‘Hogwarts Legacy’: ‘Harry Potter’ video game first reactions praise magical combat

On February 10, ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ will go on sale, the most anticipated ‘Harry Potter’ video game in history and which is already a bestseller. Of course, like all products in the saga and its category, it hasn’t been without controversy. Two weeks after its launch, some media were able to access the game for an hour and a half They tell us if it really fulfills all that its trailer has promisedthe most viewed on the PlayStation YouTube page.

Games Radar states that “the sense of purpose, but also the scale, is almost terrifyingly palpable”. For Hobby Consolas can be defined with a single word: magical. This medium highlights “the effects of anything to do with magic, traced back to what you see in the movies”as well as the quality of the Spanish dub: “It’s been taken care of so much that there’s even lip sync and the characters speak in whispers when we use the invisibility spell”.

One of the things that most appealed to the game’s audience is its level of customization, from character creation to the story of the game, but it was unknown to what extent the decisions had an impact. “Everything is interconnected”explains Moira Squier, narrative and screenwriter of ‘Hogwarts Legacy’, “Even the secondary missions, which number over a hundred, allow the player to manipulate the main mission by virtue of the experiences he has had”. In this way, both the order in which the player decides to complete these missions and a simple interaction with a character in one of them has an impact on the main storyline, in the purest butterfly effect.

Another of the great attractions is that it is an open world, allowing you to explore both on foot and in the air the interior and exterior of the castle, the Forbidden Forest or the Hogsmeade Mansion. IGN defines it as “a tremendously traditional open world, but also like a true fantasy come true for fans”while Games Radar claims it is “exactly as impressive as you would expect”.

There is consensus in the early critics: magic is the best thing in the game, and so it should be. The combat system is the most complete, according to the media. “We can have four spells assigned to quick shortcuts, but it’s also possible to quickly switch the equipped set, leaving us with a total of eight different spell slots that we can customize.”says Hobby Console. In combat you can use familiar spells such as Expelliarmus, Accio, Levioso (which, like the well-known Leviosa, levitates the opponent), while others such as Lumos, Alohomora or Reparo are used for exploration. Each spell has a color associated with it. “This plays a crucial role in combat, as on many occasions enemies use a protection spell that can only be broken using a spell of the same color”explains the Spanish medium.

Games Radar also emphasizes the great ability to cast spells, which “can be chained together to create impressive finishing moves”. To get the most out of it, you need to understand how each one works and how to use it: some that stun, some that attack, and some that have their own function, by experimenting you will develop your own fighting style. The magical battles are continuous: you’ll have to alternate protection with attack, choosing the best way to incapacitate each enemy and keep yourself intact in the process. All of this “create a constantly moving combat system”says Games Radar. “It’s chaotic, but it’s hands down the best representation of magic I’ve ever experienced in a game”.

go to the dark side

Perhaps one of the most innovative features of the video game compared to others in the Harry Potter universe is that it allows the player to decide how he wants to do things: by hook or by crook. “If you want to be bad, be bad”says lead designer Kelly Murphy, noting that this is “the ultimate climax of an RPG: let the player be bad”. In “Hogwarts Legacy,” this involves being able to learn (outside of traditional lessons) the dark arts, materialized into endless curses. The player will have access to them, but will not be forced to use them. This idea, according to Murphy, arises from the fact that neither the game itself nor its creators want to do this “judge” to the players. So while other characters will react if you decide to use one of these curses, there won’t be any morality system that penalizes you for it. Of course: if you continue down that path, it will eventually have its consequences, like all actions in the game.

Even if this was only the approach to the first hour of the game, ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ promises countless surprises and seems to meet the very high expectations perfectly which had fixed its initial gameplay. On February 10, everyone will be able to enter this open world of Hogwartian where, honoring its slogan “Live what is not written”the player completely decides the course of his story.