Hogwarts Legacy

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1764 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,266 out of 1764
  2. Mixed: 248 out of 1764
  3. Negative: 250 out of 1764

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  1. gaiatiful
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    beyond awful, fueled only by nostalgia and spite, this is one of the worst rpg ive ever seen
  2. Jsmit1007
    Feb 10, 2023
    0
    Clunky gameplay, limited spells, awful IP in general. 0/10 would not recommend
  3. LilyMa
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    Disgusted the see that the entire story of this game is just antisemitic myths and conspiracies with the names switched out.
  4. nofunaloud
    Feb 13, 2023
    0
    lol hogsmeade as a first year. They don't care about the IP at all. Just slapped a name on a generic game to move copies.
  5. nicerdicer
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    Brilliant. Impressive attention to details. Immersive open world, so many things to do around. So many things to discover. We are so lucky to have it during out timelines.
  6. ktoeto
    Feb 10, 2023
    0
    Game crashed on start. I have super performance PC with 13900k processor and strong nvidia GPU, but game tell me about insufficiency resources.
  7. Tatsu_chan
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is unimaginably horrible and it's baffling it's the hill so many are willing to d*e on. There is no enemy variety, which is for sure a good idea for a modern open world game. There is no spell variety either, which again certainly great idea for a modern rpg based solely around it's magic, but Harry Potter has always had a terrible magic system so. For reference Final Fantasy (1987 NES) has triple as many spells (60), and Skyrim a more modern open world game for comparison has over 100 and both those games have multiple combat classes. The game will let you use the "unforgivable curses" but it has no morality system to give any meaningful consequences to your actions because according to the devs it would be "too judgmental on the game maker's part". The game is also a buggy mess and anyone saying otherwise is just lying, the game literally has Denuvo. But none of this is surprising, every trailer made it look lackluster and it's made by the developers infamous for Disney tie-in shovelware.

    And now for the elephant in the room... The game doubles down on all the r*cism and antis*mitism of its source material, anyone saying Terfling had nothing to do with this game is bending the truth. The official Q&A for the game on their site says they worked closely with her team so it perfectly fits her world, and that it does a little too perfectly. The main premise is squashing a goblin rebellion riddled with antis*mitism. The goblin rebellions are not new to the franchise, they are a thing mentioned in the books and expanded material as something the students learn in history class. And what were all the rebellions about? The lack or basic rights like using wands, and *checks notes* wizards attempting to ensl*ve them "as house elves" but we’re supposed to believe they’re still the villains throughout the franchise?
    Which brings us to the next topic, the house elves... As in the source material Hogwarts is run by sl*ve labor and the franchise doesn't want us to look deeper into what that means, waving it off with "well they like it". But if wizards can attempt to ensl*ve goblins as “house elves” what does that actually mean, what exactly is a “house elf” and why doesn’t the series want us to examine it? The head house elf at Hogwarts becomes a companion, so you don't actually get to own a sl*ve but you still get one by proxy. The game also lets you decorate the Room of Requirement with mounted house elf heads, with how controversial this aspect of the books has always been idk who on the dev team didn’t think “maybe we shouldn’t keep the mounted head of a sapient creature decoration item”. Again none of this is surprising given the source material where they decorate houses with elf heads and the kids put little hats on during christmas, oh isn’t it so cute and whimsical? The game is also a prequel set in the 1800s so it can't actually effectively deconstruct the issues with the source material, the goblins are still the antis*metic bankers, the house elves are still sl*ves, and the wizards are still the good guys that have every right to oppress them. Just like Terflings own politics and the politics of the source material the game's message is about preserving the status quo, nothing meaningful can change and it shouldn’t cause we have a continuity to uphold d*mnit!
    The game also throws in the series "first trans character" who they named "Sirona Ryan", this is a name of a Celtic goddess (as many people will point out in an attempt to ignore criticism, despite that bit not being the issue with the name) but just like "Cho Chang", "Anthony Goldstein" and "Kingsley Shacklebolt" it's certainly a choice out of all the Celtic goddess names to deliberately use that one for your first trans women. Sirona was also very obviously thrown in last minute in an attempt to say the game was divorced from Terflings and her raging transphobia, but as you can see the game is quite the opposite.

