Hogwarts Legacy Final Review: Pure magic for Harry Potter fans

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Hogwarts Legacy Final Review: Pure magic for Harry Potter fans
hogwarts legacy final review: pure magic for harry potter fans

The video game set in the Wizarding World is an action RPG that is hard to break away from, especially for a Harry Potter fan.

Hogwarts Legacy
Review: PlayStation 5

After more than 50 hours, dozens of mountain trolls defeated and hundreds of dark wizards defeated, we have finished our adventure, OWLs included. In short, we are ready to express a definitive verdict, which is linked to the ongoing review of Hogwarts Legacy, trying to sum up an experience that has put our emotions to the test: heart and head fought strenuously, colliding as in a spectacular crossing of wands.

Because if it is true that the Avalanche Software game does not deviate from the “quantitative” formula typical of contemporary open worlds, on the other hand we must give due credit to the team that has been able to exploit the weight of the Wizarding World license. Therefore we hope, with this definitive analysis, that we have found the right balance between reason and feeling.

A Potterian tale

In the wake of what was argued in the previous lines, it is legitimate to ask to what extent the value of such a popular license should count in the critical analysis of a product that has turned out to be ordinary from a playful point of view. In short, is it right to let yourself be carried away by the atmospheres of the brand and superimpose them at least in part on the defects of the production? Looking at the work done by the Avalanche team, it would seem possible.

Especially since the fanservice proposed in Hogwarts Legacy declares at the top of its lungs a boundless love for the world of Harry Potterimmersing the player in a show that – to quote Severus Snape – ensnares the senses. The amount of detail that the developers have packed into the narrative, playful and visual experience to explore, deepen and expand the mythology of reference is simply impressive.

Starting from the sensation of pure wonder that strikes in crossing each entrance hall of the Hogwarts castle, in which the authors have poured obsessive attention to the polygonal composition of the interiors, rich as never before in architectural details and contextual stimuli. The digital reinterpretation that Avalanche has conceived by recovering – in part – some of the most recognizable aesthetic suggestions of the film saga, amalgamating them with original creative choices, which make the videogame School of Witchcraft and Wizardry an interactive environment of excellent workmanship is therefore amazing. In short, the nineteenth-century Hogwarts of the Portkey Games title is not too different from the one that JK Rowling described to us in the Harry Potter literary saga and to which the various authors of the film series gave life. This is also reflected in the structure of the story: 1 September is a special day for the young students of the institute, because the older pupils can meet again after a summer break and the newbies are introduced to the academic path through the Sorting ceremony. The one told in Hogwarts Legacy, however, is a different school year from the others: among the novices there is a new recruit who – quite exceptionally – joins the School from the fifth year, because his mysterious dormant talent could help solve the mysteries related to Ancient Magic.

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These secrets, throughout the main Campaign, will help to unravel ancient conspiracies and above all to stop the advance of the dangerous Ranrok, a dark imp intent on rekindling the spark of the violent Goblin Revolt that broke out in the eighteenth century. It must be said that the script drafted by Avalanche follows the trappings of a fragmented production: the themes touched by the story undoubtedly reflect the style of the original material, but at the same time they lend themselves to some limits imposed by the gameplay formula. The most controversial aspect of the journey lies in the low impact of the role-playing component on the narrative pace of the events, starting with the absence of a concrete system of moral choices.

It is true that, as promised by the developers, the player can choose what kind of wizard to become – that is, whether to give in to the use of the Dark Arts or to remain pure as a Guardian of the Light. On the other hand, there are no tangible consequences to various ethical actions or decisions that our avatar takes during his adventure: using the Unforgivable Curses, or apostrophizing the interlocutors with not very polite answers, has not changed our bond with the supporting actors. The same can be said for the satisfying conclusions of the adventure, the variations of which depend on choices made shortly before the end, without really taking into account the path of the protagonist.

Moreover, the open world dough significantly breaks the rhythm of the long-term school experience, depriving it of that coherence with the strict rules of the Institute that make up the lore of reference. This does not mean that the quality of the main Campaign, as well as the writing of the many optional quests, is extremely pleasant, because it is built on a narrative scheme similar to that developed by JK Rowling’s pen: every moment of the primary storyline travels easily between original and valuable winks at certain key junctures of Harry Potter, while side quests expand the foundation of the Wizarding World.

Undoubtedly the long roundup of secondary missions often slides on the tracks of a classic one fetch quests: most of the time it is necessary, on behalf of various NPCs, to thoroughly explore the castle, the village of Hogsmeade or the Highlands surrounding the School to find required objects, solve puzzles and eliminate enemies, to then return to the client and collect the rewards.

