User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3361 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Feb 10, 2023
    0
    The plot holes and the writing being worse than a mid tier JRPG is enough to warrant a low score. The game really does not have much to offer outside of the main game as most of the side content are just fetch quests. So the main game and the story not being a rehash and mix of plot points form the books would have been at least worthy of some respect. Instead this game gives us aThe plot holes and the writing being worse than a mid tier JRPG is enough to warrant a low score. The game really does not have much to offer outside of the main game as most of the side content are just fetch quests. So the main game and the story not being a rehash and mix of plot points form the books would have been at least worthy of some respect. Instead this game gives us a macguffin and 26 measly spells. The macguffin is the end point of the game and it's ancient.

    Combat is where I really laughed a lot at the game. Forspoken got a lot of deserved criticism but its spells looked better and even the combat felt slightly better than this point and shoot. Though what really made me laugh at the combat were idiotic mechanics where the spell has to be the same color as that of the shield to break the shield. The mechanics and the purpose of the spell be damned, the color is what determines duel outcomes. Every complex and compelling magic system I can think of, like Oblivion or Magicka has been respectful of their audience to give them more. The fact that games not based on magic have more variety and quality in their spells catalogue than Hogwarts Legacy is both insulting and amusing.

    The open world is not really open if one examines it closely. The aesthetics are decently done but that would be a very insignificant plus point as opposed to gameplay in that world feeling hollow. Once you scour the countryside a bit more, you realise that the so called open world is anoter exercise in Ubisoft open world shenanigans. The difference is that a modern Ubisoft Assassin's Creed has still more to offer than Hogwarts Legacy. Granted that's because of Ubisoft flinging more quantity and getting a few lucky shots, but in this race to the bottom, I can only draw these forms of comparisons.

    The only bits funnier than the combat system are the reviewers insisting that there is build variety in the game. I expect this game might get microstransactions in the future and some more minigames because well the fans of hte franchise are very easy to exploit and gaming fans even more so, as EA and Activision have continually demonstrated over the last decade or so.

    0/10 all day
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  2. Feb 9, 2023
    3
    What a dull and average experience. This must be the most linear and static version of any 'Open world game' made in the last 15 years. This game lives entirely off of the Harry Potter franchise, and is in itself a very ordinary and an outdated adventure game. The world is extremely static, like a matte painting, and reminds me of Dead Island, where a sand castle could block a truck inWhat a dull and average experience. This must be the most linear and static version of any 'Open world game' made in the last 15 years. This game lives entirely off of the Harry Potter franchise, and is in itself a very ordinary and an outdated adventure game. The world is extremely static, like a matte painting, and reminds me of Dead Island, where a sand castle could block a truck in full speed. You can only interact with pre-selected objects and a narrow selection NPCs, that gives you extremely boring chores. Calling them 'side quests' is a huge overstatement. The story is generic, unoriginal and shallow in every way. The best part is the combat system and world design, but Hogwarts is over-interpreted and feels like Hogwarts on steroids, it's over-sized, bulky and americanized. The gameplay feels orchestrated with low immersiveness, just like an old cartoon where only the highlighted objects on a matte painting are animated. The loot system is especially ridicoulus, with gold chests placed the most ridiculous places; right on the street or directly in front of NPC's and the chest owners, who doesn't mind you robbing all of their galleons. The story is so meager a 10 year old could write a more in-depth narrative. If Avalance Software spent their money on creating depth to this game, instead of bribing youtubers to get unrealistically positive reviews, this would might've become a game worth of a release. Expand
  3. Feb 8, 2023
    0
    Dull writing, dead in the face characters, and boring missions. If this would have came out in 2012, maybe it would have been something. If you're a fan of the franchise, then you may enjoy it, but otherwise just another mediocre RPG that hopes it's name recognition will sell.
  4. Feb 11, 2023
    0
    mediocre rpg carried by nostalgia, it has so little spells and enemy diversity
  5. Aug 21, 2023
    4
    Before sharing my thoughts on Hogwarts Legacy, I want to make clear that I'm not a Harry Potter fan or anything like that, I only played the game because it looked very intriguing and I wanted to give it a try.
    I got to say though, after finishing my playthrough of Hogwarts Legacy, the game was not what I expected at all.
    While the story's premise sounds decent on paper, the execution
    Before sharing my thoughts on Hogwarts Legacy, I want to make clear that I'm not a Harry Potter fan or anything like that, I only played the game because it looked very intriguing and I wanted to give it a try.
    I got to say though, after finishing my playthrough of Hogwarts Legacy, the game was not what I expected at all.
    While the story's premise sounds decent on paper, the execution is... really bad; the vast majority of the main quests are either fetch quests and filler, making the pacing pretty much non-existent, and the story itself is filled with laughable amount of conveniences. Also, having to level up by doing chores in order to unlock main missions is tedious.
    Same goes for the characters; they're just very bland for the most part, and unfortunately, same goes for the gameplay as well; it's just not fun, the combat is very easy and completely mindless, the RPG elements are very shallow, and it doesn't help that the enemy and dungeon variety is lacking. At least some spells are kind of unique and useful in different ways.
    However, the visuals are amazing for sure and the presentation is very good too! There are some technical issues at times, but the game looks beautiful nonetheless.
    As for the side-content, Hogwarts Castle is definitely the highlight of the game despite feeling a bit repetitive; it looks impressive and it has many collectibles and puzzles to find, while the rest of the world feels empty and boring.