    In conclusion this game is truly the “Legacy” of this franchise and I can see why fans say “this is everything I ever wanted in a Harry Potter game” because this is all the franchise really truly is. I certainly hope everyone who bought the deluxe edition for the sole reason to spite a minority the author is actively harming daily love their overpriced shovelware and sodder off. Remember yall were the same people in the 90s who hated and wanted to boycott the books for being “satanic”.

    And for anyone who can’t let go of the franchise because of “childhood” and cause “it’s so magical”, let me recommend “Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “Discworld” by Terry Pratchett, and “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordian. None of those series are perfect and have their fair share of problems, but they were written by authors who actually cared, who actually took criticism and grew from it. You can let go and grow too.    … Expand
  8. Maxmynerv
    Feb 11, 2023
    1
    What a terrible game?
    Yes, you can throw her a couple of balls, that she is not overbooked and works.
    And everything. Oh can we run to HOGWARTS?! What a sensation. And what's next? Play old Harry Potter games that are a million times better made. Screenwriters, throw a bunch of meaningless text on the fan. Another stream of consciousness, from the writers. Who is this game made    What a terrible game?
    Yes, you can throw her a couple of balls, that she is not overbooked and works.
    And everything.
    Oh can we run to HOGWARTS?! What a sensation.
    And what's next?
    Play old Harry Potter games that are a million times better made.
    Screenwriters, throw a bunch of meaningless text on the fan.
    Another stream of consciousness, from the writers.

    Who is this game made for?
    For those who are mired in a fictional world about Harry Potter and who lack communication?
    Why do you need all these meaningless dialogues in the game?

    Classes are not interesting, stupid and simple.

    The study of spells is boring and the same, while even silent.
    Piu-Piu is not a spell.

    In Harry Potter, we saw the invisibility cloak.
    And here, what? A spell??? From where, how, why? It doesn't even have a usage time.
    You don't even have to turn on your brain to solve some puzzles during stealth missions.

    The game is so shallow and dull that there are not even words to describe it.
    This game does everything to infuriate the player, while it is also toxic.

    There are no normal fights in the game either, everyone has shields. The enemies know exactly the same thing that the main character knows.

    Yes, Forspoken is a masterpiece compared to Hogwarts Legacy, although they are similar in many ways, but there is at least a little bit more interesting.

    Again, a stupid plot about the "chosen one", nothing better could have been invented?

    Returning to the stupid plot, what kind of nonsense is it when a character is taken to the 5th year of study at school?
    At the same time, here it is necessary, only 3 characters before that, got to the 5th course, the same way.
    At the same time, everyone has the same power... and magic.
    At the same time, the hero grasps everything on the fly, there is not even a fraction of the feeling of learning magic or the efforts of the character or player.

    The whole game — give, bring.
    No, interesting events or situations.
    And everyone talks and talks and talks, completely useless information that is simply not interesting to listen to.

    Again, though AGAIN!!! Dead and empty scenery that the player just looks at, but does not take part in…
    Why are detailed worlds worth it? If it's a dummy?

    At the same time, there are no adventures, school adventures, or at least the adventures of friends in the game…
    It is so dull, cloying, licked and at the same time toxic that after a couple of hours, you just want to turn it off.

    From the part, in the game, all the same problems as in the Witcher 3, but at the same time it does not resemble the Witcher 1 at all…

    The player should be immersed in history, in this world ... and not torment him with activities and dialogues.

