As the release date of February 10th nears, I cannot explain the excitement which I currently hold for this game however it begs the question of whether the game could actually be a GOTY contender? One thing we have learned over the past few years is trailers and words can lead us down a path of believing a game could be incredible but in reality, leave us disappointed. No Man’s Sky comes to mind.
The past few gameplay reveals of Hogwarts Legacy have left me wanting so much more and for the first time in so many years, I have placed my pre-order as I count the days to release however I am still concerned after so many previous disappointments on major AAA titles. As we all know, we will not know what to expect until the game releases and we fully get to experience the wizardy world of Harry Potter.
Experience the Hogwarts Legacy cinematic trailer:
Clearly this game is going to look beautiful however, what makes this game so unique and interesting?
Open World
If you are a Harry Potter fan like myself, just the thought of experiencing Hogwarts and being able to explore the giant open world this game has to offer is something I cannot contain my excitement for. You can freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest and the surrounding area, interacting with nearby wizards like yourself and doing whatever you choose, while admiring the beauty of the game. The open-world RPG, you will have the ability to roam wherever you like either by air or land and battle with trolls, monsters and creatures you come across, while learning spells along the way. As stated by game director Alan Tew, “When it comes to the open-world, we just knew it wasn’t going to be enough to stare out of the windows of Hogwarts and wonder what it’s like out there,”. The confirmed locations so far include: Diagon Alley, Explorable Dungeons & Vaults, Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, Room of Requirement, Settlements as well as other locations based around the story. Following on from this, the ability to free-roam Hogwarts is obviously an option and this will include classrooms, unique common rooms, kitchens, great hall and much more!
During your travels around the huge open world, there is also plenty of NPCs you will meet along the way and some will have shops, which can be interacted with. Another incredible feature is the ability to rescue magical beasts. Essentially, this will allow you to roam the map, find magical beasts, transport them to the vivariums and then feed and pet them to make them your own. You can even tame some of them to be able to be mounted in the open world, as well as be customised to your liking. Amazing right?
Some students can also become friends with you. Once these relationships grow to a point, then they will become companions and be by your side as you explore the world.
Spells
There will be two options in the game of which spells / curses players choose to use. The choice you make will result in an either dark or good ending. Those who choose to use unforgiveable curses will be led to a darker ending, in comparison to those who decide to abide by the rules. In order to learn and increase abilities in Hogwarts Legacy, the player will need to attend classes, in which they can further develop their character. Attending these classes will not only be part of the story but also to gather new use of spells, potions and more. These will all come with professors who will be each teaching you something different such as defense against the dark arts and history of magic. The spell list is below:
- Accio – pull an item or combatant toward you.
- Descendo – slams enemies into the ground.
- Incendio – set fire to items or opponents.
- Petrificus Totalus – Freezes foes so they cannot move.
- Revelio – reveal nearby objects.
- Stupefy – stun an opponent.
- Wingardium Leviosa – lift items and combatants into the air.
- Avada Kedavra – kill your target.
- Crucio – inflict incredible pain on your target.
- Imperio – force enemies to fight on your behalf
Similar to most RPG games out there, killing and completing various objectives will reward you with the ability to improve your current spells and skills. If you are struggling to get to grips with the spells, then fear not as the Hogwarts Legacy training center, which is also known as Crossed Wands, will be able to assist. Here you will be able to practise all individual spells and perfect your combos, ready for actual combat. The game will feature over 20 individual spells, which I presume will increase over time.
Character Customization
Let’s be honest, we all love making our character either look like ourselves or just plain ridiculous, right? Well, this is exactly what Hogwarts Legacy has to offer. Similar to the likes of Skyrim, the game will immediately give you the option to change how your character looks, from hairstyles to skin and so on.
As the above shows, you can start off with a preset character which has already been made for you and then customise it to exactly how you want. Unfortunately, some items will be locked and require purchase from shops or looting from around the world, however, there should be enough to get you started. The game will allow you to also choose your wand and you can equip custom wands. To add to this, once you start, you have the choice of picking your house and this will determine where you will be staying. Will you be choosing Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff? Each house will have their own set of rooms as they are customised to fit the banner of each one, so make your choice wisely.