    Pros:
    + Cool premise
    + Interesting spells
    + Gorgeous visuals
    + Great presentation
    + Hogwarts Castle

    Cons:
    - Horrible story and uninteresting characters
    - Awful pacing
    - Dull combat system and RPG elements
    - Poor variety
    - Technical issues
    - Repetitive side-content

    Narrative: 2/10
    Gameplay: 4/10
    Content: 5/10
    Characters: 3/10
    Music: ?/10
    Graphics/Audio: 9/10

    Final Rating: 4/10
    - Weak -
    For Harry Potter fans, Hogwarts Legacy is probably a good game made from fairly passionate developers, however, for everyone else, Hogwarts Legacy is a painfully uninspiring Open World RPG that does the bare-minimum.

    Do I recommend it?:
    I would recommend it only to Harry Potter fans or casual gamers.
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  6. Jun 11, 2023
    4
    In short, it is a virtual museum. Apart from the plot, there is absolutely nothing to do in the game, optional quests are not interesting, rewards are not interesting, there is no RPG component. Just a beautiful picture. I barely made it through the game to the end.
  7. Apr 13, 2023
    3
    This game is extremely overrated. The Harry Potter fans are giving it way too much credit.

    Pros: 1) Combat is fun, can be challenging at times. 2) The world is beautiful, fun to explore (although this plays into a significant con) 3) Hogwarts nostalgia for the first couple of hours. Cons: 1) World tasks are redundant, loot is everywhere and becomes insignificant after awhile.
    This game is extremely overrated. The Harry Potter fans are giving it way too much credit.

    Pros:
    1) Combat is fun, can be challenging at times.
    2) The world is beautiful, fun to explore (although this plays into a significant con)
    3) Hogwarts nostalgia for the first couple of hours.

    Cons:
    1) World tasks are redundant, loot is everywhere and becomes insignificant after awhile. Constantly have to update your inventory, what you're wearing for stats. Looting becomes boring - all finds mostly insifnigicant.
    2) Character loops - all NPCs are in loops, doing the same thing for the entire game. One girl literally walks between pouring a cup of tea and admiring art for the entire game. Gives the world a lifeless feel.
    3) Tasks/side missions are redundant and mostly easy. The loot at the end of the rainbow is again, drab and insignificant.
    4) They built a beautiful world that would be worth exploring IF I felt there was a reward for doing so. The loot system is typically a great way of incentivizing exploration. Therefore, despite there being a gorgeous world, I felt less than compelled to explore.
    5) Character voicing is really boring - childish inflection. If I was 12, I might enjoy it. As an adult, it's cheesy as hell.
    6) Inventory - unexciting loot is EVERYWHERE. But your inventory space is only 20. If you open a chest and your inventory is full, you can't pick it up. Sometimes this resulted in a glitch where I couldn't reopen the chest after clearing up space. I had to reload past saves to make sure I got what was in that chest.
    7) FOV - Field of View is narrow. Annoying in combat. Fix it.
    8) Virtue signaling - let's throw a trans-character in the game because of the trans-backlash. The backlash against JK Rowling is so overblown.

