Hogwarts Legacy - First impressions

How does the action RPG Hogwarts Legacy differ from the Harry Potter stories? And how did the game turn out? Láďa Karpianus shares his first impressions after exploring the magical open world with his daughter Zora. You can watch his commented gameplay on the Karporace Twitch stream.

Exploring the open wizarding world

For months, we drooled over the promised open world where we could finally walk through all of Hogwarts at our own pace. Wandering between classrooms, getting lured by small puzzles, or helping fellow students from different houses. We were also worried about whether the developers would actually keep their promises. The multiple release delays were slightly alarming, but… the result is truly worth it!

I speak as a fan of the book series, having read the books before seeing the movies from the third installment onwards. Yet, I always felt that the most valuable and best thing J. K. Rowling created in this generation-defining saga is the world itself. Humorous and original details like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans or the talking portraits on the stairwell walls in Hogwarts are what transport you into a unique, amazing fairy-tale world. And the creators of Hogwarts Legacy really went all out in this regard. You can truly just walk through the game and admire the scenery. If you look closely, you might spot a dragon carving that moves on its own, listen to a string quartet playing without its musicians, or eavesdrop on the amusing stories of your fellow students.

How does the game differ from the Harry Potter stories?

What was a bit lacking in the book series, however, was the development of the now-legendary characters. Fortunately, the authors of Hogwarts Legacy don't have to deal with that! The story of this gaming gem takes place in the 19th century! The dull, boring Harry Potter, who was sometimes quite annoying, is nowhere to be found here! Same goes for the always-smart Hermione (Ron is great, and he’s actually one of the few characters besides Neville who shows any real development). The authors killed two bludgers with one stone… They removed the rigid characters and didn't have to deal with rights issues as often. I assume that Rowling and her army of lawyers were less concerned about whether a specific rock stood that close to Hogsmeade than whether Ginny Weasley would actually react that way or say that exact sentence.

But back to the game. In Hogwarts Legacy, you are the main character. You can wield ancient, forgotten magic that even most of your teachers know nothing about, and even stranger, you arrive at Hogwarts for the first time directly into your fifth year! You have to quickly catch up on all the spells and then figure out why a mysterious goblin and his wizarding cronies are after you!

Will you enjoy the game with your kids?

I started playing the game on the Karporace stream with my ten-year-old daughter. We spent most of our time in Hogwarts and its surroundings for two reasons. It's safe there. And most importantly, there is always something to discover. Just when you think nothing in a location will surprise you, a detail, minigame, or puzzle appears to keep you busy. Fortunately, the game has several difficulty levels. If you plan to play with the little ones, I recommend story mode or easy. Hard was tough even for me, and I’ve played my fair share of souls-like games that require a certain skill.

The open world here finally makes real narrative sense. It's not just a lure for potential buyers to get more identical quests for the same price in the form of mind-numbingly repetitive question marks on the map (yes, I'm looking at you, Assassin's Creed!). The world around Hogwarts isn't so huge that it discourages you. But it's just big enough that you look forward to further exploration, in later stages even on a hippogriff or a flying broomstick.

Wizarding duels are worth it

The combat is worth highlighting. I didn't expect the game to translate static, boring spell-casting into such "Matrix-like" movement. If you watched the cinematic wizarding duel with the Death Eaters where Sirius Black met his end with bated breath… You’ll be jumping for joy here. There is always something moving, and there are plenty of ways to handle opponents! You can use potions you brew yourself, throw dangerous plants at them, or choose the best combination of spells to create interesting combos. And if you're in a pinch, you can always reach for your secret, ancient power, which is a truly ultimate force here!

Localization

Hogwarts Legacy is a title that, despite all fears, turned out great. You will spend many days, weeks, and perhaps even months playing it if you explore slowly, at a somewhat child-like pace. The only flaw is the fact that the distributors didn't include Czech localization (we are just a small, uninteresting market for them). So, if you play the game with a kid like I did, prepare for some translation work… Or throw a tablet with Google Translate to the older ones, as I occasionally did with Zora. Despite the lack of Czech, Hogwarts Legacy is worth starting some mischief in!!!

Editor's note: A Czech localization is being prepared by Lokalizace.net for the PC version, but due to internal problems within the translation team, the situation is uncertain. You can read more about the upcoming localization on the Indian TV website. Unfortunately, no official Czech or Slovak localization is planned. Console players will likely be out of luck entirely.

author Láďa Karpianus