This is a PC review on the maximum settings with every side mission and plot element fully experienced. It is my honest assessment of the PC video game Hogwarts Legacy.
Story
Without giving away any of the plot’s details I can say the game is not a revolutionary story that you will remember for the rest of your days, but it will definitely keep you interested and engaged as you play it.
The game has an engaging tale and is written well. You are continuously learning new things, and the progression feels satisfying. The game effectively leads you through the story, but it also provides you with the option to make some decisions that make the experience much more immersive.
Gameplay
As soon as the game begins, you are immediately immersed in a really engaging introduction that helps you connect with the plot and learn what kind of part you will play. After answering certain questions the sorting hat assigns you to the house it believes you belong in, but you have the opportunity to choose the house yourself if you’re unsatisfied with the outcome. I received Gryffindor and was satisfied with the choice.
When the game gave me my Open-World freedom I decided to take on as many side quests as possible because I wanted to experience every aspect of a game, and after spending many hours playing side missions while also making slow progress in the main plot, I can assure you that there are plenty of things to keep you from getting bored, ranging from quick puzzles with great rewards to incredibly verifiable side missions that are mostly given out by students around the Hogwarts castle and interesting characters outside of it.
It seems like getting bored or worried about the repetition didn’t really happen to me when playing Hogwarts Legacy while flying around this graphically magnificent game it placed me perfectly in the centre of the J.K. Rowling universe thanks to the game’s large open world area loaded with interesting sites and personalities to interact with and explore.
While I normally play with a keyboard and mouse, I chose to play this game on a controller because, although the keyboard and mouse support is excellent and provides the user with a good and easy-to-navigate UI, I feel like this game is a much more enjoyable experience on the controller as I’ve noticed it feels slightly more polished and the combat feels more natural and easier to manage.
If I were to sum up the gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy in a few words, I’d say it’s simply satisfying, with excellent immersion and the freedom to play the game however you see fit.
The room of requirements is a fantastic addition to the game. I spent a lot of time there customising my rooms and doing other things; it really enhanced the experience and gave players a fair amount of creative flexibility, which I’m sure many of them appreciated like me.
Performance
As a PC player, I attempted to play this game using an i7 8700k, 32GB of RAM, and a 3070ti, and I have to admit that I’m a little letdown. Although the game looks amazing and performs well on the highest settings for the most part, I can’t ignore the sudden FPS drops and extremely annoying stutters. This game will go from 90FPS plus to 40FPS in a matter of seconds, truly destroying the immersion of the game, The larger locations, such as the main Hogwarts castle and the nearby town of Hogsmeade, are where these performance concerns are most prevalent.
I’m aware that updates are constantly being released to address performance issues, and I can say that I do notice a difference in the frequency with which these issues pop up, but because I played it shortly after release, I had to deal with them, and it frequently ruined my immersion by throwing me off or making it difficult for me to dodge or parry attacks.
What Was Missing
Even though the game was packed with fantastic experiences and much to do, it’s difficult to not be somewhat disappointed that we weren’t given access to the quidditch experience after seeing that incredible pitch and not getting the chance to play it. Since quidditch is such a significant component of the Harry Potter experience, it really seems like something that you should be able to experience even in a small amount. However, even though what many people have assumed, they left it out so they could create a stand-alone game out of it.
Conclusion
After experiencing the game and playing every piece of this beautiful and excellently constructed game, I can honestly say that this game has its ups and downs. Even though it wasn’t closely related to the original Harry Potter timeline, the game continued to captivate fans by referencing characters and places we all loved so much in the books and widely popular movies yet even in all this glory there are still some imperfections.
I would rate this a solid 8/10 after investing a good number of hours in the game, and if it weren’t for the performance issues, I definitely would have given it a 9. It’s difficult to find anything wrong with the game; it’s definitely worth playing and, despite its hefty price, it seems like money well spent.
4 out of 5 Stars.
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Hogwarts Legacy is now available on platforms PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.