    Very disappointing overall. Fun combat system. Beautiful world. That's about it. Everything else is childish, tedious and drab. Terrible loot. Don't buy (or wait for a deep deep deep deep sale).
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  8. Mar 6, 2023
    4
    Most overrated game I played this year.
    Story is for 14 years old children.
    Combat is semi good and actually exciting until 20 hours of the game where it gets quite repetitive. Full of game breaking bugs, where it could make u literally abandon the quest. Example, "Looking for the biscuit beast" quest. There is no moral choice system. Don't be fooled by the marketing. Character is
    Most overrated game I played this year.
    Story is for 14 years old children.
    Combat is semi good and actually exciting until 20 hours of the game where it gets quite repetitive.
    Full of game breaking bugs, where it could make u literally abandon the quest.

    Example, "Looking for the biscuit beast" quest.

    There is no moral choice system. Don't be fooled by the marketing. Character is only good and cannot be bad even if you want him to be.

    Game costs like 30 euros max.
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  9. Mar 7, 2023
    4
    Soo..I loved this game for the first like..10 hours ,then i realized that is game without a soul its missing a spark should i say ,combat is boring,quests are boring ,voice acting is bad on character u play i felt no connection to it..it was like talking robot.. i had no interest in hearing more and i started skipping dialogs..exploring is a joke ,no feeling of reward for completingSoo..I loved this game for the first like..10 hours ,then i realized that is game without a soul its missing a spark should i say ,combat is boring,quests are boring ,voice acting is bad on character u play i felt no connection to it..it was like talking robot.. i had no interest in hearing more and i started skipping dialogs..exploring is a joke ,no feeling of reward for completing someting..""dungeons"" is like.. go down this stairs and open chest with crap in it...I was 20 hours in to the game and story was so boring and simple that i couldnt care less..The world is beatiful,graphics are beatiful but thats it. Expand
  10. Mar 5, 2023
    0
    Amazing gameplay and onderfull sound design. A LOT of stuff to explore and discover. No boring useless collects. You can solve riddles, you can explore entire Hogwart. There's so many rooms you can get in it's unbelievable. Story is not a strong piece but Sebastian's subplot save the day for good.
    World desing is simply cozy, beautiful and dynamic. Through campaing you will experience all
    Amazing gameplay and onderfull sound design. A LOT of stuff to explore and discover. No boring useless collects. You can solve riddles, you can explore entire Hogwart. There's so many rooms you can get in it's unbelievable. Story is not a strong piece but Sebastian's subplot save the day for good.
    World desing is simply cozy, beautiful and dynamic. Through campaing you will experience all four seasons. You can fly on broomstick and Hypogryph. Transmog makes you able to dress you character whatever you want. Simple RPG system sticks with world's exploration mechanics and collectiibles. It's hard to get bored because there's so many different things to do.

    There are so minor flaws; grinding start to be partly useless since you are able to upgrade stuff you already have because you can grind a LOT of money by selling magical beasts. Optimization is not good. Raytracing is implemented so poorly so it's better to turn is off. You will barely notice difference.

    Overall it's a great game and dream-come-true game for HP fans.

