Hogwarts Legacy: The Final Preview

ByCNH Editorial Team

We don’t live in a world full of great Harry Potter games. No one has warm feelings for the hordes of cheap, cynical movie tie-ins that plagued the PS2 and Xbox in the mid-2000s. So when Portkey Games announced his 2020 big-budget Hogwarts His Legacy, it was clear that the studio was aiming for stellar heights with his interpretation of Harry Potter. After two hours of hands-on, I can confidently say that Wizarding World rarely looks better. Hogwarts Legacy’s lighthearted charm, cheeky whimsy, and hijinks of his fantasy are rendered with dogmatic slavery to the books, but the game portion of this video game, combat and exploration, is more casual than fiction. Robust enough to attract a fan base. Unfortunately, it’s all happening at the very moment the world is rethinking its lifelong connection to one of the greatest stories ever told.

If you haven’t kept up with the leak, Hogwarts Legacy takes place in the late 19th century, so it works independently of some of the more familiar touchstones of Potter’s lore. (Neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore has many Weasley surnames.) You play as her 5th grade transfer student who builds with a powerful character creator. It indicates complexion, hair color, eyebrow shading, and yes, body type, vocal tenor, and a choice called “witch” or “wizard.” Afterwards, you’ll quickly become accustomed to the daily rhythm of Hogwarts school life. My time in the game was divided into two main sections. Dangerous story chapters where you’re asked to infiltrate and destabilize a vicious dragon’s cockfighting ring, as well as solve side quests, play mini-games and luxuriate in the soaked castle grounds. It’s afternoon. With greatness like a persona just hanging out at school.

Combat was the highlight for me, which was unexpected. In previous Potter games, Mercury Wizard’s clash of the books is reduced to a dull, rote third-person shooting his gallery. sniper rifle. Hogwarts Legacy drastically changes the formula. Despite projectiles bouncing back and forth across the arena, the game works like Ninja his Gaiden-esque combo his Masher. Characters are automatically locked wherever they face, and Hocus Pocus cascading out of their wands can fill the screen and chain like his Marvel Vs obliterating health bars. Capcom Tsunami. His game director, Alan Tew, likens the system to a kind of “long-range duel.”

The physics engine fully revels in your chaos — bodies fly across the map as if weightless and boneless at your mercy.

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Your weapons are mapped to buttons on your face, and after a few minutes of fiddling with the controls, I was able to come up with some wild, improvised concoctions. Tagging with a basic filler cast, pulling it in with Accho, and then setting it ablaze with Incendio. The physics engine fully revels in your chaos — bodies fly across the map as if weightless and boneless at your mercy. The Harry Potter video games have tried, but failed, to recreate decades of fiction’s unique interpretation of spells.Portkey is likely to be imitated for years to come. You seem to have established a structure.

Walking around Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has never been as exciting as a trip to the Dragon’s Lair. My character roamed in peace and freedom back home on the back of a flying broomstick (Hogwarts Roach Legacy), roaming every nook and cranny of the castle. Absorb collectibles, crack basic puzzles, and complete simple tasks assigned by your classmates. (One of them accidentally attached charms to her books, causing them to fly. I put them back in her hands.) Outside in the courtyard, “” I participated in a round that can only be described. Wizard curling. ’ My enemy and I used canes to guide a set of leather balls onto a wooden platform. The closer they get to the edge without falling, the more points you get. I was hoping that Hogwarts Legacy would include more fine-grained character moments outside of the core campaign. By the end of runtime, you’ll only hit that mark if you’re willing to lay down your life for a kind groundskeeper or eccentric principal.

I was shocked to see that one of my combat hotbar spells was Crucio. It is better known to the layman as a torture spell.

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It should also be said that Hogwarts’ legacy seems to swim on the dark edges of canon history. It was shocking to find out that one of my combat hotbar spells he was Crucio. This is better known to the layman as a torture spell. (In the world of Harry Potter, Crucio is one of his three “unforgivable curses.” Never!) Perhaps these are the themes Hogwarts His Legacy seeks to address. How did Crucio become unforgivable, anyway? The few final moves my character was equipped with were just as eerie: when I charged a meter and tapped his two shoulders his button, my avatar soothed a rival wizard Looney he could be turned into a pile of Tunes dust. The Harry Potter books center around his teenage pure friendship, so it’s strange to see a 5th grader lose his life. Again, perhaps Hogwarts Legacy intends to explore some of these questions.

Of course, those who choose to play Hogwarts Legacy have to contend with all manner of contradictions. Most of it is much more than the usual cacophony you find in video games. J.K. Rowling has established herself as one of the most prominent anti-trans mouthpieces on the planet. The fact that the author is the owner of the Harry Potter intellectual property cannot be changed. If buying this video game feels like an implicit endorsement of Rowling’s retrograde world, no one can say you’re wrong. I spoke with Alan Tew about these questions during my visit.You can read the results of our conversation here —but you probably won’t find definitive answers to these concerns. It looks like you’ve finally got a good Harry Potter game. Shouldn’t it make you feel better than this?