    Screenwriters. Learn how to write scripts for games already at last, and if you don't know how, it's better not to take it at all. The game does not equal the book. The approach is completely different. The game should be fun to play, not that's all. A nasty, empty game, without even a slice of talent. Skyrim is still more interesting after all these years. But where have you been? Did you sleep? In general, 1 point out of 10, for the fact that this game at least works fine, without a bunch of bugs. Everyone who could, did, **** off, everyone did everything on **** off. It's not even Hogwarts, it's a museum of some kind. And it's certainly not a school of magic. P.S. There is a feeling that in the beginning they wanted to make an MMO with a donation from the game, but then they realized that they would not be able to do it and changed their minds, and many gameplay elements remained.    … Expand
  9. Draakisback
    Feb 10, 2023
    2
    I read harry potter when I was in High School so I imagine that I am a part of the target demo for this game. That being said, I am also a gamer; and this game is pretty damned MID. The story isn't all that inspired, the world is fine but after a few hours, it starts to feel a lot like a Harry Potter skinned Assassins Creed game. Not to mention all of the hand holding that doesn't go awayI read harry potter when I was in High School so I imagine that I am a part of the target demo for this game. That being said, I am also a gamer; and this game is pretty damned MID. The story isn't all that inspired, the world is fine but after a few hours, it starts to feel a lot like a Harry Potter skinned Assassins Creed game. Not to mention all of the hand holding that doesn't go away even by the time you make it to the late parts of the game. The game doesn't even really do a good job of recreating the magic of being a part of the hogwarts world. You start as a 5th year, and you don't get to take the train... You don't get to specify if you are a Muggle born or a Pure blood, you just are dropped into this story that really isn't all that interesting and are forced to play it out in a somewhat linear fashion. Being in a different house only really effects a couple NPC dialogue options and a single quest in the game (and the obvious stuff like your common room). The classes you take don't really feel like classes as much as they feel like tutorials for the 12 different spells in the game. Nothing in this game is unique or innovative and it seems to try to use its source material as nostalgia bait to try to hide that fact. The Performance of this game is a mess. Even with my very powerful computer; I had crashes and I lost my save file data more than a few times (I had to make multiple copies of each save to prevent losing my progress). FPS would randomly drop in certain areas while in others I would get a consistent 120 FPS (And the FPS wouldn't drop again in the same areas which made it seemingly random). The facial expressions in this game are absolutely ugly as hell; I had to remake my character twice because of how creepy they turned out looking in the cutscenes. This game could have been something really special but its just another mediocre movie game that also has terrible performance. If you are a die hard potter fan, you might enjoy this; but if you just want a good game, look somewhere else.

    The Performance of this game is a mess. Even with my very powerful computer; I had crashes and I lost my save file data more than a few times (I had to make multiple copies of each save to prevent losing my progress). FPS would randomly drop in certain areas while in others I would get a consistent 120 FPS. The facial expressions in this game are absolutely ugly as hell; I had to remake my character twice because of how creepy they turned out looking in the cutscenes.