    10 out of 10.
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  11. Feb 24, 2023
    0
    not a very good game. Combat get boring real quick. not a lot of spells and most of them are not even for combat. Wizard game and you can not even be dark wizard because game has linear and boring story. don't buy
  12. Mar 5, 2023
    0
    It's a boring game. The story is boring. It's a story like you've seen it somewhere. sleep comes
  13. Apr 26, 2023
    0
    8.8 as of April 2023?
    This has to be a joke.
    It is like playing Tom Clancy's Breakpoint. One of the most formulaic games imaginable.
    8.8 is an insult.
    So many games are massively overrated.
  14. Apr 13, 2023
    0
    truly **** **** game xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  15. May 12, 2023
    3
    the first 10-15 hours are good, but u get tired of all the must-do tasks, Didn't finish the game, middle game is boring... don't know when I will be back, get it on day one
  16. Feb 21, 2023
    3
    Its almost frustrating how much potential the game has while holding your hand from being able to do anything fun. While the visuals might be top notch the way the game works in such a forced linear way makes its feel like I’m stuck playing something from 2013, with the same 3 boring mini games sprinkled throughout. The only thing that makes this game kinda fun is the battle mechanicsIts almost frustrating how much potential the game has while holding your hand from being able to do anything fun. While the visuals might be top notch the way the game works in such a forced linear way makes its feel like I’m stuck playing something from 2013, with the same 3 boring mini games sprinkled throughout. The only thing that makes this game kinda fun is the battle mechanics which work really smooth and are very fun. Sadly there’s still not a lot of battling after 20 hours into the game. Expand
  17. Feb 22, 2023
    0
    another glorified and **** game. There is no reason to love this game, game has come to a level that can be compared to rdr2 just because the audience loves it. What a pity
  18. Mar 5, 2023
    0
    발적화가 너무 심각해서 하다가 껐습니다; 최적화좀 해주길;
  19. Apr 29, 2023
    0
    >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
  20. Feb 21, 2023
    1
    So i was caught on hype and bought on release like many other people. My lord I can't believe how boring and repetitive this game is. The world is so empty, dull with ugly graphics from 2016 at max. After 20h I was forcing myself to play and finish only the main story but I couldn't and sold my copy asap. One of the most boring and overrated game I have ever played.
  21. Feb 12, 2023
    4
    Over hyped by fans by a large margin.

    Its a standard rpg with nothing really special once you tear away the harry potter curtain. And if thats not even special to you then theres nothing in this game that you probably haven't already seen to “death” gameplay wise. Anyone thats been a gamer for over 5 years will find everything here dated and tiring. Graphics arent even up to ps5
    Over hyped by fans by a large margin.

    Its a standard rpg with nothing really special once you tear away the harry potter curtain.

    And if thats not even special to you then theres nothing in this game that you probably haven't already seen to “death” gameplay wise. Anyone thats been a gamer for over 5 years will find everything here dated and tiring. Graphics arent even up to ps5 standards. Especially not at 80$.
    Lets not even mention that your main character feels looks and acts like a gigantic wuss waiting for balls to still drop, no matter what cosmetic you buy.

    Get during a sale, and even then only if youre not super RPG familiar.
    Apparently theres some dumb drama revolving around the game and author. I couldnt care less about that woke garbage dispute. All I care is if the game is fun or not and it just, is not. Zzzz
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  22. Feb 12, 2023
    4
    The game has a fine skeleton in place.... That being said, there's no content. The story is mostly a drawn out tutorial, and there's no incentive to explore outside of finding the hundreds of collectibles that don't do anything. You're constantly thrown loot, but it's all duplicated junk that fits more in a Barbie Dreamland game than it does here.

    Give me some real content outside of
    The game has a fine skeleton in place.... That being said, there's no content. The story is mostly a drawn out tutorial, and there's no incentive to explore outside of finding the hundreds of collectibles that don't do anything. You're constantly thrown loot, but it's all duplicated junk that fits more in a Barbie Dreamland game than it does here.

