On February 10, 2023, Hogwarts Legacy, one of the most eagerly awaited video games of recent years, will be released. In addition to hype, it also caused all sorts of negative headlines due to the controversy surrounding Harry Potter author JK Rowling and discussions about boycotting the work. Despite this, the game itself is a dream come true for many fans who to this day have been waiting in vain for their invitation to Hogwarts – at least in theory. As part of an event, we were allowed to visit the Mehr! Theater in Hamburg, where the play Harry Potter and the Enchanted Child is usually performed, and for the first time step through the gates of the virtual magic school ourselves. So we immediately donned the invisibility cloak and snuck into the forbidden section of the video game library. We’ll tell you what we found out in our preview.
Magic moments & where to find them
Even if we slowly have to face the fact that no more owl mail will reach us and we probably belong to the muggles after all, we will soon be able to visit Hogwarts at least on the console.
That was possible before, after all, there was a corresponding video game adaptation for every film. But they were very rudimentary implementations compared to the wizarding school adventure that awaits us now. During a somewhat shaky flight around the magic school, we caught a glimpse of the numerous towers and battlements, the sadly unused Quidditch field and a pretty chic landscape around it at the beginning of our session with the game.
At Hogwarts itself, we browsed the entrance hall, greenhouse and library. We immediately felt at home, although the areas are interpreted in a very original way and not simply recreate the sets of the films. This immediately makes you want more and we can hardly wait to discover every single corner of the castle.
Hogwarts Legacy Finally Played: Generic Gameplay, Powerful Magic! (1)
Source: PC Games
During our tour of discovery, we even heard Peeves the poltergeist from afar, who was still up to mischief in Harry’s school days and fooled unsuspecting students.
In addition to the ghosts, there are various pages of paper floating around in the game world, which provide you with information and background stories about the magical world after you have caught them.
If you manage to snag one of them with the summoning spell Accio, Hedwig’s Theme, the theme song of the Harry Potter films, will sound. Hogwarts legacy (buy now €79.99 / €53.99 ) seems to be full of lovely details like this, which are sure to provide a good dose of nostalgia alongside all the new content.
Not Slytherin…or is it?
You are faced with the difficult decision of which of the four houses you want to join. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten to play the ceremony in which the Sorting Hat assigns you.
However, in an interview with Moira Squier (Narrative Director/Advanced Game Writer) and Kelly Murphy (Lead Designer), it was revealed that you will be asked questions and you definitely have a say in where you end up. That’s a good thing, since Hogwarts Legacy will play out a little differently depending on your chosen house.
As suggested by last week’s leak, there are some quests that are exclusive to Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Some people will react differently to you depending on the crest displayed on your cloak. There aren’t completely different threads for the houses, but your choice will still affect the adventure.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to bring your own pets such as an owl, cat or toad. As compensation, there’s still the Room of Requirement, in which you take care of rescued animals and build a kind of base.
. The secret room appears in the Harry Potter world only to those who desperately need it, and takes on ever-changing forms. In this case, it serves as a kind of zoo and at the same time as a craft room for the crafting system.
Accio AAA – All sorts of familiar stuff
We can’t say much about the history of Hogwarts Legacy at this point in time. We already know that the self-created character takes center stage and doesn’t enter School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until around age 15, not the usual age of 11.
A looming goblin rebellion and a previously unknown, ancient form of magic promise that the story will actually bring a breath of fresh air to the universe and not just recycle well-known Harry Potter lore.
In the allusion session we followed the tracks of poachers together with our classmate Poppy. Apparently they work with goblins and pit dragons against each other in a fighting ring.
Despite the fantastic mythical creatures, the implementation seemed rather familiar: We dutifully ran after the chattering Poppy, examined an abandoned camp for traces, then chatted with our companions again and sneaked past opponents to the destination. Fighting your way through ruthlessly is of course also an option, but it makes more sense and is easier to stay in the background. Our character can even turn invisible for a short time and perform a stealth attack should he get into trouble.
