Since it was officially announced back in 2020, it feels like we’ve been waiting a very long time for Hogwarts Legacy to come out. The anticipation of this game has been astronomical, with the trailer breaking the internet when it dropped.
A recent gameplay showcase gave fans an in-depth look at a huge amount of content that players will experience when Hogwarts Legacy arrives in early 2023. So what can we expect from this long-awaited game set in the Harry Potter universe?
Hogwarts Legacy will be different for everyone
The main story of Hogwarts Legacy will be set in the 1890s, and we’ll play as a student in their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main character will be the “key” to uncovering the mystery of a forgotten magic that has been revived after many years. As fifth-year students, we’ll be given access to more advanced classes, and history books designed to explore the past and help us learn more about the coming threat.
As the story progresses, players can interact with other well-known characters from the Harry Potter universe, such as The Fat Lady, Peeves, Nearly Headless Nick, and many others. In our journey, we can get help from new characters introduced in this game, such as Professor Eleazar Fig (our character’s mentor), Ranrok, Victor Rookwood, and Professor Black, among others. Each of these characters has a different impact on the path our hero will take.
Hogwarts Legacy focuses primarily on player immersion, allowing us to create our own unique story. Each time we have different dialogue options, and different choices, we can nurture relationships with friends or neglect them. Each decision has a different impact on the ending of not only our journey, but also other side quests, and the fate of in-game characters.
For all we know, we can make good, neutral, and bad decisions that are supposed to give us certain improvements in different abilities. As a result, we can create many unique endings, which will make players want to return to the game many times. With so many different options, it’s a new game every time you load it up or start over.
The gameplay in Hogwarts Legacy looks great
One of the biggest questions people have had for Hogwarts Legacy is “How will spellcasting work?” Previous Harry Potter games had different spell-casting mechanics, each with varying success and enjoyment. Harry Potter 1-3 had aim-and-click mechanics, however with Goblet Of Fire, the spellcasting changed, with spells divided into Jinxes, Charms, and Accio which were separate selections with different controls.
When the games Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince were released, their spell-casting mechanics were considerably changed from the previous games, with mechanics that are widely considered some of the best by fans. To cast a spell, one had to make a special gesture that was unique for each spell. It was something completely different and made you feel like you were actually calling spells, however, you had to be careful about making the right gestures.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2’s spell-casting was similar to shooting games. You simply aimed and fired various charms that were available to you in the spell menu, without having to use gestures or anything like that.
In Hogwarts Legacy, players have four slots that they can change whenever they want. There will also be pre-saved slots that can be changed during exploration or combat to have quick access to other spells. During the course of the game, a total of over 20 spells can be unlocked, which can be mastered and developed through frequent usage.
Some spells will be unlocked through the main storyline and completing missions, while others will be attained by going to classes and practicing with other Hogwart students. The variety of spells has never felt better, because we’ve never had so many spells at our fingertips, with so many possibilities in the game itself. Often, using bad charms will make your character take a darker path while using the good and neutral spells, creates a brighter one.
Personalization will be unique for each player
Creating your own characters and giving them personalized looks and names is definitely one of the best things about Hogwarts Legacy. There are many options to choose from for your character’s appearance in the game. Whether it’s giving them scars, different colored hair, or even choosing the shape of their face, it’s all here waiting for you to personalize your own story.
As we play, we’ll be able to customize our characters even more, as the starter customization is just a “humble option.” Later, you can go to Hogsmeade and buy yourself new clothes, new glasses, and even some customization items for your Room of Requirement.
If you want to make your hero even more like you, you can easily go to the Wizarding World website, where you can link your account to your in-game account. This way, by completing a few quizzes, you’ll be sorted into a house, get your own unique wand, and a personalized Patronus. Once the game is released, you can log in and your character will have these things assigned from the beginning.
We still don’t know more about personalization after completing some story missions, but I’m sure the developers and people working on the game will give us more information soon.
The open world will amaze you more than you can imagine
The open world in Hogwarts Legacy is by far the largest of any of the Harry Potter games. Even more fascinating is the fact that we won’t see loading screens or anything else during the journey. We could see at the showcase, entering the common rooms of Hogwarts, and entering/exiting a building won’t require waiting for the game to render graphics or load maps.
This time it’ll be something like Harry Potter 5 and 6, where you could leisurely free roam without worrying about wasting time. Players will fully explore Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade, visit the Forbidden Forest, the ruins around the castle, and other fascinating places that will take your breath away.
While there is so much we can do in Hogwarts Legacy, there are also some things we cannot do. Some of these things include playing pick-up games or even playing Quidditch (although we can still fly on our broomstick). But don’t worry, I’m sure the game developers will continue to add things to the game, making the experience more magical.
Hogwarts Legacy will release on February 10, 2023, on PC, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Are you excited to play Hogwarts Legacy? Let us know on our Twitter or The Cosmic Circus Discord. And if you haven’t already, check out my review of God Of War: Ragnarok!
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