    Give me some real content outside of finding collectibles
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  23. Feb 11, 2023
    3
    Pretty disappointed considering how many positive reviews there are. Maybe my expectations for open world games is huge, but this is a 9 out of 10? Open world is hollow as hell and that alone is why I don't like this game. There is no purpose to the day night cycle other than visuals. Didn't Harry and the gang constantly have to sneak around the castle at night to avoid prefects andPretty disappointed considering how many positive reviews there are. Maybe my expectations for open world games is huge, but this is a 9 out of 10? Open world is hollow as hell and that alone is why I don't like this game. There is no purpose to the day night cycle other than visuals. Didn't Harry and the gang constantly have to sneak around the castle at night to avoid prefects and teachers, or am I misremembering things? Why are vendors at Hogsmeade open at midnight? Why can I do side stories for other students outside of the castle in the middle of the night? Pretty disappointed with no Quiditch either or any side activities really. Sorry if my expectations were high that the 90 GB triple A Harry Potter game has no Quiditch at all. The Pitch is right there and you can even fly on brooms. No other fun side activities at all. Why can't I play more of that shuffle board game that you do at the beginning when learning that spell? Why can't I do the dueling club fights anymore after I become champion? It's only three fights and then that's it, no more. Zero side stories/side quest lines at all. All of the side missions are just quick fetch quests. Rewards for the quests are pretty stupid too. Can't interact with people at all other than people that give you side stories. People don't react to you at all even when you do crazy things. No point to the common room or even which house you go to. None of the dialogue options are dynamic either. Pretty stupid that my characters light brown hair color looks terrible in specific light conditions.

    Pretty mid game when comparing it to other open world games like RDR, Skyrim, Yakuza, Witcher, Gta, Fallout and Horizon. Ya know, games that are actually 9/10
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  24. Feb 20, 2023
    2
    Boring story, bland combat, too many collectibles that you HAVE to collect or you can't advance certain missions. The atmosphere is done well but other than that the game falls flat.
  25. Feb 12, 2023
    1
    I feel like they made this game for fans and kids that have never played a real RPG before.

    Anyone that has played witcher 3 or similar before wont touch this
  26. Feb 10, 2023
    0
    ➤ Lifeless NPCs, lazy models without variety, clones EVERYWHERE, they are static with looping animations or walking aimlessly, non-existent AI.
    ➤ Repetitive combat, mediocre enemy variety. (Wizarding world has so many creatures, and Avalanche only adds dark wizards, trolls, goblins, generic spiders? really?)
    ➤ TONS of generic collect quests. ➤ Poor writing, choices don't matter, they
    ➤ Lifeless NPCs, lazy models without variety, clones EVERYWHERE, they are static with looping animations or walking aimlessly, non-existent AI.
    ➤ Repetitive combat, mediocre enemy variety. (Wizarding world has so many creatures, and Avalanche only adds dark wizards, trolls, goblins, generic spiders? really?)
    ➤ TONS of generic collect quests.
    ➤ Poor writing, choices don't matter, they don't affect anything, Absolutely no way to play evil.
    ➤ Dead bodies, environment objects, EVERYTHING disappearing instantly (Is this game from 2023? or do we go back to 2000?)
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  27. Feb 10, 2023
    3
    Não vale o preço. Gráficos muito ultrapassados e varias falhas técnicas. No ps5, em nenhum dos modos roda minimamente bem. Falta a atenção aos detalhes tbm, as aulas poderiam ser melhores, mais interativas. O espaço no inventário é muito pequeno. A história principal é intrigante pelo menos.
  28. Apr 1, 2023
    2
    Extremely boring and repetitive game imo. I know some people were praising it back when it released but that was the honeymoom phase. After completing it, i can confidently say it was bland and uninteresting and not much of a "RPG". There's so many things this game does wrong that i can't even list all of them. On top of all this its a woke piece of crap. I mean its 1890 Scotland and theExtremely boring and repetitive game imo. I know some people were praising it back when it released but that was the honeymoom phase. After completing it, i can confidently say it was bland and uninteresting and not much of a "RPG". There's so many things this game does wrong that i can't even list all of them. On top of all this its a woke piece of crap. I mean its 1890 Scotland and the whole map is full of blacks and asians like I'm not racist but this is straight disregard for history and the culture. And there's a trans dude or woman in 1890 and every one around the trans person acts like its completely normal... i mean wtf man??Almost all the kids have modern haircuts and i guess they just said "fck you" to historical accuracy. Expand
  29. Mar 4, 2023
    0
    I will give this game the smallest review possible but not for the reasons everyone does it. I truly didn't like the game but I understand the reason players give a high score. As such I have to explain myself. I got the game from a friend expecting a good action game in the magic universe I grow up but instead I got this “mess”. More details below.

