Hogwarts Legacy: Gameplay, Exploration, Story, Everything You Need To Remember From The Harry Potter Game!

Game news Hogwarts Legacy: Gameplay, Exploration, Story, Everything You Need To Remember From The Harry Potter Game!

Published on 03/18/2022 at 06:00

Last night Warner Bros. finally decided to unveil one of its next babies, namely Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy. Presented on PS5, Avalanche’s game has won over a wide audience and to be honest we understand why. Everything is detailed here.

After months of complaints from players, as well as rumors and other strange leads, the wait was unbearable: Sony and Waner Bros knew well and that’s why The two giants, partners since the game was announced, came together last night for a beautiful presentation of Hogwarts Legacy: The Hogwarts Legacy.

In order to do this, a generous state of play of about twenty minutes : First fourteen minutes of immersion in this promising open world, then six more, punctuated by developer commentary.

What we know about the history of Hogwarts Legacy

Although Hogwarts Legacy comes from the universe created by JK Rowling with the Harry Potter books, it should be noted that our dear bespectacled wizard will absolutely not be present. And for a good reason the context of the game takes place at the end of the 19th century! We will then embody a new student (or a new schoolgirl) that we must first create through a character editor.

After that, The player has the luxury of choosing their house, including Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, thanks to the Sorting Hat. A direction that determines part of the adventure, since depending on the membership, the room that will serve as the main base for the hero or heroine will be different.

The goal of our lucky little one will therefore be to follow the traditional courses of Hogwarts, to advance as a wizard, but also and above all to fight against the rebellion of the goblins, some of whom seem determined to use black magic to change the course of events. New faces will be present in the majority, as well as some well-known personalities such as Nick Nearly Sans-Tête. A perfect excuse to immerse yourself body and soul in this meticulously reproduced iconic pop culture castle.

Exploring Hogwarts is an essential part

If previous Harry Potter video games already allowed us to stroll through some of Hogwarts’ iconic locations, these don’t play in the same category as Hogwarts Legacy, definitely in the big leagues. It’s easy, Study Avalanche Software (not to be confused with Just Cause Avalanche Studios developers) appears to have done a titanic job in reconstructing the site.

Above all, as mentioned above, it is an open world in which it will be possible to roam completely freely. This includes the castle itself, from its outrageous staircases up to the Great Hall through the various rooms used for spells, potions or botany classes (which you can attend and take part in). Everything seems to be there and of course, the chills is something to be felt.

Note that certain hidden or formally prohibited parts of the facility are also offered, but require puzzle solving or the exercise of discretion. The same goes for the outside of Hogwarts, which will also have a very important place, as you can climb over your flying broomstick (or even a griffin) to travel through the grounds, forests, and other surrounding villages. These house in particular clothing shops or sometimes somewhat dubious magicians who are better not to meet.

In short, exploration will play a key role in Hogwarts Legacy and elsewhere. the particularly licked plastic and Dantesque panoramas should allow for total immersion. The developers have even announced a whole season and weather system with snow or rain! The very rich and relevant universe is undoubtedly one of the most attractive points of the game, which was shown last night.

Spell-based combat… and not only

Since Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing game, it will feature many combat phases, which have also been highlighted. So we will learn magic spells little by little (yes, the Expelliarmus is of course on the program) that we can launch and combine with others to create combos. With little vibes to hit them all so our hero or heroine can dodge with a roll or a small teleportation to take his enemies from behind and achieve real sequences.

From what was seen in the State of Play, Some battles will even be hectic when a multitude of enemies surround the wizard or witch, some with energy shields that need to be disabled in ways we can very well envision. As for the bestiary, There are fantastic creatures such as goblins, animals or types of ghouls and therefore wizards in the flesh. Some duels will even be feasible, with the classic confrontation of spells that Harry Potter and Voldemort have already accustomed us to.

The other interesting mechanic that reminds us of some great action games of the generation, it is the possibility of using the environment to achieve one’s goals. You can then raise barrels, swords, or specific elements to throw violently at your enemies, or even enchant little creatures to attack you. Similarly, using a Mandrake (and its still unbearable scream) will come in very handy during fights that are too overpowered.

Real development opportunities

There was also an emphasis on hero or heroine development, like any good self-respecting RPG. First of all, you should know that there are several progression levers, such as: B. the one directly related to exploration. Chests scattered throughout the open world allow you to literally loot gear, while certain plants can be picked and gathered to manually concoct potions. These allow for a strategic advantage, for example in combat by turning his skin hard as stone, or by camouflage or making himself invisible.

The State of Play also introduced the Room of Requirement (which fans are already familiar with), which will serve as a hub for crafting magical gear.. With resources and a waiting time to prepare, we will then restore objects with specific functions and improvements for our magic. which should not be neglected. Also, one of the crisp surprises was the opportunity to have your own green plot and build a real house there!

Finally, let’s mention some nice references to Fantastic Beasts, since we can catch them in our magic bag ; The mythical (and annoying) rail sequence from the very first Harry Potter game is also revisited here, which some might consider a nice reference.

Expected release at the end of the year

Finally, one last piece of information was published and last but not least: Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled for release in late 2022 during the holiday season. When the entire presentation has been captured on PlayStation 5, the game is also planned for PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC to reach as wide an audience as possible. Unfortunately, no exact release date has been given, but it will be soon, certainly in the coming months.

As a side note, it is already possible to pre-order the software from the usual retailers. Here are the links and prices for each platform impacted by a physical release, unless you prefer a digital edition. We give you full powers at this level