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It is a pattern that is repeated insistently especially in the first ten hours, which in fact performs the function of a long tutorial during which the mechanics of the game (and the related sections of the Hogwarts Practical Guide) become accessible little by little. Once this obstacle has been overcome, the contents remain not too brilliant in terms of variety, but still manage to satisfy the user thanks to the multitude of stories and insights into the past and recent history of the Wizarding World.

Fun and where to find it

Deeply exploring the wizarding world of Hogwarts Legacy, as it is known, is inextricably linked to a long and layered progression system, mostly made up of collecting dozens of collectibles. The fulcrum of all this are the Challenges, which through the achievement of various objectives allow you to acquire experience points and objects to improve and expand your inventory.

It is in this that the open world proposed by the Warner Bros Games production adopts a widely tested and ordinary formula, confirming itself until the end as a container of many activities. There are three macro-zones in which empty and desolate spaces alternate with areas teeming with points of interest, environments in which to find animal dens, poacher camps, dark wizards or goblins, tests and puzzles of various types. This is the main limitation of Hogwarts Legacy: an adventure in which free roaming becomes redundant at times. At the same time, however, the paradox of Hogwarts Legacy lies in the immeasurable charm of its setting and artistic direction: getting lost among the lugubrious fronds of the Forbidden Forest, exploring desolate caves and advancing along the corridors of the castle returns a constant sense of wonder, which makes even the most superfluous activities a rewarding tinsel that the most loyal fans of the Wizarding World will hardly want to give up.

The management component also follows the same principle: the Room of Requirement, after unlocking its use for narrative purposes, it becomes an additional but not crucial element for the main mission. The crafting of potions and plants, as well as the care of magical creatures and the upgrading of clothes, are tasks intended for the expansion of a role-playing framework that is not too complex, but functional to the rules of the Harry Potter themed world.

The distillates, the plants themselves or the components to improve the outfits are on the other hand available at the appropriate retailers or can be found in nature. Taking advantage of the Room of Requirement to devote yourself to Life Sim interludes is in turn part of that aggressive fanservice with which the work is cloaked. That of Hogwarts Legacy is ultimately a formula attributable to the purest, freest and most unbridled entertainment: Nothing more and nothing less. The immeasurable strength of the reference license therefore partially balances a not too original playful substrate.

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Challenges, fights and graphics

Learning, collecting and harnessing spells around the Wizarding World is a blast, now in exploration, now in combat. The 24 basic spells are essential above all for overcoming various puzzles, mostly environmental puzzles scattered between Trials and long, quite stimulating dungeons. But it is in the battles that Hogwarts Legacy has proved to be even more solid and fun: the clashes with wands and magic formulas born from Rowling’s mind are in fact unique in the fantasy ecosystem, and in our opinion the development team has managed to make that uniqueness its own in an effective and constantly evolving combat system.

Evolving Talents is important to make the most of all the possibilities offered by the gameplay: in short, it is necessary to extend the diamonds of the skills to create specific sets of spells, inflict ever higher damage and Malus useful for turning battles in one’s favor, as well as unleashing devastating special attacks and ring combos as long and complex as possible. As your alter ego’s adventure and abilities progress, casting attack spells turned out to be much more dynamic than it initially seemed: thanks above all to a good management of the enemy waves, which force the player to move, dodge and constantly parry the offensive impulses. In this sense, we must however point out a general difficulty that is not very high: at a normal level, with the exception of a few tougher bosses, we rarely ran into game over and we therefore recommend that you try your hand at the “Difficult” grade, if you are looking for a more challenging.

Finally, we explored the accessibility and graphics settings a little further: Hogwarts Legacy allows you to customize all elements of the HUD for an even more immersive and personal experience, with a pleasant eye towards the accessibility options: we have, for example, a voice reader for the menus and a Color Blindness Mode.

As for the visual settings, the option is added to the Performance and Fidelity modes Fidelity with Ray Tracing, which pushes light effects and reflections to the max with a frame rate pegged at 30 fps. While highlighting an undoubtedly less fluid glance, the experience proved to be solid even with active Ray Tracing.

Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts LegacyPlayStation 5 Analyzed VersionHogwarts Legacy can be a manifesto of the heart that wins over reason. The one concocted by Avalanche Software is in fact an open world RPG that is not very stimulating in the dynamics of exploration and with a not entirely impactful role-playing formula, which could tire the most demanding players. However we believe that the flaws are well balanced by a good combat system, a great attention to detail and an impeccable art direction, which represents a true love letter to the Wizarding World and its fans.