    TL-DR Before sharing this review, I
    I will give this game the smallest review possible but not for the reasons everyone does it. I truly didn't like the game but I understand the reason players give a high score. As such I have to explain myself. I got the game from a friend expecting a good action game in the magic universe I grow up but instead I got this “mess”. More details below.

    TL-DR
    Before sharing this review, I got to talk with a friend who likes the game and I interpreted what they describing to me as such: “I didn’t like the story, I didn’t like the dialogs, the characters felt lifeless but I liked the game.” From that I came on this result. The game is not good by any quantifiable metrics but the Hogwarts experience overshadows the problems that I depict below for a lot of people. I am not one of those people and this is the reason I didn’t like this game.

    Pros:
    If the only reason you bought this game is to have the Hogwarts experience, you will like this game. The castle is very detailed focusing on every detail of how it was depicted in the movies and books. There are many thinks to find, many rooms to explore.
    I also consider it very probable that you will like the story/characters if you are of a younger age. Considering the PEGI 12 age rating of the game I think that, it was intentionally depthless in order for the younger audience to be able to understand the game.

    Cons:
    As my scores depicted, I consider the game to lack both in action and adventure characteristics. There are many other labels attached to this game like open world, RPG but I will focus on the 2 I think the games lacks most.
    A good action game needs to focus on enemies and well… the action. Fighting must be in its focus and not an afterthought. The game has 5-6 different enemy types and every single one was handled by staying back and picking them apart. Bosses feel slow easily dodgeable. Every fight with them goes the same way. Dodge, throw spells then wait to recharge. You can also shoot with your wand for some extra damage. All the spells are very similar and as such you have no reason to experiment, you will need one of each color though.
    The game has a really big map making someone to expect a really good open world/ adventure experience. What I found out was that other than Hogwarts everything was essentially empty. The town where a collection of stores and nothing more, the woods had a few monsters and they essentially worked as a connection between town and hamlets. The feeling of emptiness was the many one I got from exploring. Not finding anything and if you did it felt like it wasn’t worth it, being the same goblin camp as the previous one you found.

    There are more problems that I had while playing the game (performance, crafting, items, etc...). The main ones, I have already talked about. This is already too long for a game I didn’t like enough to finish but the reactions I got/read from friends and the internet got me in a state of mind when I wanted to write this review. Thank you for reading my opinion.
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  30. Feb 10, 2023
    0
    I felt the developers played it very safe with a million dollar budget could have done so much more. Combat is okay but repetitive, npc all copy and paste same with the enemies. Still has an element of loading screens. For a game that all about diversity I can’t even pick a pale skin tone. I have experienced a crash and lost all my progress. I get terrible motion sickness as the camera isI felt the developers played it very safe with a million dollar budget could have done so much more. Combat is okay but repetitive, npc all copy and paste same with the enemies. Still has an element of loading screens. For a game that all about diversity I can’t even pick a pale skin tone. I have experienced a crash and lost all my progress. I get terrible motion sickness as the camera is so close to the player even with motion blur and field depth adjusted. Expand
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 96 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 96
  2. Negative: 0 out of 96
  1. 85
    Hogwarts Legacy has a great character design and could have had a great story too but the story is not so strong. the gameplay feels great and exploration is so entertaining. visually its great and Hogwarts castle is so detailed.
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    80
    Hogwarts Legacy is definitely a beautiful-looking game that doesn't have a groundbreaking story, but does have a beautiful world, a fun combat system, broomstick flying, and of course an incredible amount of side quests and missions. [Issue#325]
  3. Jun 23, 2023
    90
    It's been a decade since we've had a full Potterverse game, but the wait has been well worth it. Hogwarts Legacy gets just about everything right, with its involving storyline and myriad of main and side quests. Perhaps its finest feature though is Hogwarts itself, providing as much joy in just exploring the halls as performing set tasks. We doubt a single Harry Potter fan will be disappointed. We certainly weren't.