Jumping into the world of “Harry Potter” without the boy-who-lived, Hogwarts Legacy sets the story back a century before the books. The world provides wide expanses of land to explore, secrets to discover, and trials to overcome. Many details and lore can now be thoroughly inspected without the restrictions of the written narrative. From the toad choir to Azkaban, there are plenty of sights you can get your fill on. This game will surely last for a long time with the amount of stories and options it provides to the player.
Your character enters Hogwarts as a fifth year student rather than a first year. They wield the ability to use and see ancient magic which leads them to be targeted by the leader of a goblin rebellion, Ranrok. A goblin with a corrupted form of ancient magic who is hunting down for a repository beneath Hogwarts that contains that same magic. Enemies are spread out across the lands of Hogwarts including dark wizards and trolls along with the goblins. It is your goal to stop Ranrok before he attains that power to destroy the wizards and witches he despises.
Along with the main story, these events inadvertently become intertwined with the stories of three other characters. With the Gryffindor, Natsai Onai or otherwise known as Natty, you dig up evidence of wrongdoing and bring justice to the dark wizards terrorizing the land. Their leader, Victor Rookwood, is taken out by your character during the main story. In a different quest, you save beasts from poachers along with the Hufflepuff, Poppy Sweeting. This leads to delivering an egg back to its furious dragon mother and the rediscovery of the once thought extinct golden snidget. These two characters are respectable in their actions and cause. It is clear that you are doing the right thing when you are fighting alongside them.
In contrast to the other two, this plot is more deeply involved in the main story and what is just and moral is not so clear while working with the Slytherin, Sebastian Sallow. These quests can best be described with the phrase the path to hell is paved with good intentions. Your character works with him to uncover secrets related to ancient magic. In return, you will help him in finding a cure for his twin sister, Anne, who was cursed the summer before the start of the year. Despite this morally right goal, it is Sebastian’s drive to achieve it no matter what. This leads to the use of the dark arts and using an object belonging to Salazar Slytherin. Multiple times Anne and his friend, Ominis Gaunt, try to stop him and it is your choice to support either one. The Slytherin storyline may be morally ambiguous, but it is not completely evil. However there is no need to stress if you do not care about this as there is no moral system within the game.
As far as the gameplay goes, the controls are not difficult to use and the obstacles are challenging enough to have entertainment value. There will be some troublesome quests or challenges that require greater effort like the Merlin Trials, sneak missions, and the flight tests. However it shouldn’t be a problem if you know what you have to do.
Then there is combat. Throughout the game, you learn new spells either through certain quests or assignments given by the teachers. Many of them can be used for battle with some exceptions. They can be used in quick succession to maximize the amount of damage dealt to the enemy. For example, Accio to pull the target towards you then strike them with either a basic cast or one of the offensive spells. Dark arts is a must if you want good combat spells. They may be considered unforgivable within the world, but they are extremely effective and useful during confrontations. Highly recommended to learn and upgrade when you have the chance. The unforgivable curses are obtained during the Slytherin storyline and must be supported if you wish to use them.
On a scale of 1-10, this will get a 9. Although the storyline, quests, and exploration is amazing, there are still a few frustrating parts that may take some time to work through. Even so, I recommend playing this game if you are a fan of “Harry Potter.” The game may not be set at the same time period, but you will still be able to satisfy yourself with what you can find here. However if you wish to see Azkaban, choose Hufflepuff as your house. That quest only occurs for Hufflepuff.
