Hogwarts Legacy Review: Is the ‘Harry Potter’ Game Living Up to the Fans’ Expectations?

Published 02/06/2023, 12:45 PM EST

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The Hogwarts Legacy is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Based on the worldwide popular, Wizarding Universe of “Harry Potter” the game had some high expectations from the day it was announced. And as the game rolls closer to its worldwide release, critics have started sharing their verdicts of the game.

Developed by Avalanche Software and distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment the Hogwarts Legacy promises an experience completely outside of the books and the movies. This was apparent in their tagline, “Live the Unwritten”. The gameplay also promised to offer an immersive experience the fans were craving ever since the PS1 era. 

The Hogwarts Legacy Review

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The critics have given their scores and thoughts. So far the game has a positive 86% on Metacritic. Below, we summarized critical first impressions of the game. 

Open World: By far, the highly anticipated open world is the biggest spectacle of the game. It is being compared to the previous greats, such as Witcher 3 and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is free and filled with a variety of occurrences and points of interest, all being true to the game’s theme.

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Enemies: Talking about the open world, one has to mention the critters and magical beasts that inhabit there. And it brings the first big problem with the game. The game suffers highly from the lack of enemy variety. After the initial encounters, players will soon discover that most of the enemies are the same and may feel repetitive, much like the first God of War (2018) game.

Character: Unlike the enemies, the intractable characters of the game have no shortage of charm and personality. The side characters and the NPCs did a great job of capturing the charms of the source material, making it one of the shining positives of the game. 

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Performance: While the world and character pull the player into the game, its dicey performance and frequent drop will leave the player with a sour taste. Currently, on the PlayStation 5, there have been reports of performance issues and bugs. 

Combat: The combat of the game offers a lot more than what was expected. The combat system feels much more in-depth and thought out. It presents the players with a plethora of builds in the shape of spells and abilities.

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Dark Arts: In the subject of spells, Hogwarts Legacy has a huge offering of side quests and light tasks. Among them, on a completely optional path, players could trudge the forbidden path and indulge in the study of the Dark Arts, including some of the vilest spells such as “Avada Kedavra”. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Which Classes Are Hogwarts Legacy Fans Guaranteed to Experience in the Widely Hyped Game?

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Written by:

Rituraj Halder

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Rituraj Halder is an eSports writer at Essentially sports. Residing from Kolkata, India, he holds a graduate degree in world literature. With 500+ hours in League of Legends, Rituraj claims to be a MOBA veteran.
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Edited by:

Jito Tenson