It’s official, Hogwarts Legacy is releasing next week! To say I’m excited is an understatement, and the game is very much the jewel in the crown when it comes to titles releasing in early 2023. Players have already been spoiled with the Dead Space remake, but it’s time to put horror to one side and embrace a globally beloved fantasy setting. I never thought I could be excited about returning to school!
I confess I found most of the gameplay segments shown off in recent months to be somewhat underwhelming. As a result of these I was going to be heading into Hogwarts Legacy with a degree of scepticism, which has since been dashed by the overwhelmingly positive previews I have been reading about the game in the past week. I am a little disappointed that the publisher, Warner Bros, opted to lock elements of the games content behind the deluxe edition. That said, if there was ever a greater cash cow to take advantage of, the Wizarding World is the place to start for shameless money hoarding.
I’m not entirely sure why the Unforgivable Curses have been given a place in the game but I’m also definitely not complaining about their inclusion!
The main thing I want from the experience is to be able to properly explore Hogwarts and its grounds, both on foot and by air. The addition of the areas surrounding the castle will be a nice touch if executed properly but I won’t be too disappointed if distant hills don’t capture the imagination to the extent that the school does. Not since Harry Potter games on the PlayStation 2 have we been given (mostly) free run of the castle, and I’m so happy it looks like the wait for that is finally coming to an end.
Hogwarts Legacy’s combat looks fine, if a little repetitive, from what I have watched but I am willing to accept it will likely fall into the category of ‘more fun to play than to watch’.
Aside from playing as a fifth year aged student transferring to Hogwarts, and the fact it appears goblins will be forming the primary antagonists of the story, there is nothing else I know about the plot ahead of playing. That level of uncertainty and unpredictability, similar to taking a dip in the Black Lake, is one of the many reasons why I’m in a constant state of excitement to get my hands on this game!
Hogwarts Legacy is releasing on current gen consoles on 7th of February if you have the deluxe edition, 10th of February if you have the standard, and last gen consoles on 4th of April. It is also currently expected to (somehow) be available on Nintendo Switch on 25th of July. I have my preorder for the deluxe PlayStation 5 version of the game locked in, and now all I need to do is wait patiently for the 7th of February to roll around. I hate waiting.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve secured your preorder or are expecting to pick it up at release, and tell me how excited you are for the game!
Written by Alexx.