Creatures
As mentioned previously, there will be mythical creatures around the map which you can pick up and nurture however, what kind of enemies / creatures can you expect to see throughout the map? So far, we have had Kneazles, Thestrals, Nifflers, Hippogriffs, dragons, Graphorns, Mooncalves and Trolls all confirmed on the gameplay trailers however I would expect to see that list grow once the game releases. It’s yet to be confirmed which will be nice, or classed as an enemy. For easy travelling around the world of Hogwarts Legacy, it is confirmed that we can use the Hippogriffs and Thestrals to fly around
Combat
The combat in Hogwarts Legacy looks absolutely phenomenal. Using your spell diamond, you can toggle which spells fit you in that particular battle and quickly use those to defend against enemies, as well as deflecting spells.
As shown by the video, the combat system will be all dependent on the spells you use and combos you can put together. As you develop through the game and kill more enemies, you will unlock better abilities and improve current skills, becoming more effective against higher level opponents. As you level up spells and abilities, these will deal more damage per hit and give you more of a chance. There will a number of different enemies, which include trolls, goblins and enemy wizards. Wild magical beasts will also be in the game and will prove more of a test. These are the likes of giant dragons and giant spiders.
Room of Requirement
I thought the room of requirement required its own section as there’s honestly so much you can do. To start with, the room of requirement is a familiar site for myself and other Harry Potter fans. It is a room Harry used a lot in the films and books and for those who do know him, Ignatia Wildsmith can be seen when you first walk in.
The Room of Requirement in a nutshell, is available to players to brew items, grow things and care for your beasts (as discussed previously). Any beasts you manage to nurture in the world of Hogwarts, you will send them to here and this is where they will be fed and kept safe. The room itself is fully customisable by allowing you to change, tables, rugs, status and banners. Make this look as good or as bad as you want.
There are a number of special activities you can do here. You can upgrade your gear, add defensive magic to clothes and also examine items to see what they mean. You will also be able to upgrade your arsenal here and learn new recipes. In addition, you remember we spoke about caring for your beasts? Well, here you can go outside and use your beasts to get materials for upgrading your arsenal even further. So far, we have already seen 3 different beasts, including a niffler, kneazle and a graphorn. To make this even more exciting, you can also add trees, pumpkins and other customisation to your beasts home, as well creating a food processor to automatically feed them when you are busy. The area also has a toy box, breeding pen and the ability to name your creatures – wow!
Characters / NPCs
As discussed above, Hogwarts Legacy will feature a huge open world with a ton of characters and NPCs to interact with. Although not everyone will offer much to you, there will be some students you can strike up a friendship with and also interact with about various things. An example shown in the trailer can be seen below:
You have the ability to have simple interactions with some of the characters who will offer you tasks or quests, which will allow for progression throughout the game. In addition, the headmaster, Phineas Nigellus Black (based off Sirius Black), in the game will be played by Simon Pegg, who is best known for being a film actor and in movies such as Shaun of the Dead. In terms of your own character, this is played by Sebastien Croft or Amelia Gething, depending on whether you choose to play a man or woman and there are additional pitch options to change this up even more.
Unfortunately, you will not see Harry Potter or any of the known characters due to the time it was set. Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late 1800s, which was about 100 years before those characters so no Harry, Hermione or Ron.
Summary
Overall, I really do believe Hogwarts Legacy could be GOTY but I am preserving my judgement until release. The game looks beautiful and the open world looks sensational with plenty of activity and entertainment, so I really just hope they take their time with release. So far, the trailers, gameplay and overall reveals have given us exactly what we wanted. However, in the past, it has taught me to not take so much from trailers and gameplay reveals as clearly you are being shown what you want to see and unfortunately, the real issues, if any, will only be apparent when the game releases on the 10th February. A lot of people are questioning whether the developer, Avalanche Software, will be able to meet the players expectations as I wouldn’t say they have ever been involved in a project as big as this before. Their notable releases include Cars, Toy Story and Disney Infinity, which all received average scores from reviewers.
We will be doing a complete review of the game on release so feel free to wait for that and we can then let you know if this really is worth the hype and money.