    If you are a die hard potter fan, you might enjoy this; but if you just want a good game, look somewhere else.    … Expand
  10. jsmith1972
    Feb 10, 2023
    0
    Just like Callisto Protocol and Witcher 3 Next Gen this game has serious issues with CPU overhead/bottleneck in certain areas of the game especially with RT enabled causing GPU utilization and in turn frame rate to nose dive. I do not consider this in any way shape or form acceptable and the fact that pretty much every new pc release has been plagued with this issue is a joke. If you haveJust like Callisto Protocol and Witcher 3 Next Gen this game has serious issues with CPU overhead/bottleneck in certain areas of the game especially with RT enabled causing GPU utilization and in turn frame rate to nose dive. I do not consider this in any way shape or form acceptable and the fact that pretty much every new pc release has been plagued with this issue is a joke. If you have a 40 series card you can use the frame generator to help alleviate the problem but what percentage of players have access to one of these cards? Devs need to step up their game and fix this piece of ****… Expand
  11. Dadazuma
    Feb 10, 2023
    0
    Repetitive and boring children's game. Avoid at all cost if you don't want to be disappointed.
  12. DovahFeyn
    Feb 18, 2023
    0
    Au moins 6 crashs et 2 bluescreen, un stuttering (bégaiement d'image) de malade, des drops de FPS monstrueux et omniprésent des que le personnage se déplace...
    Malgré les forums, les mod et autre méthode, rien n'y fait pourtant les jeux sous unreal engine sont courant donc normalement maitrisé mais non...
    Pas mal de jeux actuels se battent pour le titre du jeu le plus mal optimisé mais    Au moins 6 crashs et 2 bluescreen, un stuttering (bégaiement d'image) de malade, des drops de FPS monstrueux et omniprésent des que le personnage se déplace...
    Malgré les forums, les mod et autre méthode, rien n'y fait pourtant les jeux sous unreal engine sont courant donc normalement maitrisé mais non...
    Pas mal de jeux actuels se battent pour le titre du jeu le plus mal optimisé mais là, nous avons trouvé le maitre...
    UNE HONTE avalanche software de sortir un jeu dans cette état… dommage j’attendais ce jeu et j’aimerais vraiment y jouer mais c’est actuellement impossible.    … Expand
  13. rayzerisbest
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    Very disappointed with the PC performance of the game, lags too much in Hogwarts, I've had this kind of issue with a lot of other Unreal Engine game for some reason and the situation is the same her as well.
  14. CosmicScarab
    Feb 10, 2023
    0
    Runs like trash on even the highest end hardware once you get past a certain point.
  15. FluteSalad
    Feb 11, 2023
    1
    Not visually impressive these days, uninteresting story. Repetitive gameplay, combat is the most mid thing ever to exist and by buying it you’re giving money to someone that hates the existence of transgender people… give it a pass
  16. Melodyisded
    Feb 9, 2023
    0
    This game is not only a total scam, but also boring and short. Do not recommend.
  17. cheesecakekille
    Feb 11, 2023
    0
    Too bad.
    I have technical difficulties with my Ryzen5 5600 and a 6800XT on WQHD. Not only that depending on the location in the open world and also in cut scenes, there are blatant frame drops, which ensure that you fall below 30FPS. But also that for unexplained reasons now and then the entire PC goes out and does not boot properly when restarting, but the graphics card also hangs.
    It    Too bad.
    I have technical difficulties with my Ryzen5 5600 and a 6800XT on WQHD. Not only that depending on the location in the open world and also in cut scenes, there are blatant frame drops, which ensure that you fall below 30FPS. But also that for unexplained reasons now and then the entire PC goes out and does not boot properly when restarting, but the graphics card also hangs.
    It is said, no OC, everything is from the manufacturer. Drivers are up to date. Have even ray tracing, scaling, and details down screwed.

    All this is particularly annoying because the game otherwise looks fantastic, the combat system is varied and the open world is a lot of fun.
    Really a downer.    … Expand
  18. mhvelplund
    Feb 17, 2023
    10
    This is a slick Harry Potter themed action RPG. If you are not a Potter-head, this might only be an 8 out of 10 for you.

    The people review-bombing this because they don't like JKR are idiots, SMH...
  19. Barny
    Feb 13, 2023
    7
    The positives are: the game is adequately entertaining, the voice acting is okay, the close up characters are good, graphics are usually okay. Music is great, have not felt it to be annoying at all. Reproduces the JKR's universe for us to move around freely.

    The meh: random graphic problems on PC (stuttering, lagging, loading times on a Gen 4 NVME drive). Quite a bit of repetition. I    The positives are: the game is adequately entertaining, the voice acting is okay, the close up characters are good, graphics are usually okay. Music is great, have not felt it to be annoying at all. Reproduces the JKR's universe for us to move around freely.

    The meh: random graphic problems on PC (stuttering, lagging, loading times on a Gen 4 NVME drive). Quite a bit of repetition. I don't know if the game is meant to be played exclusively on controller or mouse/keyboard. The character can only carry limited items: no storage afaik. It's open world, but open world in a small world (about 5 square miles, compare to habitual 11+ square miles for far cry. Zelda 23 sqm, Oblivion 24 sqm). The character designing phase is lacking. Some collision bugs here and there but not too bad. I don't know if there is a karma system, because clearly there are positive and negative actions/decisions/communications, is it something finished or not?

