HOGWARTS LEGACY
Is this OWL we dreamed of?
“YOU CAN CHOOSE THE SCHOOL HOUSE YOU REPRESENT.”
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2022 / PUB WARNER BROS GAMES DEV AVALANCHE SOFTWARE / PLAYERS 1
There are plenty of reasons to be less into Harry Potter these days, whether you have issues with some of author JK Rowling’s comments or have simply outgrown a book and movie series that ended over ten years ago (and was followed by increasingly mediocre spinoffs). That said, there’s something inarguably tantalising about Hogwarts Legacy, the promise of putting a Wizarding World tale in your hands as you create your own character and explore a vast magical open world.
You enrol in Hogwarts in the late 1800s (only a century or so after wizards stopped pooping themselves and started using toilets – yes, that’s canon), and can even choose the school house you represent, finally having the option not to be in Gryffindor. It’s the letter of acceptance that ten-year-olds dreamed about all those years ago. At Hogwarts you’ll attend classes and, in true Harry Potter fashion, get in over your head and go on adventures.
SCHOOL’S OUT
The open world around Hogwarts has been developed with an impressive degree of realism, and is a place that feels alive with activity. This isn’t the first time developers have attempted to recreate an explorable Hogwarts (Order Of The Phoenix’s tie-in is the most notable previous example), but here the freedom feels more genuine, extending even as far as the Forbidden Forest and nearby Hogsmeade. Bubble up potions, learn combat spells, make friends, tame magical beasts, and become your own wizarding legend.
This is the first big-budget attempt to evolve the gaming Wizarding World beyond Potter himself, past the realm of film tie-ins. Nothing more than winning the House Cup will do.