Platforms: PS4/5, Xbox, Switch, PC
For years, Harry Potter sat alongside the likes of Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and Pirates Of The Caribbean as a blockbuster franchise whose only notable contributions to video games came exclusively in Lego form. Lifting that curse for the wizarding world was always going to require a mild feat of magic, then, but Avalanche Software has just about pulled it off with Hogwarts Legacy, an expansive RPG that allows players to explore the infamous school of witchcraft and wizardry like never before.
Set in the late 19th century (almost 100 years before a certain infant became The Boy Who Lived), Hogwarts Legacy wisely avoids having to carefully dance around the canon of its cinematic and literary counterparts, instead turning its focus to the thrilling pursuits of student life at the hallowed magical institute.
There's still a Potter-esque main story of universe-shaking stakes (one which your fully customisable transfer student inevitably finds themselves at the centre of) but, in a game with over 100 sidequests and dozens more leisurely pastimes, Legacy shines brightest when it leans into emulating the complete Hogwarts experience, sorting hat and all.
That's largely thanks to the clear affection (and budget) which Avalanche has poured into its creation of the game's open world, which includes the entire school grounds and surrounding areas such as Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest. Whether travelling by foot, broomstick, or Hippogriff, Hogwarts Legacy is an indulgent treat of fantastical tourism for longtime Potterheads, marred only by occasional loading stutters and texture pop-ins that can snap you out of its immersive spell.
Combat, in particular, successfully adapts the source material's spellcasting into a satisfying battle system.
Much of that fan service will inevitably be lost on series newcomers, of course, but even for those less versed in the wizarding world, Hogwarts Legacy has something to offer. Combat, in particular, successfully adapts the source material's spellcasting into a satisfying battle system that's as much a challenge to your reflexes and tactical skills as it is a spectacle of particle effects and flurrying physics.
With over two dozen spells to learn, alongside more advanced actions such as parries and combos, it can be a little overwhelming at first, but – once mastered – Hogwarts Legacy's magical melees showcase both the brutality and the sophistication of wand warfare in a way that the films or books never quite could.
This combat pairs nicely with the game’s role-playing progression systems, too, which allow your character to continually evolve across the hundreds of hours you could potentially spend navigating its world. Avalanche generously hands out rewards for your time at Hogwarts, no matter where you might decide to spend it, with a near endless bounty of cosmetic items, talent points, spells, and more to unlock throughout your excursions, both scholarly or otherwise.
Not all of this loot holds equal weight or utility, but thankfully it's not the only carrot on the stick to keep you enrolled. The school is nothing without its inhabitants, and the class of 1890 are a rather brilliant bunch, its many pupils a pleasure to spend time with alongside the equally endearing faculty members. Charismatic teachers, such as the scene-stealing charms expert Professor Ronen, will keep you coming back to classes to learn, and there are plenty of other enigmatic figures to encounter, both within the depths of the school's many secret areas and beyond.
Voice acting can be a little iffy in places (the male avatar, in particular, comes across as a strange mix of wooden and incredibly posh), and the dialogue doesn't always land — too often dumping lore on the player with reams of exposition — but these blind spots tend to be the exception, rather than the rule. On the flipside, Simon Pegg chews the scenery as uppity Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black, and the game's soundtrack is fantastic, building off and around John Williams' iconic score rather than overly exploiting it.
Avalanche has conjured up a vision of Hogwarts that – for the most part – looks and feels worthy of its namesake.
More broadly, however, Hogwarts Legacy also falls into the same traps as many other big budget, open-world games of its type. With so many avenues for progression, the game can frequently overburden players with convoluted menu management work, as they become weighed down by multiple resource types that bloat out and needlessly complicate the experience.
Equally, in a world this big, not every activity feels either important or enjoyable, and there are many spaces that feel unoccupied and lifeless, there for the sake of it rather than to provide any lasting value beyond the surface. Established fans will likely be willing to forgive these more prosaic features, but others may instead come away with the impression of a compromised game not quite able to hold up to the promise of its own ambition.
Still, there were plenty of ways in which Hogwarts Legacy could have really botched the spell of delivering on an authentic wizarding power fantasy, especially one burdened by decades of expectations. Thankfully, by resisting the temptations of the live service model (or perhaps avoiding the cautionary tale set by 2020's Marvel's Avengers), Avalanche has conjured up a vision of Hogwarts that – for the most part – looks and feels worthy of its namesake.
There may be tension at the seams where it tries to hold the sheer scope of its aspirations together, and its fan service can only do so much to patch over those gaps, but Hogwarts Legacy nonetheless succeeds as an easy – if uneven – time killer. Whether this is your first time to Hogwarts, then, or you already know the way from the Common Room to the Library like the back of your hand, Legacy offers a generous slice of role-playing escapism, not to mention a viable remedy for shaking off those late stage Winter blues.