    The bad: in a pre-industrial revolution time there would not have been as much diversity or alphabet nonsense (regardless of your character being male or female: you are a they/them and you can choose to be in the male/female dorm or be called a witch/wizard the last two choices have no incidence afaik). Clearly the devs couldn't navigate the alphabet nonsense and it feels unfinished business there as the issues are peppered through the game. NPCs are just droning around with very limited interactions.

    It's an okay game with many hours of playtime but it also feels unfinished and overly political in nature.    … Expand
  20. Syrionus
    Feb 16, 2023
    9
    Excellent game which the most fun I have had in a game in a while! They still have a few bugs to work out but they will get there. It will be a 10, once they fix the bugs.
  21. kuehnau
    Feb 11, 2023
    7
    Technically and visually amazing, even on medium settings on my aging rig, the visuals are outstanding. Some of the scenes looked like it was right out of a movie with real actors.

    There is a high amount of polish to the game. What they have done here, they have done (mostly) well. Some of the quests are far too similar to N64 collect-a-thon era style gameplay than I care for. I    Technically and visually amazing, even on medium settings on my aging rig, the visuals are outstanding. Some of the scenes looked like it was right out of a movie with real actors.

    There is a high amount of polish to the game. What they have done here, they have done (mostly) well.

    Some of the quests are far too similar to N64 collect-a-thon era style gameplay than I care for. I doubt I am going to go and find all of those fricking gobstones for example.

    Many of the quests are mundane and boring.

    While advertised as an "open-world" action RPG, it doesn't "feel" open world. I can't just wander off on my own or sequence break anything like you'd expect from a game from Fallout.

    There doesn't appear to be any sort of alignment system at play, I was really hoping to be able to play the game as a jerk-ass Slytherin.

    There doesn't appear to be any sort of like bonding or friendship system in the game for NPCs, this means that relationships don't feel like they really exist.

    Putting in a emotion system like Fable, where you could learn different means of interaction would have been a very welcome game mechanic. I want to be able to flip-off my fellow students.

    Dialog choices largely feel superficial and have no meaningful effect on the game at large.    … Expand
  22. AkiraOfNorway
    Feb 12, 2023
    9
    The best Harry Potter / open world wizard game every made. Needs some graphical optimization on PC still, but nothing game or immersion breaking.
  23. aidan0
    Feb 13, 2023
    9
    I like the game so far (after 20 hours), it is far larger than I initially thought. I feel more like an undercover Ministry of Magic agent than a student. Combat is not easy, especially when fighting groups, I just need to get good in that regard. Positioning can make some fight easier. It's AAA and it feels AAA. I find the story missions really cool and enjoyable. This game has a lot ofI like the game so far (after 20 hours), it is far larger than I initially thought. I feel more like an undercover Ministry of Magic agent than a student. Combat is not easy, especially when fighting groups, I just need to get good in that regard. Positioning can make some fight easier. It's AAA and it feels AAA. I find the story missions really cool and enjoyable. This game has a lot of systems that you aren't forced to use. You can walk instead of fly, you can buy instead of harvest components. You can spend hours customizing the room of requirement or just leave it as is. Basically, you can make the game as long or as short as you want.

