and side quests to generate activities, but it stands out with constant communication and cutscenes. The tasks are straightforward: find-kill-bring, clear caves-tombs-forests, capture outposts and bases. Quidditch was not in the release version, but there were races with checkpoints on a broom.

The leveling system is built around the wardrobe. Clothes, cloaks and robes, headgear, neck, face and hand accessories fall abundantly on the player and are distributed by strength and rarity, enhancing various characteristics (health, damage, defense). The best gear contains upgrade slots, using gems to increase magic effectiveness.

By opening the Room of Requirement and then their own zoo in a bag, the hero unlocks the crafting mechanic. By collecting animals in the game world and taking care of them in the zoo, they receive feathers that make the outfits even better. Wands cannot be obtained this way — they must be bought with money.

The game does not give anything for free and forces players to be active: completing quests, playing mini-games, solving puzzles, looting chests, selling inventory contents, and using the economy in various ways to earn money and spend it on necessary items, potions, and spells.