This time, I finally got to live the dream so many of us have had since we were kids: walking through the gates of Hogwarts. Imagine wandering through Hogwarts long before Harry Potter ever got his letter. Well, that’s exactly what Hogwarts Legacy lets you do. Even if you’re not a Potterhead, this fresh take within the wizarding universe lets you explore you’re magical fantasies the way you want them. But how does it fair as an open world game? Well that’s what we’re about to find out.
What impressed me most was how Hogwarts Legacy manages to make the world feel unique right from the start. The whole wizard theme is implemented in every corner of the game. From magical beasts to the way the game lets you become a full-fledged wizard. Exploring the castle feels magical, the moving staircase, talking potraits, and living armor that kicks its own kind, all give the environment personality. NPCs around the castle actually follow their own little routines, which makes the space feel alive. Though most of them aren’t really interactable, they still go about their day, adding to that sense that the castle’s got a life of its own.
Now, outside the castle, the game opens up into a massive world, and it’s gorgeous. The landscapes, the shifting weather, the way the music changes as you move between areas, it all fits perfectly with the wizarding theme. The settlements feel alive, with shopkeepers chatting and villagers going about their day. But once you head into the wilderness, it’s a different story. The scenery is beautiful, but you’ll notice how empty it feels. There’s wildlife and enemies, sure, but not enough human touch to break the silence. It’s one of the few times the immersion slips.
Traversal, though, is excellent. Flying across the world on a broom or magical beast feels smooth and freeing. The map is seamless, so you can move from castle grounds to mountain peaks without loading screens breaking the flow. There are invisible barriers here and there, usually natural ones like cliffs or impassable ridges, but overall, it’s one of the more cohesive open worlds out there. And if you wanna skip the footwork, fast travel is always therel through the menu,
As I explored, I realized this isn’t just a game about casting spells, it’s a game about exploring magic itself. The world constantly tempts you off the beaten path. You’ll be heading to a quest marker, spot something shiny in the distance, and next thing you know, you’re solving a door puzzle to complete all the exploration challenges. Speaking of challenges, you’ll realize that some of them are tied to side quests, like the puzzle-y Merlin trial. But some of the side quests are fun and reward you with new spells you can try out on some poor souls. Just like anything in life though not everything is created equal. Some feel like generic quests that give you random loot. And for the perfectionists out there, there are 1428 collectibles for your amusement to distract you from real life.
Speaking of distractions, the crafting systems caught me off guard in the best way. Herbology, potion brewing, and beast taming sound like standard RPG fluff, but here they’re strangely relaxing. I found myself spending a bit too much time feeding the tameable beasts in the Vivarium. When you step through the portal to this so called Vivarium, the scenery opens up to a peaceful outdoor space where your beasts live. There’s just something satisfying about caring for creatures that react to you, and it adds a calm, personal side to the experience. It’s funny, I came to fight dark wizards, but ended up redecorating my Room of Requirement instead.
The Room of Requirement really deserves a mention. It’s more than a gimmick; it’s your own private base that kind of just grows along with you. And god forbid we let a game cook, cause even in the late game, this so-called room still gives more and more room to decorate along with space for your magical beasts. You can customize almost everything, plants, furniture, workbenches, and even the wall designs
Customization in general is a strong point here. Character creation gives you plenty of freedom, and I liked that outfits and gear weren’t just cosmetic, they actually had stats attached to them, so they influenced your playstyle. I spent a lot of time mixing robes, scarves, and gloves until my character looked like a wandering scholar who might also steal your broom. So, you can be sure you’ll always be looking dope in the cutscenes. The cosmetic only wand and broom customization are nice touches too, though the real depth comes from the spell and talent system. You can’t unlock everything, even after finishing the main quest, so your build ends up feeling personal. You choose what kind of wizard you want to be.
One thing I really appreciated is how the game treats magic as both a system and a story. You’ll learn a lot of new spells as you play the main quests, side quests or by buying more scrolls from the shops and the occasional wandering merchant. There are also some spells that you might miss depending on how you approach the story, like the famous Avada Kadavra, where you can kill living beings in one flick of a wand. But this spell doesn't work on bosses. You can also make this forbidden spell more fatal through the talents you can unlock as you level up. The best thing is you can reset the talents any time with gold.
And of course, Hogwarts itself remains the heart of everything. The school is where the game feels most alive. Ghosts wander, students gossip, and every corner hides something, a secret door, a bit of lore, or a clever environmental puzzle. It’s easy to lose track of time just exploring the castle or simply just trying to make friends. I mean, there’s no friendship meter, but trust me, the NPCs you interact with through quests do take a liking to you. At least if you help them out.
So yeah, that’s when it clicked for me, Hogwarts Legacy isn’t just about being a wizard. It’s about becoming one, through a mix of discovery and wonder. This game isn’t just for potterheads either, cause it is definitely one of the better open worlds out there.
Side Activities
There are a lot of side activities to dive into, like exploration challenges, varied side quests, which all depend on the house you get. There’s even a broomstick race, which I guess can feel like a Quidditch match. Either way, all of these play a role in keeping you busy.
Customization
Now, when it comes down to downtime, there’s just about something for everyone to make their playthrough their own. Whether its the character, or living space, Customization definitely one of the game’s strongest points.
Uniqueness
That brings us to the beauty of this game, it lets you live in a world where everything screams this is where wizards live. And have you seen any game where you can use a wand like a third person shooter? Now THAT is unique.
Engagement
Not to mention it’s also satisfying to try out all the spells and perks you can get, especially when different houses and choices in the game lead to different outcomes, like different NPC encounters in the story, which gives the game a replayability factor.
Liveliness
Where it drops off slightly is the world feeling lived in within towns, topped with NPC behaviour thats believable, but empty outside of them.
Area of Freedom
Which becomes noticeable when the world itself is massive and fully explorable, even if dungeons put you through a loadings screen. In the end, you’re still left with an endless sense of freedom.
Overall, I gotta give it to Warner Brothers for this one, they definitely did more than a solid job, getting an A Tier from us.