    The only negative I have is that playing on a 3090 on an ultrawide, I feel that it should look better. Every setting except raytracing is on Ultra, but the graphics don't really wow me. But that's just me I guess. I can't really see a difference with raytracing on or off, it just looks the same.    … Expand
  24. Chezidek
    Jun 1, 2023
    8
    If you liked to search for hidden packages in Vice City or find secret treasure rooms in classic RPGs or hidden levels in shooters, solve puzzles and riddles in quests and detectives, then you will like Hogwarts Legacy!
    In this game you can relax and unwind, very meditative, pleasant gameplay and a fabulous atmosphere!
    The only drawback is that it was not released at Christmas when you    If you liked to search for hidden packages in Vice City or find secret treasure rooms in classic RPGs or hidden levels in shooters, solve puzzles and riddles in quests and detectives, then you will like Hogwarts Legacy!
    In this game you can relax and unwind, very meditative, pleasant gameplay and a fabulous atmosphere!
    The only drawback is that it was not released at Christmas when you want similar, kind and fabulous adventures.    … Expand
  25. ici_chacal
    Feb 12, 2023
    9
    After 18h I am amazed with what Devs did with the univers. The world and the castle is wonderful. Technically runs okay on PC but could be better. This not a game for average PC :)
  26. Incognito44
    Feb 13, 2023
    8
    Honestly the only thing I wanted from this game is to explore Hogwarts with modern graphics and I think they absolutely nailed the world design and I feel like a little kid again playing it.
  27. GlaucioM
    Feb 27, 2023
    10
    The game is very good, it remains challenging even when switching to easy mode.
  28. whoisangel
    Feb 17, 2023
    10
    Amazing Game. Story, open world ,rpg and magic... High recommendation for everbody,
  29. Freebird7887
    Feb 11, 2023
    10
    A pesar de no ser fan de la saga de Harry Potter y por lo tanto no disfrutar de la nostalgia que despierta encontrar guiños y referencias en el juego, estoy disfrutando mucho la experiencia. Juegazo sin lugar a dudas.
  30. aSkorm
    Feb 11, 2023
    9
    Anyone that grew up reading the books will feel right at home from the first moments.
    This is by far the best rendition of Hogwarts and I’d say the game is worth playing just to experience it.
    The secret passages, the moving paintings, the venomous plants, it’s all there, just like you remember it! The exploration is obviously the core of the experience and I’d suggest focusing on    Anyone that grew up reading the books will feel right at home from the first moments.
    This is by far the best rendition of Hogwarts and I’d say the game is worth playing just to experience it.
    The secret passages, the moving paintings, the venomous plants, it’s all there, just like you remember it!

    The exploration is obviously the core of the experience and I’d suggest focusing on that.
    Contrary to what I was expecting, the combat is also fresh and engaging. It feels a little clunky at first but it's truly enjoyable once you learn a few spells and get into the flow. It’s probably going to be copied a thousand times like the Arkham games combat.

    The experience stumbles a bit when it comes to storytelling. So far, it’s been full of little coincidences and things that don’t make sense, but it’s at least doing a good job of keeping things moving at a good pace and is in line with what you’d expect from a Harry Potter story.

    Some of the quests can also feel a little simplistic but the characters you interact with while questing make up for it.

    You’ll find some politics awkwardly jammed into the game but, although they break immersion, they can be ignored for the most part.

    By far the worst part about the game is the PC port.
    One moment I’m at 160 FPS, the next one I’m at 20, and this really ruins immersion.
    While it does look good, there is simply no reason for it to drop below 100 FPS at any time on my PC.

    In conclusion, I’d say this by far the best video game in the franchise.
    If you are familiar with the books or even movies, you are bound to find this enjoyable.
    If you don’t care about Harry Potter, you’ll probably still have a good time.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best PC Game of 2023
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 4, 2023
    85
    Beautiful, cozy and incredibly detailed, Hogwarts Legacy suffers from overabundance of side activities that offer no story, substance or good gameplay. [page 42]
  2. GameSpace
    Apr 4, 2023
    80
    The success of Hogwarts Legacy clearly shows that good sales and warm feedback from players are ensured not so much by the gameplay thought out to the smallest detail but by carefully reproducing the right atmosphere. But this is already a subtle moment, akin to real magic, and here the nameless developers of Avalanche Software succeeded.
    Read full review
  3. Ragequit.gr
    Feb 24, 2023
    81
    Hogwarts Legacy is an altogether excellent port of Wizarding World to PC screens. It proudly belongs to the Young Adult fiction genre, which may make immersion difficult for older gamers.
    Read full review
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