One of Hogwarts Legacy’s biggest selling points prior to launch was the chance to wander the school corridors and potter around the charming wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Hogwarts Legacy review: Exploration and upgrades You’ll venture into dungeons packing puzzles that demand familiarity with your spellbook, alongside the sternest test of your combat prowess with large-scale enemy encounters and even a few memorable boss battles. The main story quests blend these two aspects of Hogwarts Legacy and present elaborately-detailed locations to explore. And the rewards nearly always make spending the extra time to thoroughly search your surroundings worthwhile.

Many of the puzzles are as simple as casting a single spell on an object, but thanks to a well-placed musical jingle upon completion even the most straightforward brain teaser feels satisfying.

Although, on the highest difficulty, the cumbersome spell-switcher becomes more of an annoyance.Īs noted, the other key pillar of the game is puzzle solving both in the open world and during missions. While you can just spam the basic attack spell on the easier difficulties, select the hard setting and you’re forced to carefully combine your conjurings for the greatest impact possible. Firing off a stunning spell and watching your enemy crumple is enjoyable even after hundreds of casts - add in spells that imbue elemental effects and things get even more hectic. Combat is an excellent mix of strategic spell-casting and glossy visual effects. Fortunately, both these aspects hold your attention.

Your spells have two primary utilities: combat and puzzle solving. You will attend class in order to grow your repertoire of spells, but these lessons are presented as critical missions at key points in the story rather than scheduled activities that you can opt to engage with at specific times. Although, it should be noted that Hogwarts Legacy is not a high school simulator in the vein of the popular Persona series. Once you’ve settled on a look and a suitably magical name, it’s time to knuckle down and begin studying. (Image credit: Avalanche Software/WB Games)

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